Author's Note: Just a quick little note... As I type, my outline seems to fall apart. This isn't intended to be a Beast BoyxTerra fic, but it's starting to look that way...
A Matter of Pride: Chapter Six; Comfort
"Booyah! New course record!" Cyborg cheered.
"You're the first one to do the course," Raven told him in a tone that said she was secretly delighted to burst his bubble. Cyborg scowled at her. Raven didn't react.
"Okay Terra, you're up," Robin called. "Ready?"
Terra said nothing. No, she wasn't anywhere near ready. Her powers felt about ready to explode. The pressure inside of her felt like she had been holding her breath too long while there was a stifling mountain of blankets heaped onto her. It was not a comfortable feeling. She breathed deeply and let it out.
"Don't lose control," she muttered to herself. "Don't lose control."
The pep talk wasn't helping much.
Robin's timer chimed. Terra started the obstacle course. The details of her workout blurred together, but she knew that she took a lot of falls and made some very close saves.
"You da man!" Beast Boy cheered at one point. "Eh, no, wait... You da... Way to go!"
Terra was grateful for her friend's encouragement, and the shouts of Cyborg and Starfire as well. She finished and landed clumsily. Everyone stared. She gathered her courage and straightened up, arms stretched out and a triumphant expression on her face. A second later, she was mobbed by three enthusiastic Titans. A soft, catchy tune broke through their cheers.
Bee-bee-boop, b'doop buh-buh b'duh, went Robin's communicator. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy released her. Robin and Raven joined them. Robin held a small, yellow, circular... thing in one hand. Everyone else had some sort of pendant or decoration that flashed in time with the music.
"Why is everyone blinking?" she asked stupidly.
"Trouble," snarled Robin. Terra was taken aback by the abrupt change in him. "C'mon." They filed inside. Robin rushed to the computer and typed frantically.
"Slade." Raven was the one that voiced the name, hatred in her dull voice, but she spoke for everyone.
"Slade?" Terra asked Beast Boy quietly. She knew the name, but nothing of the villain.
"Bad guy," the green Titan explained. "Real bad."
"I've got a lock on his location," Robin said seriously. He typed some more and the map of the city displayed narrowed down, part of it flashing red. "Titans, go!"
The Titans reacted instantly. Terra stood completely still and watched them leave. Beast Boy skidded to a halt and turned back.
"You coming or what?"
Terra smiled and ran to catch up. Beast Boy took her hand and they followed the other Titans.
---
The fighting was already well underway by the time they arrived. The Titans leapt right in without a second thought, giving much-needed help to the few miners who had stayed to defend against legions of robots. Terra hesitated, greatly worried by the almost stifling pressure of her unruly powers. Soon, her instincts as a trained mercenary (albeit, self-trained) kicked in and she threw herself into the fray as well.
Her powers had finally had enough. They burst their limits, making Terra scream and drop to the ground inside one of the tunnels. She heard Beast Boy yell to her. The shock of his voice dammed the golden energy for the moment, but they weren't done yet. Terra knew that she had to keep fighting against it. The tunnel entrance was blocked. She was trapped inside.
Footsteps at the other end made Terra jump and turn. A man ran past the opposite entrance. Terra scowled and voiced the name of the master villain. "Slade." She got to her feet, unstable for a moment or two, and then ran after the villain. He led her to a dead end. Alarm signals went off in her brain.
"Welcome, Delani Miller," said the cool voice.
Terra paled, fear rising at the sound of the name she had abandoned. She pushed away her fear and sneered. "My name is Terra."
"Is it?" He seemed totally unperturbed. Terra hurled a rock at him and he dodged without any trouble what-so-ever. "That was quite good. Unless, of course, you were aiming for me..."
They fought. The moves were fast and furiously thrown. The exit caved in, trapping them both. Terra smirked. "I've got you now."
"No, Terra. I've got you." He advanced. She retreated until she felt the wall against her back. Out of habit, Terra reached up to touch her butterfly clip... Her hand brushed against nothing but hair and dropped again, dismayed. Slade reached out. She flinched away from his hand, but he did not strike her. There was something in his palm that shone faintly in the light. He placed his hand on her head, pushing her hair back with a familiar and very welcome pressure. Her clip!
Terra gasped. Her hand flew up and she trailed her fingers lovingly over the smooth stone.
"You see, Terra, I've been watching you for a very long time," Slade said conversationally. He reached out and took her hands, gingerly, as if he was disgusted by what he was doing but wanted to make a point. No. It wasn't her hands that he held, but her gloves... The gloves that hid her hideous scars. "Almost eleven years, you know... I know all your secrets. There is nothing about you that I have not seen."
Terra whimpered, memories rising that she wished could have stayed hidden in the recesses of her mind. She turned her head away, hating the helplessness that he made her endure.
"Let me train you," he hissed, releasing her and taking a handful of nearby stone. "Let me help you. With my tutelege, you could become great!" As he spoke, he steadily increased his grip on the rocks. "You could be more powerful than any in this country. You are powerful, Delani Miller. Yes. You are very powerful... Think about how much you could do if you accepted my help! You could shine as no one has ever shone." He released his grip and showed her the rocks, now crushed into a diamond that glinted at her. He offered it to her and Terra gingerly took it.
"Think about it," the villain finished. "I'll be waiting..."
And suddenly, he was gone. Terra shivered. She hissed as sudden pain engulfed her. Her powers burst forth again, making her scream. The tornado was worse than ever it had been before. Terra brought her knees to her chest, curling herself tightly in an effort to drive away the pain, but it was in vain. The tornado lifted her clear off of the ground and suspended her in its eye, unable to move either up or down.
"Terra!" She opened wide her clenched eyes. Everything was bathed in an eerie yellow light, to the point where almost nothing else was visible. She could see Beast Boy, though, launching himself into the tornado. "Terra, take my hand!" She felt a warmth on her wrist, gentle, not the harsh burning of her powers. Beast Boy's hand. She grasped it tightly, desperately, using him as a lifeline through her pain and blindness. She felt his other hand brush against her cheek.
"You're crying," he said quietly, his voice almost lost over the roar of wind. Terra tried to respond, but she couldn't form the words. She just stared helplessly at her friend, the tears running down her cheeks silently. He hugged her suddenly, holding her close, telling her without words that it was alright, everything was alright...
Terra knew that it wasn't, but she accepted the comfort eagerly, throwing her arms around him and clinging to him like a child to its teddy bear. The burning was overwhelming her, eating her from the inside out. Terra sobbed silently on his shoulder.
She didn't know how long they hovered there, but eventually her powers decided that they were done for now. The abnormal pressure was not gone, far from it, although it had been repressed a great deal. She would be able to hold it off for a few more days now.
Terra and Beast Boy landed gently on the mine tunnel's floor. Terra's legs refused to hold her and she refused to let go of Beast Boy. He ended up crouched on the dirt, she clinging to him like a thread that kept her from falling into oblivion. The pain was lessened now that her powers had retreated. It was not gone, though, and Terra continued to sob onto Beast Boy's shoulder. He awkwardly patted her back.
"I'm sorry," Terra choked, forcing herself to speak through the hurt. "I could have killed you..."
"But you didn't," he soothed. "It's alright, we're both fine..."
"No! You could have been hurt! Now you know... now you know why I can never stay with you, Beast Boy! I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me!" She pushed him away, more roughly than she had meant to, reluctant to relinquish his warmth and comforting presence but forcing herself to do so. It was to save him, she reminded herself brutally. It was to save his life. Terra retreated to the other side of the small cavern and curled up again, willing her tears to stop. They did, eventually.
Beast Boy waited silently, giving her the time and space she needed. When Terra was back to her usual self, he gingerly took her hand and they walked from the cavern together. He looked straight ahead. Her head was bowed and she stared only at her feet.
Beast Boy would never forget this side of Terra, one he was unlikely to ever see again. She was broken on the inside, a lonely girl looking for comfort. Comfort that he wanted so desperately to give her.