Terra stayed with the Titans for two more days. As he had promised, Beast Boy made absolutely no mention of her powers. Terra could feel the remaining energy festering and climbing once more. She had to leave. An empty mine shaft was one thing. Titans' Tower was quite another. The Titans insisted on giving her supplies.
"Thanks for everything, you guys. I'll come visit sometime if you'll have me," she promised.
"Why not just stay here?" suggested Robin. "We've got spare rooms. I know you can't control your powers, but we can work on... what?"
Terra looked at Beast Boy, a questioning and hurt look on her face. "You told him?" she asked. She felt betrayed, angry. "You promised you wouldn't tell! You promised, Beast Boy! I trusted you!"
"Terra, I didn't - "
Terra dropped the backpack. She shot a last angry glance at Beast Boy and bolted out of the Tower. She couldn't believe it. He had told Robin! She really had trusted him to keep her secret and she had believed he would be faithful to that.
Terra shot out her hand, summoning a large rock from the base of the island. It hurtled toward her. Terra jumped, expertly landing on its surface, and it tilted before flying away. Her anger had given new life to her powers. She could already feel the dangerous energy leaking from her. Even if Beast Boy had lied to her, she cared about him... all the Titans. She could have stayed if that was the only thing troubling her. She could have given herself time to cool off and gone back. But going back would endanger him.
Terra pounded her fist against her perch. If only she could control her powers! If only... Then her life would have been great. Her family would be alive. She could have joined the Titans. Every problem she'd ever dealt with had sprung, in one way or another, from her blasted lack of control.
She landed on the mainland, in the rock cliffs that she had haunted before meeting the Titans. The second her feet touched the ground, Terra was running. She had to get far enough away before her powers burst again. It had been stupid of her to stay even as long as she had. What if there had been some delay? What if her powers had gotten loose while she was in the Tower? How would she ever live with herself?
Her breath was quickly growing ragged in her lungs. Terra ran faster and, when her calf muscles started to hurt, still faster.
Suddenly, a cliff rose in front of her. Its slope was almost vertical. Terra turned sharply to her right, still moving at full speed. Cliff! She wheeled around and ran in the other direction. Cliff! Terra turned once more and began to retrace her steps. She did not get very far before the burning pain engulfed her. She screamed, dropping to her knees, arms wrapped around herself in hopes of warding off a pain that came from within her. The yellow light was brighter now than ever it had been. The pain, more intense than she could ever remember.
This place was made up of rock. Caverns and pathways and caves were carved into its face... It was all one big rock around her. Stupid! She was so stupid! She should have flown to the middle of the ocean, or a forest, where there were none... These thoughts were vague in her mind, numbed by the burning.
The ground beneath and around her rumbled ominously. Terra quieted, listening. It rumbled again and, suddenly, the ground beneath her flew straight up. Terra whimpered. It wasn't something she normally did but at the moment she was blind, in pain, and scared out of her wits. A temporary exception could be made.
Then, the rock began to tilt backwards.
Her hands scrabbled over the smooth, weathered stone, looking for some handhold but finding none. She was falling, falling... she hit the top of one of the cliffs hard and made a pained noise in the back of her throat. Shakily, Terra tried to push herself up.
That was when the boulder came crashing down on top of her. Terra's arms gave out, her elbows downward now hanging limply off of the cliff. She gave a strangled cry for help, but knew that it would go unanswered. She had come here, after all, to be alone. To make sure that no one got hurt because of her. Tears streaked down her cheeks, tears spawned from all the different sorts of pain she was being put through. They sparkled radiantly in the light from her eyes.
Even though she could only see yellow, Terra felt the proverbial darkness rising within her. She did not fight against it. After all she had done, death was a welcome retreat. She gave into the darkness and it consumed even the light from her eyes.
---
A shadowed figure detached himself from a nook in the rock face. The night had been light by the powerful yellow light of Terra's powers, but now it was gone. His steps were almost silent, despite the hard metal soles of his boots. His hidden eyes scanned the landscape, stopping when he saw the boulder at the edge of the cliff. More importantly, when he saw Terra's boots emerging from beneath.
He approached, confidently, not bothering to control his gait or hide in the deeper shadows. There was no need for that. He approached and examined the boulder. In an effort to save her life, Terra's powers had weakened it. They had not been able to smash it completely, however. That was fine. His fist shot out at the boulder's weakest point, plainly visible, and it collapsed in a pile of gravel. He shook out his hand casually, cleared away the pebbles, and turned Terra onto her back. His fingers went to her neck, looking for a pulse. It was there... but faint. She was alive. That was all that was important.
He picked her up, one of his arms bracing her shoulders and the other settled in the crook of her knees. Her head lolled limply. He could hear her faint, ragged breathing and see the barely existent rise and fall of her chest. His gaze turned briefly around. Her powers had done quite a number on the area and the girl had clearly taken the brunt of the damage. If he didn't hurry, she would die.
What a resilient girl, Slade mused, to have lived through all of that.
---
The first thing Terra became aware of was the steady beeps and buzzes of machines. She could feel the rasp of her own breath, irregular but deep. Her mind, though, was engulfed in darkness. Wonderful, comforting darkness through which could penetrate no thoughts or pains.
Why wasn't she dead? The darkness backed off a slight margin, allowing the thought to pass. She should be dead. She wanted to be dead, deserved to be dead... So why was she alive?
Now she wanted answers. Terra struggled against the blanket of darkness, frowning as though the expression would aid her in her battle. The darkness was stubborn, however, clinging to the folds of her mind with an iron grip. She wanted answers. If it could just go away until she got them, she would never fight against it again. The darkness apparently liked this bargain. It retreated, pulling away the comforting presence until she only felt muddled and confused.
Her pain returned, too. Terra could tell that she had broken bones and bruises, among other injuries, by the sharp throbs and dull aches in respective areas. Terra refused to make a sound to voice her pain. She squinted her still-closed eyes against the brightness pressing against her eyelids. Steeling herself, she opened her eyes. Fluorescent lights shone brightly above her, making her close her eyes with a small grunt of pain.
"Ah. You're awake. Please, do not open your eyes just yet. You have been unconscious for almost a week and it would probably hurt to do so." The voice was deep and kind, but also strangely menacing. It was familiar to her, though Terra was at a loss as to why. She was both drawn to the voice and repulsed by it. Its warning came too late.
A week! She had been... here... for a week! Where was she? Why wasn't she dead? The glare against her eyelids dimmed considerably and the speaker deemed it safe for her to open her eyes. She did so and was confronted with a familiar face or, rather, mask.
"Slade," she said. Well, rather, she tried to say. Her voice was rough and she coughed weakly, unable to do more. Slade disappeared from her line of sight and returned with a glass of water and a straw, which were offered to her. She regarded him suspiciously, but drank. Slade nodded, apparently satisfied.
"You've got two breaks in your left leg and a compound fracture. Both knees are broken and your right leg is more or less shattered. Only one of your ribs is unbroken." This was all delivered in a monotone. "I will not go into detail about the rest. You would do well to remain still for a while. Understand?"
She gave a slight nod in response.
Slade nodded once in return and turned away. Terra sighed. She did not like the situation - near death and, more than that, trapped with a villain. Oh, the situations she got herself into...
The darkness, deciding that she had gotten her answers, reclaimed her.