Titan Tamer of The Swordsman
Chapter Twenty One
Terra
A/N
Karsap: Time for the next chapter.
Yuki: Terra huh? Who's that?
Karsap: Well it's hard to say it but she will be a 'New Member' of the Teen Titans.
Kotemon: Really wow! Can't wait to meet her.
Karsap: *Laughs nervelessly* Right so Yuki do the disclaimer.
Yuki: Okay! Karsap doesn't own Digimon or Teen Titans, but he owns Me Yuki Hata.
Titans Tower-Day
As the sun started to rise on Jump City and Titans Tower, Yuki and Kotemon were in their room as the latter watches as his Tamer looks at The Big Book of Classification of Demons, "Um Yuki should you stop reading that book?" the Digimon asked, "Nonsense Kotemon listen to this, the next prince of hell is a sea monster called Leviathan, while the modern word means whale, in the Book of Job however describes him to be ether a sea serpent or a giant crocodile, he's a prince for not only have his huge mouth being the entrance to hell, but during the fifth day of Creation God not only create a male Leviathan but a female one, God then killed the female Leviathan in order for them to stop produce offspring that might destroy God's other creations, with the male Leviathan being jealous of thinking he's the only one of God's creations not to have a mate he thus become the Prince of Envy." Yuki read.
Hearing that Kotemon thought it over, "Yeah I guess you're..." the Digimon barely got to finished his sentence when the ground started shaking.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah," Kotemon said, trying to keep his balance while the Tamer hides under his bed when the shaking stopped "Yuki what was that?" the Digimon asked while his Tamer crawls out from under his bed.
"That Kotemon was an earthquake, but we rarely get earthquakes here" Yuki said as the two went to the Ops Center.
"Hey guys, did you feel that earthquake?" Yuki said as all the Titans except Starfire ran in the Ops Center.
"Yeah." Robin said as when suddenly the Tower shook again even longer.
"Okay I'm starting to think these earthquakes are unnatural cause usually aftershocks are smaller." the Tamer said pointing at the floor as the earthquake continued. Starfire flew around the room, confused.
"Why does the ground shake like this?" She asked.
"It's how the Earth works Star, it's constantly shifting around," Cyborg said as he and Beast Boy continued to watch TV. However, the earthquake continued for awhile.
"Uh, shouldn't this be stopping by now?" Beast Boy asked until the shaking stopped. "Like I said I think these earthquakes are unnatural cause usually aftershocks are smaller." Yuki repeated what he said as the computer came up pinpointing the location of the earthquake, out in the middle of the desert area. Cyborg typed on the computer to zoom in on the location to see a giant scorpion barreling through the desert.
"Guess we found our earthquake," Yuki said, "Um is that a SkullScorpionmon?" Kotemon asked as his Tamer turned to him, "Um Kotemon that's probably a giant mutated scorpion, ether it was a SkullScorpionmon, a SkullScorpionmon can't use earthquake base attacks." Yuki corrected him.
"Yuki's right." Raven said as she typed on the computer and zoomed in closer to see the scorpion chasing after a teenage blond-haired girl.
"She's in danger! We gotta hurry!" Beast Boy yelled as the Titans made their way out of the Tower towards the desert.
Later, in the desert area
The giant scorpion chased the girl into a broad canyon, as the girl looked like was running as if trying to beat the devil in a hundred-yard dash. The girl was very thin, with spindly arms and legs. On a closer look her clothing consisted of denim shorts, a light gray long-sleeved shirt, and a dark gray crop top with black sleeves over the undershirt. Her hair was long, blond, and straight, and she also wore thick brown leather gloves and hiking boots, and a butterfly-shaped hair clip over her right ear.
As she continued sprinting through the rocky terrain, she turned to look over her shoulder as the pursuer's shadow fell over her, revealing large, light blue eyes that broadcasted her fear quite clearly. The scorpion had nearly closed the gap and worked its mandibles in anticipation of a meal. As the young blonde charged ahead, the giant tail of the creature lifted for a strike; it came down inches from her and threw her off balance. The force of the attack sent her skidding across the ground. When she came to a stop, she rubbed her head to reorient herself and noticed that her hair clip had been knocked loose and was in the dirt next to her. Before she could pick it up, the enormous stinger of the massive arachnid punched into the dirt, just barely missing her as she got to her feet and ran off.
Just as she swerved around another outcropping, her pursuer swept one of its' claws against the stone, blasting debris everywhere. The girl then vaulted over a lower formation to keep ahead and ran flat until she came to a dead end. Once she reached the wall of rock, she turned and found the beast's shadow falling over her. She cowered against the sheer face as the scorpion prepared to lunge.
"Why do you want to eat me anyway?" the girl cried. "I'm nothing but skin and bones!" she said hoping to deter it with that, then remembering how self-conscious she was about the whole thing.
However, instead of seizing it's next meal, the giant predator looked up to the sky where it saw a figure silhouetted against the morning sun. Before it had time to react, the arachnid felt the figure come down with both feet and slammed its face into the dirt. It then felt something grab its tail and fling it away from the blonde.
As the scorpion skidded to a stop underneath a natural rock bridge, Robin leapt onto a ledge on one side of the canyon, followed by the rest of the team. "Titans! GO!" The leader shouted, as he got ready to help the defenseless prey.
But before any of them could move, another tremor that shook the ground caught the team by surprise. Inside the canyon, the young blonde assumed a cruel smile while her eyes glowed yellow and her hair blew all around her. The rock beneath the Titans' feet began cracking and shifting, and one end of the natural bridge across the canyon broke loose before being lifted into the air.
Raising her hands and groaning with effort, the young blonde lifted the slab higher and higher, revealing her hands to be glowing the same color as her eyes. Finally, she brought them down, and the rock dropped squarely on top of the scorpion, crushing it flat. With one final tail spasm and scream of pain, the mighty predator fell silent.
With the crisis averted, the girl suppressed her power, letting her hair fall over her face, where she placidly pushed it back over her right ear. Once she got a good look at the brunette standing in front of her, her eyes lit up while a giant smile stretched across her face.
Back on the ridge, the rest of the Titans saw what happen. "Whoa." Kotemon awed, "Well at least we know where the earthquakes came from." Yuki said. "She was not in trouble." Starfire stated as she looked down confusedly.
"She was leading it into a trap!" Cyborg exclaimed.
"Question is..." Robin stated. "Who is she?" Beast Boy finished, completely awestruck by the blondes' abilities.
Unbeknownst to the young team, a familiar foe hid inside a dark fissure in the side of a rock face up on a ledge behind them. When the armored foe stepped out of the darkness, it was revealed to be Slade. "Don't get too attached, Titans." The masked villain said to himself as he eyed the young blonde canyon, "I saw her first."
The girl lifted the patch of rock she was standing on and carried her up to the ledge where the Titans were standing. She then jumped off the rock and onto the ledge in front of the Titans was at a loss for words as they stared dumbfounded at this girl who had moved large pieces of earth with ease. "What? Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before?" Terra asked cockily as she placed her hands on her hips and raised her left eyebrow.
After another moment, Robin regained his composure and stepped forward, "I'm Robin." The Boy Wonder introduced as he held out his right hand, "We're the-"
"Teen Titans! Rock on!" The energetic blonde gleefully cheered as she tapped her own fist against his outstretched hand. "It's cool to meet you guys. I'm Terra. Let's see, you're…" The now named Terra began pointing to each member, "Cyborg," The bionic nodded with a smile as he greeted the girl, "Raven," The cloaked girl nodded, "Starfire," Said Titan curtsied, "Yuki and Kotemon," as the two waved, "And…"
"Boy Beast!" The green teen exclaimed in a panic, "Uh… I mean, Bass Boot!... NO!" He stammered as he nervously covered his eyes, knowing he just screwed up his first impression.
"Beast Boy?" The earth shifter asked happily. This caused the changeling to scream before turning into a turtle, tucking his head and legs into the shell as he spun in midair.
'Well looks like someone's have a crush.' Yuki thought as he saw Beast Boy's reaction.
"Dude! He's hilarious!" she said laughing.
This comment caught the embarrassed reptiles' attention as he stopped spinning and poked his head out, "Hilarious? Me? Really?" He asked happily. The blonde tipped him a wink in response, and in no time flat, Beast Boy was back in human form and absolutely thunderstruck. Hearts floated up from him as he staggered giddily about with more of the same in his eyes as he passed out. Kotemon and Cyborg chuckled at their love-struck friend.
"Curiosity abounds." Starfire stated happily as she flew up and met with the newcomer, "Please: Where do you come from; how did you get here; what is your favorite color; do you wish to be my friend?" She asked in rapid succession as she leaned closer and closer into Terra's face, causing her to lean backwards.
"Um…" The confused heroine processed the questions for a brief moment before speaking, "Earth, walked, red, and… sure."
The Tamaranian gasped excitedly before pulling her into a bear hug. "Hello, new friend!" She cheered as she squeezed the little girl tighter; the sound of bones grinding against one another rang through the air.
"How's it going?" Terra strained to say through her strangulation. Starfire released her crushing grip, dropping the new arrival back to the ledge.
"So, what brings such a cool little chickie to our big, groovy city, huh?" Beast Boy said, trying to play cool. The Tamer leaned over to Raven when he realized what Beast Boy was doing.
"I think Beast Boy has fallen head over heels for her," Yuki whispered to Raven.
"It's pretty darn obvious," The cloaked girl replied.
"Oh, you know, just going where the wind takes me." The young drifter explained, trying to act cool, "Seeing new places, meeting new people, stomping a few bad guys here and there." She listed as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Cool!" Beast Boy laughed as he slid up next to the girl.
"Fascinating!" The auburn-haired Titan smiled.
"Well, all right!" Cyborg stated, sounding approving of her lifestyle.
Robin, Yuki, Kotemon, and Raven traded a look of uneasiness before the former spoke, "You mean, you don't have a home?"
"The Earth is my home." The young geokinetic explained as she gestured to the land around them. "I've been crashing in a cave on the other side of the hill."
"Unacceptable!" Starfire exclaimed as she zipped up and stood in front the shorter girl, "I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness."
"I have a flashlight." Terra added, seemingly missing the point.
To her surprise, the taller alien teen grabbed her arm and began hauling her past the others, "You will stay with us." She demanded as she continued pulling the blonde.
The blue-eyed girl tried resisting as she dragged her feet, "Really, I-I'm…"
"Come on, we got plenty of room." Cyborg tried persuading as he walked up and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Yeah! And I can make you laugh some more." Beast Boy joyfully stated as he placed a gag glasses, large nose, and mustache combo on his face, "I'm hilarious, remember?" He said as he removed the gag.
Terra laughed as she finally came around to their hospitality, "Well, I guess I could stay one night."
"Oh, glorious!"
"Yes!"
"Boo-yah!" The trio of Titans jubilantly cheered before they continued leading their new friend toward their home.
Yuki, Kotemon, Raven, and Robin stayed confused.
"Well, that was interesting," Yuki said, "Yeah looks like we might have a new Titan here." Kotemon said as the two about to follow them when they and Raven noticed Robin inspecting the cliff edge.
"Everything okay?" The blue sorceress asked.
"Not sure." The Boy Wonder responded as he picked up some dirt and let it fall. "Something just doesn't feel right."
Having gone unnoticed the entire time; Slade examined the quartet of Titans that stayed before slowly retreating back into the darkness of the elevated fissure.
"Oh stop having that feeling that we're being watched Robin." Yuki said as the Boy Wonder stood up, "Yeah, let's get home before Beast Boy does something embarrassing." Kotemon finished.
With a nod, Robin turned around and the four of them headed home. After they were gone, the area where they were standing crumbled away in a great cloud of dust.
Titans Tower
With the events of the morning behind them, the team could finally kick back, relax, and show the newcomer everything about the Tower. Inside the Ops Center, Terra was excitedly scanning the room, clearly impressed by what she saw.
"Whoa! Nice digs!" The young blonde complimented as she approached the windows, "And check out the view!" After admiring the view for a few moments, she flopped onto the couch and placed her feet on the coffee table, "I can't believe you guys actually live here!" She awed as Beast Boy poked his head up from behind the couch before vaulting over and sitting next to her.
"Su casa es mi casa." The green teen incorrectly stated. "So do you want the grand tour," He asked as he scooted closer to the girl, "Or…"
"Got any food?" Terra asked with a sudden crazed, and bugged out look in her eyes.
The next thing everybody realized was a huge mound of dirty dishes accompanied by the sound of gobbling. At the end of the kitchen counter, Terra was stuffing her face at warp speed. How one person could put away enough food in one sitting to empty all those pans and plates was a mystery best left unexplained. All the Titans, save for Starfire, watched the display of sheer gluttony with stunned shock.
The gluttonous earthmover wolfed down some more food from a bowl in front of her, then tipped the rest of the contents into her mouth. She threw the empty container aside just as Starfire placed a plate of meatloaf next to her. Her head expanded until it was big enough as she took the plate and threw the contents into her mouth. It shrunk to normal size as she swallowed the last of her meal and released a thundering belch.
After that display, the alien cook flew up next to her, "Might you now wish to partake of my homemade glorg?" The redhead asked cheerfully as she held up a plate of what could be some alien gelatinous mass with several gray, wriggling, wormlike… things.
"NO!" Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Yuki, Kotemon, and Raven all exclaimed in an attempt to spare the innocent girl of the atrocious food.
Despite their protests, Terra seized the plate and slid the entire contents into her mouth and swallowed. "Tastes like… sushi mixed with ice cream." The blonde commented; each item appeared above her head in a thought cloud. "Got any more?" She asked as she handed the plate back to the giddy Tamaranian.
"I shall go cultivate the fungus!" Starfire nodded as she flew off, plate in hand, while the rest of the team watched her leave the room.
After she left, the little teen turned her attention to her taller friend, "So, where's the tub?"
A few minutes later, Cyborg and Beast Boy were peeking into one of the hallway bathrooms and were absolutely floored by whatever was inside. "Whoa." The metallic Titan gasped. Inside the bathroom, shower curtain, bathtub, walls, floor, towels-all were liberally splattered with dirt and marked with the prints of grubby hands and feet. "Mud bath."
Having finished her bath and changed into white slippers and a white robe that was too long for her arms, Terra stood next to them as they mentally processed the damages. "Sorry. Guess I was due for a rinse." The now clean geokinetic apologized as she rubbed the back of her head. "Mind if I use your sink?"
Back inside the Ops Center kitchen, Terra was busy washing her clothes in a soapy sink as she listened to music from headphones connected to a Walkman. After some more scrubbing, she pulled out her crop top, freshly hand-washed, and hung it on a nearby clothesline, where the rest of her outfit was already drip-drying. At the entrance of the room, the Titans watched her with bemused stares.
"Well, she seems comfortable." Raven spoke as they made their way into the room.
"Probably the closest she has to being comfortable in a long time though," Yuki added as he turned to look at the girl who was making her way over to the couch "Yeah and safe." Kotemon said as he and the rest of the team looked over at their house guest.
Setting the Walkman on the cushions, Terra sat down, stretched expansively, yawned, and then curled into a little ball. A moment later, she began snoring loudly and sprawled out to her full length, with one foot hanging over the edge.
"Wonder how long it's been since she had a decent place to crash for the night." Beast Boy stated with concern in his voice.
"She needs more than a place to crash." The masked leader gathered from his examination of the girl.
"She needs a home." The orange teen stated.
After a moment of thinking, the shape-shifting Titans' eyes lit up with an idea, "Why not our home?" He asked, "She could stay here with us."
"Yes!" Starfire cheered.
"That's a great idea." The Tamer said, "Alright!" the Digimon exclaimed agreed.
"I don't know." Raven voiced her caution about inviting a girl they barely know to live with them.
"She would make a good addition to the team." Cyborg argued.
"Maybe." Robin said as the rest of the team faced him, "Let's ask her to train with us tomorrow. We need to see what she can do."
What the team didn't know was that the girl sleeping on the couch had heard the entire conversation since her music stopped. The expression on her face felt like betray that started taking hold of her when she heard about the plan for tomorrow.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly. After making the plan to ask Terra to train with them, the Titans separated as they thought their new friend was still asleep on the couch. Beast Boy was the only one who stayed up for a bit longer deiced to bring a blanket as he went to the Ops Center not noticing that he woke Yuki up as he saw the blanket Beast Boy was carrying, 'Look at that Beast Boy's thinks that Terra might be cold. I need to see this.' he thought as he tiptoed softly so Beast Boy can't hear him, as the two reached the Ops Center.
"Hey Terra, I thought you might be cold…"
The couch was empty with the walkman left behind.
"Terra?"
Beast Boy searched everywhere until he found her. The changeling felt his heart sputter to a stop watching Terra skip the rocks across the ocean, her eyes electric golden, then dark blue. It was as remarkable as it was terrifying. Mainly because she was the only girl who said he was funny. Besides Raven, but that was a long time ago back before she got stuck living with him. He went to join her as Yuki who kept to the shadows hid behind a rock.
"Couldn't sleep huh?" He asked as she was about to sit down, a large rock aimed and ready for firing before she realized who it was.
"Jeez BB. Give a girl a little warning next time," she said setting the rock down. "I nearly took your head off."
"I-It's fine…" he said nervously, "So I guess the couch was too lumpy?"
"No… Just… thinking where I stand…" she said as her eyes flashed yellow, a stone rising before it was sent out at the water in a geo-kinetic pulse.
"Where you stand?" Beast Boy asked chucking a stone out as well, though nowhere near as far as Terra's did.
"It isn't important…" she said before sighing, "I… I'll probably just leave in the morning. …I can't stay," she found herself whispering, Beast Boy felt his mind reel Yuki heard this, 'What?!' he thought as he got a shocked look.
"Why not?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean come on. I saw how well you took to the place. We've got free cable, indoor plumbing, all the tofu you can eat," he counted off.
"Tofu? You sure know how to charm a girl. I guess I could hang out for one more day." she chuckled, her eyes suddenly blazing and her hair being blown straight out as a light shone over her, the rock BB was sitting on being lifted into the air before it was lifted out from under him, the changeling dropped on his back before the boulder landed in the water Yuki saw this and was shocked 'What the- she can't control her powers?!' he thought. "Oh! I'm sorry. I am SO stupid! Don't tell. Please don't tell!"!" she pleaded as he got back up.
"Terra, it's okay. You can't totally control your powers. So what?" he asked like it was no big deal.
"Beast Boy, don't tell anyone about this!" she pleaded, "You better not tell anyone. Ever!"
"Sure," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Swear it!" she ordered with eyes glowing, the ground shaking a bit before she took a few calming breaths, the slight tremor stopping.
"Okay! Okay! I promise. But really, it's no big deal. If my friends knew, they'd still like you," he said dismissively.
Little did the two know Yuki who was watching them went back to the tower after Beast Boy said his promise, 'Yeah let's see this through.' he thought as he spoke "*Yawn* well time for more shut eye." He said as he went back to his and Kotemon's room
The Next Morning
The next morning, Cyborg was running at top speed as he crossed a broad plain outside the Tower. Steel columns, each topped with a large fist, shot up from the ground as he continued running. As he dodged each obstacle, Robin was working a control panel and caused several laser cannons to fire. The titanium athlete dashed, swerved, and jumped to avoid being hit. Now, the obstacle course operator activated more controls on the panel. On a screen, an image came up of a gateway with a large panel mounted in its top half that descended like the blade of a guillotine.
Out on the plain, three such structures rose from the ground just as the metallic runner approached. He got under the first two gates, but had to stop and catch the third before it could crush him. Straining mightily, he pushed it up on its tracks and leapt clear before it crashed back down. Cyborg wasn't out of the woods yet; launchers rose from the tops of two rocks and fired a stream of disc-shaped projectiles. Busting out his sonic cannon, the Titan shot down several of the oncoming attacks while dodging the rest.
On the side of the obstacle course, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Terra cheered their friend on while Robin, Raven, Yuki, and Kotemon stood behind the control panel that was situated up on a ledge behind them. Cyborg stopped and looked at a panel on his forearm once he crossed the finish line; it showed a time of 2:17.
"Boo-yah! New course record!" The victorious bionic boasted with a laugh.
"Well, yeah." The sorceress stated flatly, "You're the first one to do the course." This comment caused him to steam a bit as his eye twitched.
"Okay, Terra! Ready to show us what you can do?" The spiky-haired teen asked, leaning over the control panel.
Nodding in response, the nervous newcomer stepped up to the starting line. "I just hope you're ready to see it." She said to herself with uncertainty.
In an attempt to ease her troubled mind, Beast Boy walked over to the participant, "You can do it. 'Sides, it's just practice; it doesn't matter if you mess up." He said reassuringly. "Not that you're gonna mess up," He quickly corrected himself while scratching the back of his head, "but I'm just saying that even if you really blow it, you…" As he trailed off, Terra placed her blue goggles over her eyes and shot a quizzical look at him, "Shutting up now." He said before backing up.
"Countdown initiated!" Robin called out, the timer on the front of the control panel starting to count down from 11. "Good luck, Terra."
"Come on, Terra!"
"You go, girl!"
"Onward to victory!" Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire enthusiastically shouted as their new friend walked further and further from them.
"Don't lose control. Don't lose control." The geokinetic told herself while she limbered up.
Once the timer reached zero, the young blonde clenched her fists and summoned her powers into them. On the path in front of her, laser cannons sprang out of the rocks and began firing. She raised the spot of land she was standing on as a large column of stone to dodge, and the blasts struck it repeatedly. After enough abuse, the column broke apart. Luckily, she caught herself on a large fragment and rode it down with a much larger boulder under her influence. Using the bigger rock to break the cannons, she safely flew through the air into the wall of dust caused by the destroyed equipment. Terra coughed a bit as she made her way through the dust. Once it cleared, she panicked as she saw what she was approaching. Yelling and frantically waving her arms, she attempted to maneuver herself around giant steel fists that punched up from the ground.
A glancing blow almost knocked her from her flying perch, but she dug in her fingers and kept aloft. Another cry of terror left her mouth as she flipped onto one side to avoid the next fist, but it was no use; this giant blockade smashed the rock into gravel and sent her tumbling. Thinking quickly, she levitated several boulders and grabbed hold of one big enough to carry her. A relieved little sigh gave way to more panic as she realized she was heading for a crash landing against a rock formation in front of her. With a mighty effort, the geokinetic was able pull up the leading edge of her perch and barely grazed the natural formation in front of her.
As Robin pressed more buttons on the panel to trigger the next challenge, he and Raven observed from their seats while the other Titans watched in admiration.
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Glorious!" Cyborg and Starfire rooted as they jumped with joy.
"Yeah! You da man, Terra!" Beast Boy shouted before soon realizing how badly he fumbled his wording, "Um… I mean… you're the… way to go!" He finally cheered as he gave her two 'thumbs-up.'
Unfortunately for "da man" in question, she was spinning along, barely in control of that boulder, and was headed straight for the guillotine-like gates. At the last possible second, she brought up a snake of stone and used it to punch through the upper panel of each gate. She then leapt from her flying pedestal and ran across the long pillar.
"We're gonna need a new obstacle course." The resident mage sighed while the brunette moved over to her end and worked a few controls.
With the next challenge activated, Terra was flung free from the stone snake, and sent screaming toward a large pit that was opening in the earth. She brought one rock toward herself, but couldn't get a hold of it. She had better luck with a second boulder, but lost her grip and slid to the edge where she scrabbled for a finger hold. Unfortunately, gravity proved to be a harsh mistress and dragged the lithe blonde into the hole. A couple of fist-sized stones fell after her, and she was able to get a hold on each of them. Using them to lift herself back up, she dropped them after clearing the pit and jumped onto a larger rock to sail onward.
"Wow I guess that she's as powerful as me." Kotemon said as Yuki turned to Kotemon 'Oh you don't know the half of it.' the Tamer thought.
Robin and Raven watched in silence while the three vocal Titans cheered while the Boy Wonder continued activating more challenges.
The next challenge was the disc launchers. Caught by surprise by the flying discs, Terra pulled up the leading edge of her stone to shield herself. To retaliate, she quickly swept her hand through the air and sent rock fragments of all sizes hurtling toward the projectiles and launchers. All of the equipment was quickly put out of commission, thus leaving everything in the obstacle course completely destroyed.
As she came in for a landing, the stone broke when it struck the ground, throwing the young blonde ahead to skid to a very unsteady stop on her feet. As the dust cleared, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire stared wide-eyed at her. Trying to pass off the entire run as though it was planned, Terra straightened up into the sort of pose every gymnast does when landing after a routine.
After a brief moment of silence, the three Titans on the ground broke into wild cheering while the victorious teen lowered her goggles.
The friendly changeling was the first to approach the newcomer, "You rock!" He congratulated.
"Magnificent success!" The energetic Tamaranian praised as she quickly zipped over to the pair.
The third cheerleader was examining the panel on his right forearm with a sullen look. On it, the time 1:56 was flashing in bright blue; his record was beaten by over twenty seconds.
"Looks like we have a new course record." Raven stated flatly, catching her bionic friend off guard.
"I musta softened it up for her," Cyborg said shrugging his shoulders.
"You were incredible!" Beast Boy complimented as he held up his left hand for a high-five. Much to his surprise, the youth he complimented laughed and swept him into a monster hug.
"I did it! You said I could do it, and you were right." She thanked him sincerely. As a result of the hug, hearts spewed forth from the little green joker. After she released him, the love-struck teen staggered woozily backward before toppling to the ground.
Next was Yuki and Kotemon's turn to congratulate the newcomer. As they walk the former had a concerned look on his face, "I don't know maybe-" Yuki was then interrupted by Kotemon, "Wow that's amazing that's second time a person destroyed the obstacle course." the Digimon said.
"Thanks." the geokinetic said
"It may have been a little rough around the edges, but you've got some real talent there." Robin commended as he made his way down from the panel as well.
"You think?" Terra smiled eagerly.
The Boy Wonder nodded, "With a little more training, you could-" Before he could finish his thought, the ringing of his communicator cut him off in. He pulled it out and flipped it open.
Completely nonplussed, the newcomer looked back at the rest of the Titans and saw much of their outfit flashing. The emergency signal in Starfire's neckpiece began to flash, as did the one on Beast Boy's belt. Cyborg looked at his forearm panel while Yuki and Kotemon pulled out their own flashing communicator. As Raven floated down to join the group, Terra noticed the signal in her cloak's brooch was flashing as well.
"Okay. Why is everybody blinking?" The annoyed teen asked as locks of hair fell over her right eye.
Inside the Ops Center, everyone was gathered in front of the window screen where a still image of Slade was displayed against a white background.
"Slade." Robin hissed, "He's back."
At the back of the group Terra was standing between Beast Boy and Kotemon, "Slade?" She vocally asked the greenling.
"Bad guy. Way bad." He explained as though he were whispering into her ear.
"And very dangerous." The Digimon added with the blonde turning to look at him, "Someone you should avoid."
Back in front of the screen, the spiky-haired teen did a bit of typing on the control panel. After a moment, the picture of the masked villain shrank to a small box against a map of Jump City and an arrow pointed from the mug shot to a particular spot.
"Got a fix on his location." The Titan leader stated, "Titans! Move out!"
With a nod from the other teammates, they vacated the premises while Terra watched, hopelessly puzzled. Before he left the room, Beast Boy stopped short and turned around to address the house guest. "Hey! You coming or what?" He called back to the dejected teen.
She smiled broadly and ran out with him, locking her arm with his, as the door closed behind them.
Underground Mining Tunnel
Inside an underground mining excavation, with assorted earth-moving equipment parked among cart tracks, several men were at work. Without warning, a series of laser blasts attacked them and threw them all into chaos.
"Protect the diamonds!" One of the miners shouted from behind a crate of the precious cargo. Unfortunately, more blasts sent him and his coworkers across the ground as two robotic commandos surrounded them. As the panicking miner crawled across the ground, he stopped when he bumped into the legs of another figure. Looking up, he saw another robotic commando. As he quickly got to his feet and ran, the robotic commando, as well as the many more commandos, opened fire on the workers.
"Forget the rocks, they're taking over the entire mine!" Another miner yelled as he and the rest of the workers hastily made their way out of the cavern.
As the robotic commandos continued firing at the fleeing men, a birdarang flew across the cavern and knocked the weapons from their hands. This caught the attackers' attentions as they turned and faced the team standing at the entrance of the mine.
"Tell your boss we'd like a word with him." Robin quipped as his projectile returned to him. The robotic commandos then charged to attack. "Titans! GO!" The Boy Wonder shouted.
As the seven Titans charged, Terra came up behind them, put on her goggles, and took to the air on a boulder. "You boys ready to rock?" She taunted. But before she could do anything, two robots jumped onto her perch and grappled with her.
On ground level Yuki and Kotemon faced a few robots, "Let's go Kotemon." the Tamer said as he took out the Digivolution card and D-Arc.
*Cue DigiModify! Blank track*
With that said Yuki whirls the Digivolution card around catching it in his hand he then swipes the card through the D-Arc. "Digi-Modify..." as he shouted letting the data of the card run through it, "...Digivoltion Activate!"
*Cue Digimon Tamers~Digivolution Theme (US)*
The words DIGIVOLUTION appeared on Yuki's D-Arc and it begins the Digivoultion process with Kotemon shouting "Kotemon...Digivole to...Musyamon!"
Musyamon then charged at the robots in front of him, "Ninja Blade!" Musyamon shouted as he slashed the heads off of the robots as said robots shut down.
At the same time, Robin engaged one robot at close quarters and drove it back with a kick to the gut before hearing the sound of weapons being primed. Turning around he found himself facing an entire squadron of reinforcements. Whipping out his fighting staff and extending it to full length, he twirled his weapon in the air before bracing himself for the upcoming brawl. As they charged, the veteran Titan knocked them away one after another. This didn't last too long as numbers proved to be more effective as the enemies dog-piled on the masked teen. One mighty effort threw all the robots clear and left him standing alone. One leveled its weapon and was about to fire on the distracted leader, but was promptly plowed away by a boulder from the geokinetic. Two more came up behind the inexperienced girl and charged her. One was torn in half on a stone spike she raised while running off.
One robot gained a high vantage point and took careful aim at the spiky-haired Titan. Starfire flew past a load of steel girders held aloft by a crane and blew apart a second robot that jumped up to stop her. The resulting explosion obscured the view of the robot, but did not stop the shooter from pulling the trigger. Robin continued his fight with several others and was thrown clear when the shot blasted the brawl.
"Robin!" The Tamaranian cried worriedly. To avenge her friend, she flew back toward the shooter and unleashed a few starbolts that sent the robot tumbling. However, the shooter, as well as two more robots that jumped up at her, grabbed hold of her in midair and bore her struggling to the ground. Two more moved in to lend a hand, but the resident bionic seized them and knocked their heads together.
"Hang on, Star!" Cyborg shouted as he broke out his cannon and ran into the fray.
Now two other robots dropped to ground level and charged in. As these two occupied the charging metallic Titan, another robot climbed into the driver's seat of a large drilling vehicle and fired it up.
Cyborg had his cannon going at full throttle, dispatching several aggressors, including the ones holding Starfire on the ground, allowing her to free herself and take to the air. A laser blast struck the cannon and forced the titanium Titan to cease-fire. As other shots flashed past him, he looked over at the shooters, then up at the overhead load of girders. A well-placed shot broke the platform holding them up and dumped a few tons of steel on the opposition. A victorious smile stretched across his face, but soon changed to an expression of shock when the sound of a drill's engine caught his attention. A cry of surprise escaped his lips when he saw the giant drill coming straight toward him.
"No!" He shouted as he brought his hands up to try and stop the machine from drilling a hole into him. As strong as the bionic teen was, the machine proved to be a bit too much for him. The tip started grinding against the metallic side of his head as the momentum of the machine slowly pushed him back toward the wall of the excavation.
On the other side of the excavation, Yuki tossed two commandos to a wall while Musyamon used his Ninja Blade at more robots. The Tamer then felt another robot leap onto his back. He quickly pulled the attacker over his shoulder and hurled it across the ground where it collided with another aggressor and knocked it to the ground. As three more commandos came up behind him, they were seized by black energy and thrown across the cavern into the wall.
Turning around, he saw Raven float down next to him, "Thanks." He smiled. The sound of a drill whirring caught their attention as they turned to see the giant digging vehicle collide with their robotic friend.
"No!" The Tamer cried as Cyborg gripped the drill and tried pushing it back from his body.
"Cyborg!" Yuki yelled as he ran toward his endangered comrade with the mage in tow. Before they could get close enough, another robotic commando dropped down in front of them and hindered their progress. Before the robot could do anything Musyamon ran up to it and used his Ninja Blade at the robot slashed the head off it as the robot shut down.
"Nice job Musyamon." Yuki said to his partner. "Thanks Yuki" the Digimon said.
With the robot out of commission, the blue-cloaked sorceress flew into the air to help her bionic friend. Once she was finally close enough, she levitated a cart with her influence. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted as she let the makeshift projectile fly. It proved to be effective as it crashed into the robot driver and sent it careening across the excavation.
Having noticed the giant drill digging into his cybernetic comrade, Beast Boy sprinted over to help his friends. "Raven, look out!" The shape-shifter warned once he was within earshot.
Several robots had surrounded the mage and opened fire. She was able to shield herself from the shots and lifted into the air as several other blasts lanced toward her. Raven dodged the fusillade, after which the green teen leapt into the free-fire zone, transformed into a stegosaurus, and came crashing down on the shooters, sending the lot scattering.
Musyamon keep using his Ninja Blade at the robots that kept going toward to Yuki slashing the heads off them as a tremor shook.
More and more commandos kept coming and eventually overpowered the green dinosaur. Concentrating their fire, they began driving it back toward the entrance of a mine tunnel, where the young geokinetic was dropping a piece of the ceiling on a robot. She stopped several falling rocks in midair and launched them at the oncoming minions to end their laser fire. However, the effort was a genuine strain on her, judging from her groans and the flash of her eyes behind the goggles.
"Can't control it!" She groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut. The force of her powers caused her goggles' lenses to shatter with a great flash as well as cause more of the ceiling to fall in.
The green stegosaurus whipped its' tail around to repel more opposition, then returned to human form. Seeing a few smaller rocks fall around him, Beast Boy looked up, his face went slack, and he let off a scared little whimper as the shadow of a descending slab fell over him.
"BEAST BOY!" Terra screamed fearfully, catching the attention of the rest of the team. Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, Yuki, and Musyamon all looked in her direction just as the cave collapsed, cutting them off from the blonde.
Inside the darkened cave, one of the smashed robots, with its bottom half gone, began crawling toward the girl while others got to their feet and advanced as well. Removing her ruined goggles and placing them around her neck, Terra gathered herself for a mighty effort; once again her eyes and fists glowed yellow, and columns of stone descended from the ceiling to crush every robot. The last spasm of movement was from a sparking hand. When it stopped, she ran off deeper into the tunnel.
The distraught leader of the Titans dashed to the cave-in site and started to clear away the rock. Starfire joined in the effort as Cyborg and Musyamon warded enemies away from them and Yuki. Raven arrived a moment later and moved a larger slab. After most of the rocks were gone, the largest slab of the pile was lifted away by a colossal green Sasquatch and tossed aside.
"You okay?" Robin asked his friend as he tossed a rock to the ground. The green creature nodded as it rubbed the back of its' head.
Transforming back to human form, Beast Boy scanned the room, "Where's Terra?" He asked worriedly.
Yuki came up to them and pointed in the direction of the cave-in. "I'm guessing still in there." He stated uneasily.
Further inside the tunnel that collapsed, Terra stumbled over to a wall and leaned against it for support. Winded and exhausted, she tried catching her breath after having escaped her pursuers. After a moment, she slid down to the ground and looked at her hands.
"Why can't I do this?" She muttered to herself as she clenched her fists in anger and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't have time to answer her own question as the sound of echoing, running footsteps drew her attention. Looking toward the source of the noise, she saw another figure dash past a junction into another tunnel. "Slade." She hissed softly.
Going after him as fast as her legs could carry her, she noticed the armored man cut the corner and head down another passageway. After following him, the earthmover skidded to a stop and raised one hand to cave in the ceiling just ahead of him. He quickly stopped running as he found himself trapped and with no escape.
"Looks like I've got you." The eager blonde boasted as she walked up to the dangerous villain.
To her surprise, a huge leap carried the mercenary airborne and deposited him just behind her, where he performed a swift low kick that dumped her to the ground. Straightening up, he produced a sphere with his insignia on it. "Actually, Terra…" Slade said before throwing the object upward; it stuck to the ceiling and started beeping as a red light flashed, "…I've got you."
The device exploded in a mighty blast that wiped out the entire ceiling, dropping many large rocks behind him. Once the second cave-in finished, Slade walked implacably toward the downed girl. Emergency lights switched on at the bases of the tunnel walls, bathing the enclosed space in eerie yellow-green light. His approaching silhouette put fresh fear into the downed girl, who scuttled backward a bit and found herself staring directly into the black-and-orange mask of the villain.
"Now, Terra…" Slade stated in his eerily calm voice, the young girl quickly standing up and backing away from the man, "…you walked right into a trap. Another mistake." He said as he pulled out a metal staff and leaned over her. "You of all people should know better. But at least you and I are finally getting a chance to talk."
At the end of his sentence, he tried to hit the girl with a jab, but she easily ducked to the side and countered by launching a stone at him from the wall. It zipped past him, just barely missing.
"Hmm." The Titans' archenemy mused, looking in the direction the stone went. "I see we have much to talk about."
"Mind if I talk with my hands?" Terra growled as she summoned two large stone snakes from the walls and hurtled them toward her opponent. Slade dove to his right to avoid being crushed between them and landed in a kneeling crouch position at the young geokinetics' feet.
"Good, Terra." He complimented, "But not good enough!" The armored commando swung his staff and followed up with a jab. Terra sidestepped both attacks and somersaulted away, as well as rolling out of range of another overhead swing that was sent her way.
Before she could move again, Slade brought the staff down to cut off her anticipated movement. Bringing her hands to her head, the frightened blonde huddled on the ground under his next descending blow, but a chunk of rock surged up from the ground and sent him staggering backward across the tunnel.
Terra, still behind the makeshift shield, peered cautiously around the edge and saw the mercenary approaching. She stepped out and heaved the mass toward him.
Planting the end of his staff in the ground, he swung himself up along its length, just barely dodging the attack. The rock struck the staff and broke it, but left him untouched. As the slab crashed into the wall, he regained his footing.
"Impressive-unless, of course, you were aiming for me." Slade goaded as he dropped the piece of staff he was still holding onto and slowly advanced toward her.
The blonde backed up a bit and launched several medium-sized stones from the tunnel wall at him. A mighty punch shattered the biggest of them, and as she sent out another volley, he moved in and knocked several out of the air. Now she hurled a colossal boulder at him, but one blow smashed it and drove her back against the wall, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"Back off!" She yelled as she quickly stood up. "I'm with the Titans! They'll be coming to-"
"You don't belong with the Titans." The imposing criminal interrupted.
"You don't know anything about me!" Terra shot back.
"On the contrary, Terra." Slade argued as he produced her missing butterfly hair clip and held it up, "I know everything about you." The blondes' expression changed from that of anger to shock in a split second. "I've been watching you for some time. I know why you're always running away. I know your secret, little girl."
"No!" The little girl shouted defiantly as she rushed him. His proved futile as he seized her wrist and forced her back against the wall.
"Earthquakes. Avalanches. Mudslides." The terrifying villain listed as he leaned in close to her, "Everywhere you go, you try to do good." He stated as he released his hold on the girl, "And everywhere you fail. So everyone turns against you."
Broken down by his words, Terra turned away from the man, and without the clip, her hair fell forward and obscured the right half of her face.
"You lack control, Terra." Slade continued as he gently pinned her hair back with the clip, "And when you lose control, you are more dangerous than anything I've ever seen." The young outcast looked up at him wonderingly as he turned away. "But it doesn't have to be this way. I can help you, child."
"You can?" The scared little girl asked.
The armored commando bent over and picked up a small stone, "Right now you are… rough around the edges." He explained as he held up the object, "You need more than obstacle courses to overcome your problem. You need a teacher. A mentor." Slade went on as he squeezed the stone viciously, causing it to crumble. "Come with me, Terra, and I can teach you to shine." He opened his fist on the end of his sentence, revealing a diamond in his palm.
She looked on, completely befuddled, then up at him. "But… they took me in. Gave me a home." Terra defended weakly.
It seemed that Slade was succeeding in leading the young girl astray.
"Beast Boy-"
"-can't keep his mouth shut forever." The criminal mastermind interjected, "He'll tell him."
This struck a nerve as the geokinetic balled her fists angrily and warmed them up. "He promised!" She growled as the tunnel started shaking.
"He lied."
"Shut up!" Terra shouted as torrents of dirt and stone went flying in her rage, "Just shut up and leave me alone!" She shut her eyes tightly as a few tears began breaking from them. When she opened them up, they were glowing yellow with a fierce intensity. Gasping in shock, she dropped to her knees and held her head. "Don't lose control… don't lose control!"
"Now, Terra…" She heard Slade call out to her, "…how can you lose something you never had?" The debris flew in circles around her as she voiced a tormented scream.
Elsewhere in the tunnel, pieces of rock were shaken loose by the force of her outburst. In the main excavation, one last robot was knocked backward and smashed against the side of a crane, accompanied by a yell from Robin.
Looking up as the place trembles, the Boy Wonder saw stones falling from above as Raven flew over to him. "We need to get out of here." She stated.
"Slade's trying to bring down the whole mine!" Cyborg shouted as he ran over to join them.
"I'm not sure he's the one doing this." The masked Titan returned as Starfire swooped down next to him.
"I cannot locate Terra or Beast Boy." She said worriedly.
Yuki then spoke up "Don't worry I'm sure they're safe." He said as Musyamon turned to his Tamer. "Yuki do you know somthing?" the Digimon asked softly.
Robin mulled over this for a second before giving Yuki a nod.
Amid the chaos inside the tunnel, a wall of collapsed rock parted, giving Slade the escape he needed. "No one else understands you, Terra." He shouted as he looked at the funnel cloud that developed from Terra's breakdown. "No one else can help you. I'll be waiting." He finished before running through the opening and disappearing into the darkness of the mine.
As the girl huddled in the center of the destructive funnel, a green gopher popped up from the ground at a distance and caught sight of the maelstrom. Diving back underground, he burrowed toward it and under the edge of the funnel cloud. Inside, the small rodent emerged and returned to human form.
"Terra! Terra!" Beast Boy shouted, trying to snap her out of her breakdown. He jumped toward her and was nearly swept away by the gale storm. Only a one-handed grip on the terrified geokinetic's shoulder kept him from saying hello to the ceiling at two hundred miles an hour. The grab was enough to shake her out of the fit, and she fully realized how much danger he was in. His free hand and one of hers inched slowly toward each other and took hold for dear life. "It's okay, Terra. I'm here." He comforted the girl as she fell sobbing into his arms. "I'm here."
The whirlwind dissipated, leaving them slowly descending to the ground. Once they touched down, Terra looked up at her protector, "You won't-"
"I'm not gonna tell anybody." The changeling reassured her. "I promise." These words eased the weary, tear-stricken blonde as she felt him tenderly cradle her head.
Titans Tower-Night
After that exhausting commotion, and finally escaping the mines, the Titans returned to their home. The sun had finally set, leaving the moon to take over the sky.
Inside the Ops Center, Terra was slinging up her backpack. "Well, guys, uh, it's been real." She addressed the team, save Cyborg, Yuki, and Musyamon, "Seriously, thanks for everything, but I should-" She turned to leave, but the sliding door opened to reveal the bulking bionic blocking her exit.
"Don't even think about it." The metallic Titan smiled.
"Okay. What's going on?" The surprised blonde asked as she turned around to face the other four teens.
"Well…" Raven started.
"…we talked it over, and…" Cyborg continued.
"We wish for you to stay here, with us!" Starfire giggled happily.
"We think you'd make a great addition to our team." Robin added happily.
"So… want to be a Titan?" Beast Boy asked as the spiky-haired leader handed her a communicator.
"Me?" The speechless girl asked as she took the device, "Really?" as the geokinetic staring at the communicator in amazement. She finally felt like she had a place to belong. "I can't believe it. A Teen Titan." She smiled.
"Of course, you'll need more training." Robin stated, catching her attention, "I know you have trouble controlling your powers, and we can help."
These words sent a horrifying feeling up Terra's spine as she dropped the communicator. Her expression showed the battle between disappointment and fury raging in her head. "You told him?!" The furious blonde shouted as she addressed the green teen.
"I didn't!" Beast Boy defended, his ears dropping in sadness.
"You promised! You lied to me! You lied!" She screamed as she ran off, leaving her one chance for a home behind.
"Terra, no! Wait!" The shape-shifting teen shouted as he ran after her.
Meanwhile on the roof Yuki and Musyamon saw Terra about to leave, "Okay ready to talk some sense in her," The Tamer said as he took out the Matrix Digivolution card "Yeah." Musyamon said since the two were in their room and Yuki told the Digimon.
*Cue DigiModify! Blank track*
With that said Yuki whirls the Matrix Digivolution card around catching it in his hand he then swipes the card through the D-Arc. "Digi-Modify..." as he shouted letting the data of the card run through it, "...Matrix Digivoltion!"
*Cue Digimon Tamers~Digivolution Theme (US)*
The words MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION appeared on Yuki's D-Arc and it begins the Digivoultion process with Musyamon shouting "Musyamon... Digivolve to.. Asuramon!" and the Ultimate picked Yuki up and flew toward her.
Terra was floating on a rock looking at the Tower.
"It would be so nice to have a place call home." she said as she sighed.
"You're leaving without saying goodbye?" Yuki's voice asked behind her, the blonde turned around to see the Tamer and the Ultimate floating as Asuramon had Yuki on one of his hands, "I thought Robin was going to offer you membership."
"He did," Terra said, "But Beast Boy told him my secret."
"You mean the fact that you can't control you powers very well," The Tamer stated.
"Jeez he told you too," Terra said burying her eyes in her hands, "first Robin then you. I should have known I couldn't trust Beast Boy." the geokinetic said
"No," Yuki stated as he gave her a you're serious look.
This gave a shocked look at Terra, "What?" she asked.
"No Beast Boy did not tell me or Robin anything," Yuki said crossing his arms.
"But then how did you guys know unless he told you," Terra said pointing an accusing finger at him.
"Well for one I saw you two last night so that is how I know, as for Robin, you do know that he was trained by Batman you know the worlds greatest detective." The Tamer stated.
"Oh," Terra said having everything clicking together.
"So are you really going to leave?" Yuki asked.
"Yeah, if the both of you trying to talk me into going back, it won't work," Terra huffed. "I turned it down."
"We aren't here to take you back," The Tamer said catching the blond by surprise. "That's right Terra." Asuramon said, "And if you're out there you'll find yourself a teacher to control those powers of yours okay" Yuki said.
This got the geokinetic some thought, "… Alright. I'll do it." Terra returned, though hiding her disappointment as the Tamer said teacher to her. "So, is that all you had to say? I kinda have to get going," she said in disdain as she looked at the Tower.
"Well if you can fully can control your powers, why don't you come back the Tower sometime?" Yuki asked to giver her courage. "You don't have to stay, but you'll be a full member of the Teen Titans."
At those words the geokinetic look at the Tamer and saw someone else in his place. "Now that I think about it, you look and sound like my brother Yuki." Terra said surprising both Asuramon and the Tamer, "Wow I didn't know you have any siblings Terra," The Digimon said.
"Well. I just hope we meet up again someday." Yuki said
"Yeah… Sure…" Terra sighed sadly, as the girl taking off into the distance before both Asuramon and the Tamer could follow her. 'Guys… We'll meet again someday… I'm sure of it.' Terra thought.
Slade's New Lair
Deep in an underground lair, a figure watched on a screen of the fleeing blonde as she ran through a mountainous region. Upon closer inspection, the figure were Slade in his new lair and, watching his next target.
"Run all you like-" Slade stated eerily, "because no matter where you go, every step brings you closer to me. And for you my young lad I will make her my student"
End of Chapter
Wow, way to screw that up, Robin. Seriously, did being raised by Batman not give you people skills or something?
Now to those of you angry with me for not having Terra stay, don't worry she will come back. And don't worry I'm not making her into a full villain in Aftershock Part I, I'll mix her comic book betrayed with another Teen Titans comic book betrayer for the personalty for a Demon Lord. What happens next? Find out next time on Titan Tamer of The Swordsman. R