It's been decades since I stepped outside," murmured the boy, standing on top of the tallest building in Gotham City. He was two hundred stories up and completely unworried about it. The storm raged around him, the upper stories of the buildings under construction ringing like bells warning of disaster.
To the eye, he was a sixteen year old boy with black spiky hair, with pale skin, wearing black jeans, black combat boots, and a black trench coat. Aside from his dark manner of dress, there was nothing about him that indicated anything abnormal…from a distance. But if one looked closer, they might notice eyes a bit redder than the run of the mill, and long-fingered hands ending in sharp, black claws. Were they very close, they might also notice some uncomfortably long fangs in his mouth…but usually, people who got that close ceased noticing anything of this world shortly after.
"Hm." He narrowed those red-litten eyes. "I sense that Azalea…no, wait; she now calls herself Terra-is no longer in this city. Wonder why the name change? Well," he mused to himself, "I guess it doesn't matter." He brought himself back to reality with an almost imperceptible shake of the head, "I will STILL find her. Eye! Focus." He closed his eyes, then reopened them. Now his view of the city was different: now he saw it as a web of interconnected lines, lines of power, lines of force.
Most of those lines radiated every which way, but a strong thread led out of the city… "Okay," he said, "Now I gotcha." And with a movement too fast for the human eye to see, he disappeared.
…
Terra sat in the back of the car, arms crossed in front of her chest, shivering slightly. That…she couldn't…this couldn't be real. It was all some nightmare she was having.
First, those…people in the back alley, the ones who'd barged into her life. Evan and Lana? Who were they? What was their interest in her? Why this cloak and dagger routine? "So…run that by me again? I'm supposed to be…who now?"
The spiky haired man in the front seat grunted. The woman—who reminded Terra of Raven—turned to her, from looking out the window. Terra thought there was something a bit abrupt about the way she did so. "The short version," she began, "is that you are the reincarnation of our goddess, Azalea. All other questions will have to wait until we're out of danger…"
"Assuming we ever GET out of danger," grumbled the man driving the car.
"UNTIL WE'RE OUT of danger, WHICH ISN'T YET," the woman said, her emphasis on the words obvious. "As I'm sure you can guess," this to Terra, "there's a bit more to it than just that."
"Look, I think you have the wrong girl. I'm no goddess. I'm only a plain mortal. So I've got powers, yeah, but so does half the population of the entire planet Earth, to look at the news reports. You can't turn over a rock without finding another superhero underneath it. Well, I mean, I could, but still. You know. Besides, it's not like it's done me any good lately. Powers? Hah! I wish I could get rid of mine."
"You can no more get rid of your powers than you could your self. In fact, that's precisely what happened, more or less."
"I'm guessing that didn't work out so good, huh?"
"You were forced to…vacate this plane of existence. Why doesn't matter, at this point. But the process caused you to be reborn, in your current," and here the woman gave her a look that made Terra squirm, "depressingly human body."
"Hey!"
"Don't mind her," said the man, "She hasn't been happy about anything since the Fall of Rome."
"Not true. The eruption of Mount Krakatoa made for some nice sunsets."
"Not enough casualties for you."
"It isn't about loss of life, it's about-"
"WILL YOU TWO STICK TO THE SUBJECT!" Terra was surprised by the strength of her own voice. They both turned to her, eyes wide. Terra's own eyes widened as she realized the man was still driving. "Hey! Watch it! Eyes on the road, there, Juan Valdez!"
He turned back, just in time to avoid being sideswiped by a FedEx truck. With a curse, he swerved back over into their lane. "Name's Evan, not Juan Valdez," he said, over his shoulder. "I don't pick coffee beans. Well, not anymore, I don't." He muttered, "Those things get ALL OVER your hands, under your claws, I don't wanna even think about it…"
The woman, Lana, had already dismissed his grumbling, and turned back to Terra. "Look, let me give you some of it, anyway. I guess we 've got time for that, any, anyway, it's better for you to know some than know none whatsoever." She glanced down at something on her wrist. Terra's interest was piqued; it didn't look like any wristwatch she'd ever seen. For that matter, it didn't really look like anything she'd ever seen, period. "You, Tara Markov, or Terra, whichever name you prefer, are the reincarnation of our goddess, Azalea. As such, that puts you in great danger. Goddesses don't die for kicks. Either someone makes them die, or they decide to, as I said, leave this plane of existence for a reason. In your case, that reason was because you'd become inextricably linked to a dark force, a force personified in what would appear to you now, as you are, human. Of course, it's not human, but, well, you know. Camouflage. It's not human any more than Evan and I are, or, for that matter, than you are. It's just, sometimes, these things manifest themselves this way," she gestured to herself, "on this plane of existence for a number of reasons. The same way that energy, most often, manifests itself as heat. It can take on other forms, velocity, etc, which you should be familiar with: when you move the earth, you give energy to the rocks, dust, whatever, and it's manifested as motion. Anyway, this dark force is active again, which means YOU are active again. Just as you left for a reason, now you're back for a reason…"
"You're overthinking things again, Lana," said Evan, He tilted his head back towards Terra without taking his eyes off the road. "It can change shape. And its presence here is responsible for your presence here. Got it?"
"Got it." She was thinking of Beast Boy. Some of her memories were starting to come back, but she could sense there was still so much… "Shapechanger. Presence. Right."
"Uh, well, yes," agreed Lana, seemingly reluctantly. "A shapeshifter, essentially. Anyway, now it's back. You saw what it would do, back there. So, yeah, danger. To you, or anybody associated with you."
"All right. How does this relate to me waking up in a cave with no memories?" Her memories were returning, but she could tell their was so much
"For most of your life you believed you were an ordinary human given extraordinary powers. But you weren't. Evan and I have been tracking you ever since you were born. We've only now caught up with you."
Evan turned the wheel. "Yeah, and now, you don't remember nuthin'. Peachy. So we're having' to fill you in."
"I still think you've got the wrong person. I mean, there's so many of these so called reborn or reincarnated goddesses, they take up half the damn yellow pages. It'd be easy to get the wrong girl."
"We aren't wrong. Consider. Just the fact that Murdoc's Eye targeted YOU means HE thinks you're the goddess. So whether you are or aren't, you're still in grave danger."
That was a sobering thought. She had to admit, had she stayed back at the apartment, she'd be as dead as…
…as dead as…
…as dead as one of the few people who'd been kind to her. The thought sent both a cold chill down her back, and ignited something hot within her. Overkill, much? All of a sudden, she wanted to get this bozo in her sights…
"Whoa, hold it!" shouted Evan. A huge crack had just opened up in the road up ahead, and a small mountain of rock and earth was emerging, like stop-motion building of a miniature mountain range right in front of the speeding car. "Reign it back in! You'll wreck us all!"
"Whups. Sorry. My bad."
They drove on in silence for a while after that. Evan skillfully negotiated the hillock in the middle of the road, and shot the car at maximum legal speed along the highway.
Lana sniffed. "You COULD go faster, you know. I could take care of the mortal's insipid radar."
"But you couldn't take care of the mortals' insipid SIGHT, Lana. Or have you forgotten that the cops can still see?"
"I can fix that, too," said the fallen angel, fingering her knives.
"Look, will you two quit making me feel like I've fallen into a buddy cop movie? Just where are we going, anyway?"
"We have a safe house established just a few kilometers from here. Once we're there, we can fill you in on all the gruesome details."
"There's MORE?"
"There's ALWAYS more, Terra. ALWAYS."
…
"There they go," said the dark garbed figure standing by the side of the road. He'd sensed the trio's vehicle—one of those stupid human contrivances—coming down the highway, and had to resist the urge to stick out his thumb. It would have been hilarious if they'd actually stopped to give him a ride, but he knew that wouldn't happen, anyway. Still, it was fun to think about. Alright, now, he thought to himself, on to business.
…
SHIT!" Evan hit the gas pedal with such force that the two in the back were thrown back against the cushions. Terra was reminded of Apollo and Starbuck on the "Battlestar Galactica" series, launching out in their Viper fighter craft. She could almost hear the theme music playing in the background. "Hey! What's with the sudden launch, there, Commander Adama?"
"My name's not—oh, never mind," Evan growled. "Look behind us."
Both Terra and Lana turned their attention to the roadway behind them, and Terra gasped. Running up the highway behind them was what appeared to be a young man dressed in dark clothes, wearing a black duster, leaping nimbly over what few cars and vans were on the highway, easily zipping around the fissure in the earth Terra's previous energy surge had created. He was gaining on them. Terra glanced at the speedometer, and gasped again. "ONE HUNDRED TWENTY MILES PER HOUR?! No freakin' way!"
"Freakin' way," grumbled Evan.
"Let me guess: that's him, right?"
"HowEVER did you figure that out?"
"Nobody likes a smartass." Terra glanced nervously at the speeding figure behind them. He did exude an almost palpable aura of malevolence. And she could have sworn he was grinning. "Can we outrun him?"
"Damfino. I'm sure gonna try."
"Isn't he bein' kinda obvious?" She stole another glance back. "I mean, c'mon. What, can't he afford a car?"
"He might get pulled over for being underage, and having no ID. His ego couldn't take the notion of a god of darkness getting arrested for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle."
"What's he gonna do if he catches us?'
"Dunno. Rip the car apart, probably."
"What about us?'
"Why would we rip the car apart?"
"I mean, what would he do to us?"
"Oh. Same thing."
"Well, then, whattaya waitin' for? Floor it, Captain Apollo!"
"My name's not—oh, hell with it." He pressed the accelerator all the way down, and the heavily over-muscled limousine shot up to its full velocity. "But we are definitely talking about this later! Whether at the safe house…
"…or in the afterlife."
…
"…she was very lucky, Robin. Evidently, she'd stepped outside, maybe to put out some trash or something, we don't know, and whatever happened was highly localized. Did you wanna talk with her?" The officer in charge of sifting through the wreckage of the building looked at the Teen Titan, handing them a clipboard full of reports.
"Yeah, let's see if she can tell us anything." Robin and Starfire were the only ones attending the scene, the others having been called away on other assignments. It hadn't been easy to get Beast Boy to go with them, but Robin had insisted that he go, citing his animal senses as being vital.
"But why can't Cy go? He's got all kinds of fancy sensors. You guys don't need me!"
"Yes, we do. Cy's been called away on that Mumbo Jumbo case. You know Mumbo's powers don't work as well on his technology as they do on us mere organics. I need you to go with Raven on this one." The green teen grudgingly agreed.
Starfire waited until they were alone. "Beloved, you are not fooling me, and I doubt you are fooling friend Garfield either."
Robin sighed. "I know, Star, but Garfield's way too wrapped up in this to be effective. You know how he felt about Terra; now we're going to investigate a scene where she might have been. What if we found out she'd killed someone? Even accidently? How would he cope with that? We'd have no choice but to arrest her, or try to." He didn't say what was in both their minds: what if we had no choice but to kill her?
It was the rule of thumb that heroes didn't kill. But there were sometimes when you couldn't use the thumb. You had to use the finger. The trigger finger.
The two walked over to the police van where the woman was waiting, a cold compress up against her face. The attendant EMT personnel glanced at them, then moved away so they could talk. "Ms. uh, Walker? I'm Robin, and this," he gestured to Starfire, "is Starfire. We're with the Teen Titans, from Jump City. We'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"
Amy Walker looked up at them, clearly still befuddled. That wasn't uncommon, thought Robin. She'd just had a very close brush with death, and the shock, both physical and mental, hadn't had the time to wear off yet. "Y-yes, I, I…what do you want to know?"
"Can you recall seeing a young blond girl, about five one, very skinny, with long straight hair? Blue eyes? Anyone like that?"
"W-why, yes! That was, was Terra! I'd hired her to work in my shop! She was living in…" Amy Walker's gaze traveled back to the wreckage of the building she'd called home for so long. "I…is she…I mean, she's not…?"
Robin put a consoling hand on her shoulder. Sometimes a simple touch is reassuring, and Ms. Walker had been through hell. A hell of short duration, maybe, but still. "We don't really know yet, ma'am, but we don't think so. We've found no trace of her in the ruins, so we're thinking she may have escaped, like you did.
"But we are trying to find her. Now, when did you first meet her, and where?"
…
Evan utilized all his skill in evading their pursuer. He needed it; Murdoc wasn't bound by the highway, and quite often took a shortcut across the countryside. When that happened, Evan usually let out another cuss word of increasing intensity and swerved off onto a shortcut of his own. Terra kept glancing back. Murdoc's grin hadn't faded. He's enjoying this a little too much, she thought. "You know, from the expression on his face, it looks like he's got us right where he wants us, moving target or no."
"That's true. He knows it's only a matter of time until we run out of gas. Or until he catches us."
"So what's Plan B?"
"Dunno. Lana? You gotta Plan B?"
"Maybe." The fallen angel was fumbling with her knives, looking for a very special one. "If you can get some distance on him, give me some time…"
"I'll sure try!" The werewolf made a forty-five degree left turn onto an unpaved road. Both Terra and Lana were bouncing up and down with every pothole.
"I said give me time, not an accident!"
"Ah, quit 'cher whining. I'm not gonna have a car wreck."
"That wasn't the kind of accident I was talking about!"
But presently, fearful glances at the rear view showed no signs of pursuit. "Okay, here! Stop right here!" Evan ground to a halt so suddenly that he flung his passengers forward into the backs of the front seats.
Lana was already moving, slamming the car door open and rolling out, cradling one bladed instrument, careful not to stab herself. She rolled / ran to a spot just behind them on the road…
…just in time to see Murdoc, grinning as usual, come flying out of the trees, heading directly for them.
Lana stabbed the knife into the dirt of the unpaved road. Immediately, there was a shower of sparks, sparks that danced to and fro, spreading outward, right and left, from where she'd planted the blade. Murdoc was just about to fall on her when he ran into what looked like a wall of lightning, separating the trio from him. His grin faded. "You BITCH!"
"Practice makes perfect!" She ran back to the car, scrambling in beside Terra. "Floor it, Even! Get us out of here!"
Behind them, Murdoc pounded on what seemed to Terra to be an invisible wall. With each blow, the wall glowed, lightning radiating outward. At least, thought Terra, he's not grinning anymore. "What'd you do?" she asked the fallen angel.
Lana slumped back against the seat, seeming exhausted. She ran a hand through her hair. "Ley lines. Lines of mystical potential that criss-cross the planet. I activated one; Murdoc can't get through it. Oh, well, he could, but it'll take him a while. And by the time he does that, or finds a way around it, we'll be at the safe house." She glanced at Evan, who still had the steering wheel in a death grip. "Whattaya waiting for? Get us out of here, Jeeves!"
"Now don't YOU start," growled Evan. Then, to himself, "What IS it with these people and my name?!"
…
The car ground to a halt in front of a modest seeming one-story house. Evan opened his door, breathing a sigh of relief. Lana hopped out on her side. "We don't need to stay here too long."
Terra followed them into the dwelling. She looked around nervously. There was nothing but open countryside all around. "You call this a safe house? Looks more like a sitting duck house to me."
"That's where you're wrong," said Lana, leading the way into the house. Once inside, she indicated a comfortable looking couch, in which Terra plopped gratefully. It was certainly way more comfortable than the back seat of the car. "This house rests on a confluence of ley lines, a convergence. Murdoc can't sense us here, directly. He'll have to hunt for us."
"How hard could that be? I mean, the guy was right behind us."
"Harder than you think. There's a lot of such places, and, since he can't see directly into one, or trace our lines of potential, he'll have to go through them all. And, he'll have to break through every single one, like cracking every single walnut in a bushel, to find us. No, more than likely, what he'll do is wait for us to make a move out of this dead zone…THEN he'll leap."
"'Leap.'" Terra shuddered. She still remembered the maniacal grin on the face of the being behind them. "Not the most comforting scenario I've heard of."
"There are worse. However, now we can begin to really fill you in on what's going on. Because, you see, regardless of what you know or do, Murdoc is still going to be looking for you. And believe me, you don't want him to find you, at least not like this."
…
Murdoc was beside himself with anger. That bitch angel had blocked him, kept him away from his prey. She'd pay for that. Idly, he wondered if Terra realized just what danger she was in, and not just from him.
He wondered if they'd tell her the Truth.
…
Okay…so…you guys are telling me I'm some dumb goddess. I still think you've got the wrong person. I mean, if I were a goddess, would I look like THIS?" And she gestured to her chest. "I mean, c'mon. I'd at least be a C-cup."
"The circumstances of your rebirth didn't allow for any such…alterations. You were born just like any mortal is born, having no control over your genetic heritage. What IS different about you is your metaphysical makeup. THAT you had control over. At least, you did when you, er, died."
"And I died fighting this Mudrow clown?"
"Murdoc. And sort of. It's complicated, but you fought an all-out war with him, laying waste to most of the countryside. It took a long time for Flemunia to recover."
"Fle-. Where's that?"
"It actually is on another plane of existence." She saw Terra's puzzled / exasperated look. "Look, it's like this: there are an infinite number of universes, but not all of them are at the same…I suppose you'd say, energy level, though that's hardly accurate. Flemunia was on a higher plane, a higher energy level. On that plane, you were the incarnation of light, the goddess Azalea…"
"I was named for a plant?"
"There are no azaleas in Flemunia, so no. It's just a coincidence that your goddess-name and the name of the plant are the same…"
"Stick to the subject, Lana," growled Evan, speaking for the first time. He'd been standing by the window, gazing out with what seemed to Terra to be a nervous gaze. He was clearly expecting Murdoc to leap upon them anytime. "Give her the Cliff Notes version. We haven't got all day."
"Alright," said Lana. She sat down in front of Terra. "Okay. Here's the 'scoop,' as the humans say. Long ago, in the dimension and the land of Flemunia, there was a goddess named Azalea. She ruled fairly and justly, and was loved by everyone..." Terra could feel her eyes already starting to glaze over. "That is, except for one who wanted to rip your guts out." Alright, wide awake now.
"A dark force arose, opposing her, wanting to, to consume the land within itself. Quite naturally, she couldn't allow that to happen.
"But in order to defeat this force, she was forced to use a spell that was too powerful even for her to fully control. She did defeat the dark force…temporarily. But the side effects of the spell somehow linked her to the darkness in some way, so that, as long as she lived, so would it. Therefore, being the just ruler that she was, she chose to…well, there's no other word for it. She chose to die, to leave that plane of existence, taking the dark force with her." She grimaced. "Needless to say, life in Flemunia sort of went downhill after that.
"But it appears that wasn't a permanent solution. Murdoc—the incarnation of the dark force—is back. And because he's back here, in the world, means that Azalea is ALSO back. And that's you."
"So YOU say. And what's to keep this Murdery clown from having the wrong person too?"
"It's Murdoc. And he's drawn to you, the same way iron filings are to a magnet. He's not wrong. Neither are we."
"Well, OKay," Terra said, exasperatedly. She was getting tired of arguing with these crazy people. "Let's take that as a given. Now. Where do I go from here? What am I supposed to do about it? From what you've said, and from what I've seen, I'm nowhere near this Moo Hoo guy's weight class."
"It's Murdoc. And you can learn to use those powers that, up until now, you haven't suspected you had. In fact, if you want to live, you'll have to."
The certainty with which she said that sent a chill up Terra's spine.
…
Miles away: the entity known in the worlds of men and others as Murdoc looked up at the dark-clouded sky. Once again, he grimaced, his face becoming a mask of rage. Then, however, he calmed himself. This was by no means the final showdown. He'd have plenty of time to find Azalea / Terra and…do what needed to be done.
And that wouldn't be pleasant. For either of them.
…
"Okay. So…I guess I'm not getting away from you on this." Terra heaved a huge sigh. "So what do you want me to do? How do I start this? Evidently, neither of you is gonna let up until I do."
"From what you just saw, do you really expect us to? I mean, seriously. Now. You know the overview. Here." Lana moved to a small alcove. "Look at this." And she showed Terra the piece of stained glass enshrined within.
Terra gasped. It was a perfect representation of her, or as she might be in a few years. It went beyond just looking like her; the lines of the woman's face and mouth, even her hairstyle (which she'd tried, for years, to change into something a bit more Hollywood) were the same. Moreover, the piece of stained glass reeked of age; it wasn't something someone had cobbled together anytime recently. Terra had been raised, part of her life, in a castle. She knew a thing or two about how really old objects looked and felt…
"Careful," warned Lana. "You might not want to touch it right now." Terra had, without realizing it, reached out to the glass.
"Why? Is it magic or something?"
"No. Just sharp."
Terra drew back. "Okay," she said, resolve settling into her face. "I'm guessing you just showed me a picture of me, from Before. So now tell me about this Muddyoptic creep. You say I defeated him? How is it he's back?"
"It's Murdoc. You—or, more accurately, the earlier version of you—used a spell that was supposed to seal him away in a crystal forever. But it didn't quite work out that way. For starters, the crystal was lost, and we assume it to be broken. But, even worse, the spell used…Terra, how much do you know of magic?"
"Would zilch work for you?"
"To the uninitiated, it looks like magic can just do anything. Wave your hand, blink your eyes, twitch your nose, say something in Latin, and miracles happen. But in reality, it's not like that. The energy for action has to come from somewhere. Think of the modern computer age: to people of only a couple hundred years ago, all this," here, she waved her hand around, including the room, "would seem impossible. Light and warmth without fire? Pictures that move on a screen? Hearing and seeing someone from a continent away? Vehicles that operate without animals to pull them? Beams of light that can burn through an object? Impossible. Has to be magic. Except it isn't. It's all applied energy.
"Just like when you move rocks and earth. You invest something with energy and move it around. But that energy has to come from somewhere."
"So where does it come from? It sure doesn't come from me! I get exhausted watching grass grow."
"No, it doesn't come from you. Well, it sort of does, but it mostly doesn't. There are forces in the universe that people—and gods—can tap into, that they have a natural affinity for. One of those is the power you called down to defeat Murdoc. It was so great, that it laid waste to a good portion of the very land you were trying to protect. But it also had the side effect of somehow linking the two of you together. In order for Murdoc to truly be gone, to truly be no more of a threat to Flemunia, you had to be no more, too. So you chose to…do that. Accept that fate.
"However, you were able to put a clause in the spell, that being, that if Murdoc ever got loose and started causing trouble again, you'd be reborn, as well. Well, he did, and you were, and now here we all are.
"Get it now?"
"Got it. Don't like it. But got it. So now what?"
"Now…you have to learn how to learn your powers. That is, if you want to live."
…
Titans' Tower: Robin had just finished detailing his report to the Justice League, and Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were going over it with him. "So," said Batman, "you found no trace of Terra? None whatsoever?"
"None beyond what I've already told you. The woman's report was, of course, not complete, but you can't blame her for not knowing that much about the situation. She had no idea that Terra was a metahuman, and I didn't see fit to tell her anything about all that. All she knows is that Terra came to her, essentially homeless, was given a job, appeared to be doing it well, and then this." He paused a moment. "There is one peculiarity I wasn't sure how to explain in the report."
"Yes?" Superman hunched forward, even though, with super hearing, he could probably hear what Robin had to say even without the satellite uplink.
"Starfire and I sifted through the wreckage of the building, as best as we could, considering the local authorities' involvement. One thing I noticed: there didn't seem to be quite the level of destruction I would have expected. It wasn't a bomb, of that I'm sure. From what we were able to gather, it seemed to be the effect of some sort of beam weapon, possibly—no, make that certainly—orbitally based. A weapon fired from orbit."
The members of the Justice League shifted. "Superman?" Batman addressed his colleague. "Have you been able to detect any sign of such weaponry?"
"No. And I would have, most certainly would have detected it, especially up here." In orbit, there should have been no conflicting elements such as lead, gold, or others. Such things did happen on the surface, but in orbit…it there should have been nothing. Nothing unless… "So that leaves magic of some sort."
"Exactly. And, as far as we know, or knew, Terra was no magic user. Powerful, yes, but not a mage." He glanced at Raven, who shrugged. He'd already delegated her to run a forensic scan of the site, to see if any magics could be detected. Her results had been conflicted. Yes, there was magic involved, but what sort, she couldn't say. It was of a kind she'd never encountered. Could Terra have been responsible? No, Raven had said. If it was Terra, she'd have to have become a wholly different person, which meant all bets were off.
Batman spoke up, there over the comm link. "Something you should know. My own sensors detected this beam from space. However…" The others waited.
"However, there was no point source. It just appeared."
…
Later: Robin and Starfire were walking along the corridor away from the conference room. Starfire hooked her arm in his. "Beloved, one has noticed that you did not share the most important part of your discovery with the League of Justice."
Robin nodded. "That's true, I didn't. I…frankly, Star, I'm not sure what to make of it. So…I didn't know what the League would make of it, either. I'm doing my best to cut Terra the biggest break I can, without jeopardizing anyone else in the process. And I don't have any explanation for this.
"For the life of me, I can't understand…why there's no record of her anywhere. Even in our own files.
"It's as though she doesn't exist, and never has."
…
Somewhere far beyond dimensional space, far beyond anything that either humans or gods would call "reality," something shifted. Something neither humans nor gods could understand or comprehend.
It was not sentient, not in terms anyone would call "sentience," nor was it mindless. It had a vague concept of mortals. And what they could do for It.
It wanted that.
…
"Okay, so I'm supposed to be the reincarnation of this goddess from some other dimension, this Flea Market or something…"
"Flemunia. It's FLEMUNIA."
"Right, I knew fleas were in it somewhere. Okay. So now what do I do? Begin training? Where? Seems like anywhere I'd go to train would attract this Moondark guy. How can I train with him busting in all the time?"
"Murdoc. It's MURDOC. And as to that other, we'll show you." Evan turned away from his vigil at the window. "Needless to say, it's more important now than ever. If Murdoc figures out you're here, there's nothing to prevent him from siccing the Eye upon us again. And up we'd go, in flames. I'd really rather avoid that, if possible."
Terra shivered.
…
Later, after a delicious dinner Evan himself had cooked ("you don't wanna eat Lana's cooking. Angels, especially fallen ones, don't have the same kind of taste buds as us mere mortals." Lana had given him a hard glare that lasted a good ten minutes. Terra had to concentrate on her food to keep from bursting out with laughter.), Lana showed Terra to a large bedroom. "This will be your room for the rest of the time we're here. Make yourself comfortable." She left, leaving Terra to examine the spacious bedroom.
She didn't bother right then, but just plopped down on the bed, face down, clothes on. She'd been on the run for what seemed like a whole day, but was probably just a few hours. The release of tension…
Within seconds, she was fast asleep.
…
Miles away: Murdoc was getting more and more frustrated.
That cheap whore, Lana, had interfered with his plans. NObody interfered with his plans. ESPECIALLY this plan. He was still standing in the middle of the road, mere feet away from where Lana's athame was protruding from the ground. He pulled out his cell, dialed a very special and untraceable number. "Yes?" said the voice of the one who'd picked up.
"I lost her."
"You WHAT?!"
"You heard me, I didn't stutter. I lost her. She's not alone. Evidently, she's got some powerful…acquaintances, shall we say. One of them knew a trick to throw me off the trail."
"I thought you were supposed to be this oh-so-powerful god of darkness or something."
"I AM this oh-so-powerful god of darkness or something, and if you keep talking to me in that tone of voice, I'll show you what an oh-so-powerful god of darkness or something can do. To you. Personally. But enough WWE trash talk. I'm gonna need you and your agents to sniff her out, give me some general indication as to where she might be."
There was a pause. The individual on the other end of the line knew perfectly well what Murdoc was capable of, and didn't want to see ANOTHER example of it. So then, "I'll get my best agents on it, ASAP."
"Good. I want answers by tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow night! That's…" The voice trailed off.
"…when I want the answers, right. Otherwise, don't bother going to your office day after tomorrow.
The city it's in won't be there."
…
Raven found herself outside of Beast Boy's room. Normally, she never went in there; Garfield didn't seem to have the "clean" gene, and, although the room was sanitary enough, the clutter was beyond belief. Sometimes, she'd known him to inadvertently hide behind a mountain of comic books ("Hey, some of them could be valuable! Remember that one that sold for, like, seventy-five thousand dollars?" To which she'd replied, "It's probably at the bottom of the pile. You'd need a forklift to find it."), but today, she found him lying, face up, on the lower bunk of his bunk beds. His expression told her everything she needed to know.
She came over and sat on the edge of the bunk bed by him. He remained where he was, staring at the bottom of the overhead bunk. For a long moment, neither of them said a word; he didn't even act like he knew she was in the room. Then, she cleared her throat, more for effect than necessity. "Gar…I know what you're thinking. And no, I don't think Terra's behind this…attack, or whatever you want to call it.
"I DO think she is involved, however."
"So why won't Robin let me be in on the…effort?" (The capture team, you mean, thought Raven.)
"You know why, Gar. You're too involved with this. If something big is going on with Terra, hesitation on the part of whoever's after her, no matter what their intentions, could cost…a lot. You remember when she was working for Slade. Several times she was about to finish you off, and each time, she hesitated. The fact that it all worked out as well as it did was…happenstance. One we can't count on happening again. She'd been trained, indoctrinated, by Slade to kill us, and she very nearly succeeded. She'd become a different person than the one you knew, or was on her way to becoming one. There's no telling what she…what she's like now, especially if magic's involved." She paused, then looked him. He found he couldn't look away from those purple orbs. "You could have died, Gar. She very easily could have killed you." She looked away. "I…I don't really know how I'd feel about that."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It means I don't want you to die, stupid!" She practically shouted. Then, clearly embarrassed, she turned away, not looking at him.
He got up from his prone position and sat beside her. "Ray?" She wouldn't look at him. "Ray, what do you mean? I mean, I understand you don't want anybody on the team to die, but…" He trailed off, unsure as to how to continue.
She actually sniffled. "It's…more than just that. I…" And here, a long pause, so long, in fact that he began to think she wasn't going to say anymore. Then, she looked up at the ceiling, and, to his vast surprise, he saw the track of a tear down the side of her face. "I probably shouldn't say this, but...I've always regarded you and Terra as my best friends. My…my ONLY friends, really. Terra, because she and I had a lot in common. We both have been ostracized because of our inability to control our powers, and you…well, you were there for me when I…needed someone. When Malchior…did what he did. I was ready to leave, did you know that? Too many painful memories. Just leave. Find someplace where nobody knew me, and just…hole up. Maybe a cave or something, for Azar's sake. Become a hermit or something. And then…when Adonis attacked. You…you saved me. Yeah, I put up a front, like always, but…" She dropped her head.
"…a girl just doesn't forget things like that." This last spoken in a whisper he could barely hear.
"Rae, I-"
But she held up a hand. "No, wait, Gar. Don't say anything, okay? Just…don't say anything. This is just…I don't know. Just me talking. I'm talking nonsense, okay? So just forget we ever had this conversation, okay? It didn't happen. Maybe it's just that time of the month for me or something. Tomorrow it'll be back to business as usual." She got up and went to the door, which swished open at her command. "Just…disregard everything I said. So…just never mind about the whole thing."
In the doorway, she turned, facing him, her expression back to her old Raven-type bored plus keep-your-distance expression. "Just remember; stay out of my room. Period." But, even as she said it, her expression softened just a little. "Unless, of course you…never mi-" The closing doorway cut off anything else she was going to say.
Garfield sat and thought about what he'd just heard for a good thirty minutes.
…
The next morning: Terra awoke to the smell of bacon frying. It practically drew her into the kitchen like a magnet.
Evan was, once again, at the stove, wearing an apron, even. Lana was sitting at the table, scowling into a tablet. She evidently didn't like what she was seeing. Either that, or she had lost the draw for cooking duty.
Evan himself was scowling at the skillet. He clearly wasn't exactly happy about something.
"You didn't put on the clothes I put out for you?" said Lana.
"Uhm, actually, no." Terra glanced down at her nightgown. Her two protectors—she guessed—had provided her with an old-style nightgown like something her great-grandmother might've worn.
That is, if she'd had one. "No, I was too busy devouring that delicious smell. How soon can I devour what's producing it?"
"Give me about five minutes. The eggs will be ready then, too. In the meantime, you might wanna get dressed. We've a hard day ahead of us. This," he waved a spatula, "is to get you fortified for it. Believe me, you'll need it." Terra gulped. She had a hunch that when the werewolf said, "a hard day," he was actually understating the case.
She showered, and then turned her attention to the outfit Lana had mentioned. Laid out, ready for her, was a yellow cheongsam with long sleeves that stopped at her elbow, black short leggings down to the kneecaps, dark brown fingerless gloves, a short black cloak (she was reminded of Mud Beam's dark duster; curious, that), adorned with her precious jewel shaped butterfly that Beast Boy had given her, holding the cloak together. A pair of dark, brown combat boots completed the ensemble. Since he'd told her she'd have a busy day, she tied her hair up in a ponytail. When she'd been working for Slade, she'd made the mistake of leaving it long, and it had occasionally obscured her vision. That wouldn't do, in this case. No, she sensed that wouldn't do at all.
Walking back into the kitchen took some doing. Terra wasn't used to wearing combat boots. "Tell me again why I'm all duded up in dark stuff. I thought you said I was supposed to be some goddess of light, or something."
"You are. These clothes have been especially reinforced with ancient spells designed to keep them in one piece when you use your powers. Otherwise, you'd be practicing au naturel. Somehow, I don't think that's you."
"Too right. I'll leave the nude-y stuff for somebody with more upstairs." She gestured to her chest. "Too bad I can't use these oh-so-powerful powers to give myself some boobs."
"That's the last of your worries right now. For the moment, we have to run into town to get some items. Then, we'll be going straight to the training grounds."
"Uh…won't this Mudrow creep be waiting for us?"
"Murdoc. And his attention span is measured in seconds, not minutes. He's probably already delegated that task to somebody else, some underling of his. Those we can handle. It's HIM that's the biggest problem."
"So what exactly is his damage? I mean, you said we fought. Tell me more about that."
Lana and Evan exchanged glances. He put the food on the table: bacon, eggs, pancakes loaded with syrup and butter (real butter, Terra noticed, not the margarine. These guys didn't spare any expense), hash browns, and a couple of items Terra couldn't identify. However, Lana quickly scooped up, loading her own plate with them. "Angel stuff," Evan explained. "You wouldn't like it." Terra shrugged and dove into her own food. She noticed Evan didn't eat anything.
Normally, this would have set off smoke alarm bells: her two protectors (?) were not eating the same food as she was. If they were trying to drug her, or, God forbid, poison her, that was exactly what they'd do. But something told her this wasn't the case. "Okay," she said, around a mouthful of pancakes, "To continue. Tell me about the battle royal I, or that other me, got into with Murphy."
"Murdoc. It's MURDOC. But you are getting closer. It's really very simple," said Lana, around mouthfuls of her own food. Evidently, Terra noticed with an inward smile, everybody there had no trouble with a "see-food" diet… "You are the reincarnation of a goddess of light, basically. Of course, it's more complicated than that, but details will have to wait. Murdoc, or, as he was known then, Nox, is the god of darkness. Quote naturally, the two of you came into conflict. The war itself was on the verge of tearing Flemunia apart. And," and here she paused just a moment, as though gathering herself for something unpleasant, "the simple truth is, you were, well. Nox was pretty powerful, pretty cunning. Although," she hastened to add, at a look from Even, "it was really more of a draw." But Terra saw what she was saying.
She, Azalea, had been losing the war against darkness. But don't tell the kid that. It would be demoralizing. Yeah. "Demoralizing." Good word for it.
Lana continued. She'd finished her repast. "Anyway, long story short, you called down a power too great even for you to control. It vanquished Nox, but it tied you to him, in some strange way we don't fully understand. So…as long as you existed, so did he. You sealed him away in a gem, a ruby crystal. But over time, your connection to that power, and to him…wore you down. You were losing yourself, your own…it's impossible to describe in mortal terms, but the upshot is, you were on the verge of inadvertently releasing him. So, you figured, the only way to make sure he stayed where he was, was for you, the only one who could release him, to…be no more. So you…allowed that power to take you away, I guess, is the best way to put it. You succumbed to the Power you called down. It…did a number on Flemunia, and things have only gone from bad to worse there."
She leaned back from the table. "But we were prepared to deal with that. I mean, if it meant the end of Nox, well, so be it. But, of course, things weren't that simple. Since you were the one in charge of the crystal, once you were gone, someone else got hold of it. We can only presume that someone else somehow released Nox, now known as Murdoc. That release…brought you back. But of course, your own physical form was destroyed, so your essence, your soul, if you will, was reincarnated into…you." And she gestured at Terra.
"This 'depressingly human body.'"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"But Mudrock wasn't, I'm supposing."
"Murdoc. And, again, unfortunately, yes."
"How come?"
Lana shrugged. "Who knows? Probability seems to favor chaos and destruction. Maybe it's an entropic effect. Maybe God just doesn't like us. That last I can believe."
"Yeah. I keep hearing you're a fallen angel. Disagreement with the upstairs Guy?"
Lana and Evan exchanged another glance. "That's a story for another time," Evan said. "Sensitive subject. Let's just say, even fallen angels have their uses."
"Okay. Back to Mudhen. What-"
"Murdoc."
"-, yeah, okay, him. What can I do about him?"
"Destroy him. Once and for all."
"I thought you said I couldn't."
"AZALEA couldn't. But YOU might. The same strictures that applied to her, may not, repeat MAY NOT apply to you.
"Or they may. Or something worse might happen." She shrugged. "There's no real way to tell unless you try.
"But one thing's for certain: if you DON'T try, he will kill you."
…
"Tell me again, exactly what we need in town."
"I need to get some more knives, and Evan here, has to pick up some groceries. Then we'll go straight to the training grounds. That way, we can throw off any sniffers, keep them away from the safe house."
"Sniffers?"
"Humans with paranormal senses. Evan and I can sense Murdoc, but mortals are harder, mostly because there's so many of them. So, they could, conceivably follow us back to the safe house."
"Not a very safe house."
Shrug. "Well, there's limits to everything." She looked around. "But I don't believe we've been followed. If we have been, it's at the extreme limit of my senses, and I doubt that's possible for any human."
"So there's humans who cooperate with Moonlight?"
"Murdoc. And yes, there are. Some are in it for power, some are in it for money, some…well, there's an old saying, 'everybody has their price.' Not all people with paranormal senses work for him, understand, but some do. Those, as I said, are the least of our worries.
Terra paused a moment, digesting that. Then, "Knives, huh? They maybe give you a," she began to chortle, "a c-cut rate?" She couldn't help it anymore, and began laughing uproariously, holding her sides. People passing them on the sidewalk looked at her curiously.
"Har de har har," said Lana.
Lunch was at a local McDonald's, to Terra's surprise. "What?" said Evan, "I love the fries!"
"Just never figured you for the type, somehow."
(Earlier, when placing their order, Lana had ordered for them. Terra and Evan had stood behind her. "And what'll your husband have?" asked the clerk, all smiles.
"'Husband'?" muttered Evan, so low that only Terra, who was right next to him, could hear him. He looked at Lana with an unmistakable expression on his ruggedly handsome face. "Oh, GOD, no." It was all Terra could do to keep from laughing.)
"So," said Terra, "where's this-"
"AHEM," said Lana, loud enough to turn heads. "We're going TO THE ZOO." Her voice wasn't loud, but the intensity of it was clearly evident: don't mention the 't' word.
"O…kay," said Terra, agreeably. "this has gotta be SOME ZOO." Privately, she relished the chance to tweak her companions just a little.
"Oh, it is," said Evan, with the same intensity, "it's a regular BLAST. You'll have to SEE it for YOURself."
But neither of them seemed in too much hurry to leave. After about thirty or so minutes, something occurred to Terra. "Hey." They looked at her. "Where's my butterfly hairpiece?"
They looked at her head. "Must'a dropped off somewhere," said Lana.
"OOOH, NO, it doesn't!" Terra said with force. "That pin has got some sentimental value for me!"
"Might's dropped off in the car," muttered Evan, chowing down on another round of hot McFries. That had to be at least the seventh one he'd gotten.
"Go take a look," said Lana. Evan shot her a look. "It's just to the car," she said with a shrug. "It'll be okay."
"Alright." Out the door she went, thankful that this was a pay-before-you-eat establishment; nobody would care.
The car was wedged in pretty tight in a spot right beside the "handicapped" parking spot. There was a vehicle in it, and Terra noticed it didn't have a "handicapped" tag on it. Typical, she thought, with a sneer. Probably some teenager. No consideration. Maybe he'd get a ticket.
But just as she put her hand on the door of their car, the door of the illegally parked vehicle opened behind her, and a pair of incredibly strong hands closed over her, one over her mouth, effectively stifling any cry for help she could have made. "Mmmmph!" And she was dragged into the car.
Once inside, the engine roared to life, and the car, with no driver, pulled out of the spot. She was able to turn her head enough to see the face of the person who was holding her so securely. Her eyes widened as she recognized it: it was the same one she'd seen running along the road behind them not all that long ago. "Mmph! Lt mm gmbh!"
"Quiet!" said Mustard, glancing behind them as the car, still with no driver, tore along the highway, "We should be safe in just a few minutes!"
Safe?
…
"Boy," said Evan, "she really must be attached to that pin."
"What pin was that?"
"The one she said she must've lost." He looked at her quizzically.
"'Pin'? What 'pin'?"
"The one," he began, patiently, "that she said had sentimental attachment to. The one you said she could go get. You know, the butterfly thingamabob."
"That? It was in her hair."
"No, it wasn't- Oh, CRAP!" They both rushed outside, only to find a.:) no Terra, and b.) the back door of their car fully open.
Boy, this Murderbite guy can sure hold a grip, thought Terra, as the driverless car bumped and shuddered along the road. It had to have been a good twenty minutes, and he STILL hadn't let up. "Lt mm gmbh!"
"Hold on, we're almost there!"
That's what I'm afraid of, she thought.
But the car bumped and jostled it's way to the front of a house surprisingly a lot like the one she'd just come from. To her vast surprise, Mudguards suddenly let her go, opened the car door, and, very politely, held it for her. She scrambled out, falling to the ground at his feet. She looked up.
He was standing over her, offering a hand up.
Okay, she thought, not your typical super villain attitude. Then she surprised herself: without even thinking about it, she took his hand and stood up. "Okay," she said, dusting herself off, "I don't suppose you'd wanna tell me what THAT was all about?"
"Not out here. Let's go inside." Again he glanced back down the road Terra guessed they'd just come from. "Inside the safe house."
"YOU'VE got a safe house?"
"Doesn't everybody?"
"Wait. You're the bad guy. Why should I follow you into that house?"
"Because I know your weakness."
"I've got a weakness?"
"Yes. Your ONE WEAKNESS."
"Okay. I'll bite. What is it?"
"If you DON'T follow me indoors, you'll never know what I have to say." He was at the front of the door, not even looking at her. "And I know you well enough to know you're WAY too curious to let THAT go."
Damn you, she thought to herself, even as she followed him indoors.
He even held the door for her.
Hey guys sorry to keep this waiting work has been a pain lately I hope you guys enjoy it please read a review
P.s. Happy holidays
