((((( Hellllloooooooooo! Time for the boring author's note no 1 will read! Wahooo!Thank u reader for ur time! Special thanks to FudoTwin17 and teen titan 99! U rock! I love autumn, beautiful time of the year. Most wonderful. I do hope u enjoy the story! Don't be shy, go ahead n write a review! Please...please? Pretty please with sprinkles and gummy bears on top? :3...okay so ANTYWAY! On with the story! Keep readin my loves! )))))
Terra lunged forward, shifting her weight, strategically calculating ever variable. Her breath, her movement, the environment. Everything was precise, everything was perfect. She put all her power in her fist and gave it her all. Af if by magic a sudden gush of wind left her, her feet caved under her, and she was left on her backside staring up at the ceiling.
Her blonde hair strayed in her face. Normally when she was left defeated she'd glare at her opponent with those crystal blue eyes. But this time was different. She'd done everything right, everything perfect. How could she have possibly lost?
Her opponent reached out his hand, black hair messy and baby blue eyes shining back at her. "If you continue to gawk at me, I might think you have a crush on me!" He joked.
Terra shook her head and helped herself up. "Yeah, right! In your dreams, maybe!" As she brushed her backside off the boy laughed. The boy before her was going to be sixteen soon. He considered himself sixteen, but he really wasn't. He just told everyone he was. Well, would tell everyone. Everyone he was allowed to speak to. Unless he was supposed to older for a "job".
It'd been almost a year now since she'd been working with him, but it seemed like a lifetime. He was thin, not scrawny, but more acrobatic. Muscular and he clearly worked out regularly. He had a kind face and his black hair was always messy but it worked. He was handsome, thats for sure. Especially without a mask or anything. His entire face was very handsome. He was one of those guys that girls would flock to and flirt with if he were allowed to go to school. He didn't g to the same school she did, he was "home-schooled". She might've had a crush on this boy if it weren't for two factors. One being she had her eyes set on someone else, two being his eyes. Yes, they were beautiful eyes. Some of the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. But they were harsh. Two piercing bullets through your soul. Every time she looked into them she felt a hole in her heart tug tighter against her chest.
"How'd you win? I calculated everything. It was a perfect attack!" Terra asked.
The boy shrugged. "It was a good attack, but it wasn't perfect," he said. "There isn't a perfect attack, everyone had a weak point. You would've gotten me if it weren't for the fact I knew a certain attack would stop you."
After a silence she became curious to know. "Well? What was it?"
He mocked her position. "See, you had a good stance. But you misplaced your power. You put all your power in your fist, that makes your legs weaker. You focused on your upper-body instead of your full body. That made your legs easily knocked down," he explained.
Terra nodded. "I see. You could you have known my legs were weakened?"
The boy smiled. "I didn't. I guessed. I know you, Terra. I have lived with you and he master for like I dunno forever?! I know when you make an attack you give it all you got up focus your energy into one area. Not bad but...not good."
Terra sighed. "Well, looks like i've lost again."
"Don't feel bad, Terra. I have had more extensive training than you." He said. She noticed he shivered a bit when he said extensive training. They both knew it wasn't just training. It was a beat down. A hard lesson learned. Terra hated watching her friend train with the master. He was ruthless and unforgiving. She lost every time to her friend and her friend lost every time to the master. It was true that the boy often put up good fights and lasted far longer than she or anyone else she'd seen him fight. But very few times had he even gotten close to winning.
"I feel a bit worse for you." She joked.
"Spare me!" He retaliated.
"Richard, Terra!" A voice called.
The teens looked to the darkness and their master rose from the shadows.
"Sir?" Richard asked.
"I've decided to work a job here in Jump. A big job."
"Why a big job?" Terra asked.
"To attract the attention of a certain group of heroes."
"Don't we usually avoid that?" Richard asked.
The master chuckled. "Indeed, apprentice. But this time i'm setting a trap. So I need to play the game. I want them to know i'm here."
"Why? Who are you luring?" Terra asked.
"The Teen Titians." He told them.
Terra's eyes widened. "But..master I-"
"Silence, Terra. Do you defy me? Have you actually gone off and gotten close to that changeling. Don't forget what they did to you."
Terra bowed her head and looked to the floor feeling sorry for herself. Richard raised a brow, not understanding. He looked to his master.
"Who are these Teen Titans?" He asked.
Terra felt that void tug at her. My fault, my fault, my fault...
The man smiled, even though his masked covered it, he smiled because he felt like it. "Heroes soon to be ash. My plan will unravel soon. First we need a target. And as you know dear children, X marks the spot."
"Master Slade, do we-" Terra was stopped.
"Don't tell me you've gone and gotten yourself soft, Terra. Those little friends are yours just might get you in trouble if you don't behave."
With that Slade left his two apprentices in the dark. He was off to use a certain red thief to make his plan fall into place.
"Friends? You mean on the outside?" Richard asked. He'd never been outside on his own, a certainly not during the day or around normal civilians. He didn't know a lot of things about it. She'd tell him stories of it, and he liked to listen. But she never mentioned having friends before. Kayla and Madison were the two guardians at the school, but they were just two of Slade's lackey servants who made sure Terra or rather Tara did what she was meant to.
"Just the normal. Kayla and Maddie aren't really friends though. Not like us at least." Terra said quickly, avoiding eye contact.
"You're lying. I can tell! Who are these friends? Come on!" Richard was excited. He wanted to know everything.
Terra sighed. "I was aquatinted with the titans a long time ago. We used to be friends until they lied to me. Now, i'm supposed to destroy them. I have no problems with it."
"Except your friend is in the way of making this easy?"
"One of the titans is..different. He isn't like the rest."
Richard smiled, a cunning smile. A little devil smile that made Terra darken her expression a bit. The smile your little brother gets when its the I-know-something-you-don't situation which then is followed by a prank.
"What?" She asked, fearing the answer. Richard was like her little brother. Despite the fact he was older, stronger, and in truth smarter in the sense of battle and math and science, he was still none the less an on average immature boy. Therefore, little brother. He was protective of her. So he would act like an older brother at times. He'd listen, be there for her, and help her in tight spots. Their friendship was most definitely a brother-sister type.
"You like this guy, don't you? Yeah! Aw...Terra's gotta crush! Terra's got crush! Terra's got a-" Terra put her hand over his mouth to preventing him from chanting any further.
"Stop acting five!" She hissed. She removed her hand and her "brother" smiled back at her. "I maybe kinda sorta like him a tiny bit." She whispered. "BUT-" She said before Richard would start chanting again. "He's a titan. So it can never happen." She said.
Richard smiled, his five year old immatureness turned to his wise matureness. Richard was very wise indeed. When he wasn't training or messing with her, he studied. Math, science, literature, language, history, Chinese proverbs, poetry, anything he could get his hands on. The Haunt had an extensive library. Wintergreen often helped school Richard even though Slade was his true mentor.
"I can keep it a secret. You can tell me anything, you know." He smiled.
Terra smiled back. "Yeah I know."
"Sooooooo...what's his name?" Richard asked.
She blushed. "Beast Boy..."
Richard was silent. "Okay. Interesting. What are the other titan's names?"
"Let's see. Cyborg-"
"He a uh-"
"Cyborg? Yeah. Then there's Raven-"
"They have a pet bird?"
"No, a half demon girl."
"Wow, okay. Next."
"And Starfire-"
"Interesting name. Whats this Starfire do?"
"Alien girl."
"...and Beast Boy?"
"Changeling. He's green and can transform into any animal."
Silence.
"What?" Terra asked.
"I feel like were going up against a circus, not home dumb kiddie heroes!"
Terra laughed a bit while Richard stared blankly. "Who is the leader of the band of misfits?"
Terra was silent.
"What? Terra? What's wrong?"
"I suppose Cyborg is the leader now."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Their leader has been dead for almost a year now."
"Wow, poor sucker. What happened?"
"I killed him."
Silence again.
"Oaky- I see this is a stiff subject. So lets move n to something entirely and utterly different. Like...that math test coming up?"
"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about that!"
Meanwhile in Jump City Streets...
It was that bad part of the city nobody goes to. Well, nobody who wants to live and keep their valuables anyway. The dark part of Jump, the place where heroes don't exist.
Derek Black was a fifteen year old guy living with a bunch of other orphaned kids. Many times Derek didn't know who it was that stayed up all night drinking or how many were doing drugs downstairs. People left and came when they pleased. An abandoned building is good for that. Even though most of the windows were smashed, the walls were beaten, the stairs were unstable, and his door was a torn up curtain he'd duct taped to the broken door henge it was his life and he was going to make the most of it.
For Derek, heroes weren't real. They were fake little goody-goodies who had a better life than himself because of something stupid. Being royalty from another planet, having robotic limbs, being a witch or whatever, having green skin, or what really got him hooping mad was having a rich daddy who let you have fun toys and made sure your friends were rich snot nosed superheroes too. Barf. What losers.
Protecters of Jump City. What have heroes ever done for me? It was true, Derek never had a hero grace him with their presence and mean it in a good way. He hated it. Heroes had done almost nothing for him. One hero had done one thing for him and in truth he didn't even do that. He sort of did it, but by accident. Derek was this heros mistake. Too bad he wouldn't be able to haunt him anymore.
Derek didn't hate Jump City, he didn't love it but he had no desire to destroy it. Jump was his hunting grounds. That was important. If he wanted to he could leave. But one thing kept him staying. Her. Lily. His "little sister". About five this year and a complete angel. His world. He'd do anything for his sister. Anything. Even though Lily hated stealing, it needed to be done. They were poor, too poor. Not that being poor wasn't something they couldn't deal with, it was worse. Lily was ill. Her disease would kill her one day unless he could pay off an operation to save her. So he'd "work" for the money. This hero helped him a bit. Not much, a bit. But he still owed him nothing.
Night. When the world sleeps. When the "adults" party. When the freaks come out. This is when Rex X owns the city. When Derek prowls the city. This is his jungle. He is the tiger.
He spotted a woman in town. Fluffy blonde hair, lots of jewelry, blonde in every single way possible. Not that blonde hair was bad, Lily was blonde. But the other blonde were the men drool and the girls become green with envy and the rich snobs lift their noses a bit higher. Innocent, maybe. Prey, yes.
X was gonna hit a major mark tonight. Before he leapt into action his cape was snagged back by an unforeseen hand.
Derek spun around and lunged. The man dodged every attack perfectly, worse, he wasn't even trying. He was mocking him! Derek fought harder, but with one blow he was knocked on his backside.
"I don't want trouble!" He yelled.
The man laughed a bit. "Shame. I was hoping you'd be up for a job."
"Oh, a job, eh? What kind of job?"
"A big job. It involves the death of the titans and you becoming a rich man."
Derek thought about this. "I'm listening."
"Interested, are we? Good. I need you for a certain role. Can you play it?"
"Maybe. Depends. Why do you want to kill the titans?"
The man came out of the shadows. Orange and black armor, a mask with one eye showing, and S on his suit. Familiar. Very familiar. Derek had no idea this villain was the reason for Red X himself.
"Don't ask questions. Just listen. And i'll make that little sister of yours healthy again."
X went on the offensive. "How do you know about Lily?! What have you done to her?!"
"Relax, Derek Black. Lily is fine. I promise, I won't lay a finger on her."
"How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot of things."
Derek sighed. He knows about Lily, about me. He also has money. But...the titans. All of them? Even..her? Starfire? No. I can't think about some girl over me and Lily. This..this is more important than some girl.
"Alright then. What's this job of yours?"
Meanwhile in Titan Tower..
The titans sat alone on the tower. Christmas may be over, but winter was not. In fact, the snowing was worse than ever. The peace had died down. Everything was mostly normal.
Raven hid in her room. All gloomy and reading her books and mediating. Acting like friends was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Acting like she din't care. Acting like Robin wasn't haunting her.
Beast Boy was out with Tara. When he wasn't with her he read comics, watched TV, and rarely enjoyed playing vide games with Cy. Rarely had become almost never.
Cyborg worked on anything machinery. He liked not thinking about anything but his work. For some time he created bots to scout for Robin. that dream had died. Now he just builds to build. To get his mind wondering to something else.
Starfire stopped cooking. She trained more. She took up a lot of Robin's old routines. In her subconscious she was trying to keep him alive. Sadly it was failing. She knew she wasn't Robin. Robin was dying, and now so was Starfire. She had killed them both. Often she wondered about going back home, but stayed in case Robin returned. But she was so close to the edge. A small wind would knock her off and send her flying to home planet.
Boredom. Not sadness, not anger, not madness, but pure boredom. The titans were bored. They weren't speaking, they weren't doing, they were barley being, no they just sat there, alone, bored.
Like a sudden flash the tower flashed red and a siren rang out. This hadn't happened in so long, the titans almost didn't know what to do. Cy had tried keeping the organized ways of Robin, but they all knew no one could replace their leader. Robin kept them up to date on drills and training. They were lacing, slacking, and becoming sloppy. They were losing respect and friendship. But the alarm still sounded. People still needed help. So then the titans went off to answer that call even if it meant losing everything, they'd always answer the call.