A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone who commented, be it good or bad. Yes, I got lazy on the last few chapters... The weather has been bad, power shutting off when I was writing... I decided that it was good enough after the fifth re-write. Sorry, you've all been gypped where chapters five through seven were concerned.

A Matter of Pride: Chapter Eight; Apprentice

Terra didn't know how long she had been here. There was no way to tell. Terra slept whenever she was tired, so often that her sense of time was completely skewed. Slade brought her meals at regular intervals - well, she assumed so, at least. Rarely was she awake when he came with a plate. It was always in sight when she woke up. She wasn't allowed to move around for what seemed to her forever. Her ribs healed rather quickly, she thought, as did her arms. There was no surprise there. None of the bones in her arms were broken, though there were one or two fractures according to Slade. Most of the injuries on her arms and torso were fairly minor, deep bruises and shallow cuts and scraps and the like. Well... minor by comparison.

Terra had a lot of time to think. What did Slade want from her? There had to be something. How had Beast Boy described him? "Bad guy. Real bad." Yes, that was it. The little she had heard about him, as well as her own experience with criminals, told her that there was something he wanted in return for saving her life. She couldn't help wonder what it was.

The next time Slade came, Terra was awake. She pushed herself into a sitting position and stared hard at him. He met her gaze evenly. Neither blinked for a full minute.

"What do you want from me?" Terra finally asked. Slade set her plate on the nearby table, as usual, and pulled a chair from no where to sit beside her. He did not relax, though, staring at her silently for so long that Terra began to fidget.

"You owe a large debt to me for saving your life," he finally said.

"I have money. I can pay. If I don't have enough, I can get more pretty - "

"I am not interested in money."

Terra scowled at him. His words were a riddle to her, the tone completely neutral in a way that made her feel like she was stupidly missing an obvious point.

"What do you want from me?" she repeated. "No riddles, Slade. I'm not in the mood."

"My, my, girl. You are an ungrateful one, aren't you?"

"Just not in the mood. Plain words."

"An apprentice. I want you to be my apprentice. Let me train you, and follow my commands. I will consider your debt paid in full."

"Why?" Terra was wary, though it seemed that she was getting the better end of the deal. She had kept the gem he had given her in her pocket, where it was now. A man with that kind of power... He wanted to train her, give her that power. What was he going to get out of it?

"I need an apprentice," Slade repeated simply. "You are powerful. You have a debt to me." Terra said nothing, brooding silently while staring at her knees.

"What if I say no?"

"Then I'll kill you. No one really cares about you, Terra, including me if you aren't useful to me. No one would miss you if you died. But," he continued, narrowing his visible eye ominously, "I think you will find that you aren't willing to throw your life away like that."

Terra lapsed into another silence. He was right. She avoided his gaze, even when she spoke again. "Can I think about it?"

"You have three days. I shall inform you when your answer is due." He left. She waited for a moment to make sure that he was really gone before pulling the plate closer to her.

---

The three days she had been given seemed to fly, but at the same time they dragged along at a snail's pace or slower. Terra decided, eventually, that she had no choice but to apprentice herself to this villain. She had thought that death would be a blessing, but the thought of it scared her now that she was no longer at its brink. She wanted to live and if that meant becoming Slade's apprentice, so be it.

Even though she was resigned to this choice, Terra hated herself for it. She was ashamed. She felt like a coward. So many people had wanted the same life that she claimed so glibly, so many people had died at her hands... Had they felt like this before their impending demise? Terra knew that she deserved to die. She knew it was only fair and right of her to reject Slade's offer and the consequent punishment, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

A coward. That's what she was... just a useless coward trying to save her own skin.

"What is your answer?" Slade asked upon entering with her next meal. Terra refused to look at him. Her shame ate at her heart, but she would not allow it to stop her...

"I agree to be your apprentice," Terra said quietly.

Slade was pleased. She could tell by his voice. He also sounded... smug, as if he'd been expecting this answer. "Excellent. Your training starts now. Get up." Terra's head jerked up and she stared at him in disbelief. Hadn't he been the one to say she should not move? She could see him grow impatient.

"You will learn, Delani, that I am not to be disobeyed," he said. Terra shivered. His voice was frigid, enough to send shudders down her spine. "If I could strike you without killing you, I would. Get up. There are crutches by your bed." Terra found that she believed his threat whole heartedly. She glanced around for the crutches mentioned.

Indeed, they were there. Clumsily, Terra fumbled with them and swung her legs to the side of the bed. She felt no pain, not really, just a dull sort of tingle, or an itch. Both were bound tightly in plain white casts. Terra gingerly touched the edges of these to the floor, putting the predominance of her weight onto the crutches. Now her left leg gave a small twinge of pain, one that she ignored. It was not bad. It amounted to nothing compared to the burning of her angry powers.

"Excellent. Your training has ended for the day; return to your bed and eat." He left. Terra, confused, sat down heavily. She set the crutches aside and swung her legs onto the mattress again. Her leg ached but she continued to ignore it and, soon, the ache faded to a small, dull throb that she hardly noticed.

---

Every day, Slade would instruct Terra in a series of short exercises. She had to stand without faltering, though she was allowed to use the crutches; she had to stand without help; she had to walk around the room without hesitating; touch her toes (this was harder than she had expected, as she had hardly moved in who-knew-how-long and the casts got in her way) and other such things. Slowly but steadily, Terra knew that she was healing and becoming stronger. The training exercises grew longer and harder as she improved.

One day, Slade presented Terra with a gift. It was a slim metal bracelet with a small circular stub at one point, as if it had once been attached to some sort of cord or tube.

"Put it on," Slade drawled. Terra fumbled with the clasp. She snapped it onto her left wrist and fastened the catch with some difficulty. Slade tossed her the end of a cord and she immediately recognized it as the same kind that had once attached to her bracelet. She bit her lip and examined both pieces, trying to see how they fit together. Seeing nothing that distinguished either piece, she stuck the cord into the bracelet. To her surprise, both reacted instantly and she was unable to budge the cord.

"This will probably hurt," Slade warned. He didn't seem to care, however. Terra eyed him apprehensively but he ignored her and turned to the wall. There were two knobs there, ones that Terra had seen before and had assumed that they were just light switches. Apparently not. Slade turned one knob slightly. Terra gasped. A warm, tingling feeling filled her. It felt like the same sensation she felt when her powers went out of control, but much more mild.

The sensation was centered around her bracelet. It glowed softly, yellow light. Terra could feel Slade watching her. She watched him from her peripheral vision. He turned the knob more and the warmth intensified. It was still bearable, however, so she wasn't worried. Slade twisted the knob violently and she collapsed back onto the bed, screaming. The pain was awful, eating her from the inside out, but it was also different than she had ever experienced before. Her eyes were clear, not blinded by yellow light, and there was no energy swirling around her. Her bracelet and the cord glowed brightly, filling the previously dark room.

Seconds dragged by as slowly as weeks and years. The pain's source was cut off but it took a second eternity before the fire had faded enough for her to so much as inhale properly. Terra lay there, panting, grasping the bracelet as though longing to take it off but fearful of the consequences.

"Interesting," Slade mused aloud.

"Wh - what's... interesting?" Terra asked, forcing the pain away with ruthless efficiency.

Slade looked at her coolly. His steady gaze gave nothing away but pierced her very being, able to see every thought and feeling in her mind. Terra flinched away from him, regretting the question.

"I will return tomorrow," Slade finally said, ignoring her question. And with that, he left.