Author's Note: Expect a lot of updates over the next couple days. I just watched Betrayal and Aftershock one and two again, so I'm full of inspiration!

A Matter of Pride: Chapter eleven; Anything

The best way to get them to open up to her was to open up to them. Reverse psychology. So, Terra opened up to Beast Boy. She knew that, in doing so, she risked letting him touch her heart. She was careful to avoid that. That would be the worst thing that could happen. But she told him about her. About how she had grown up, killed her parents, her brother, her sister, villains across the country. And he accepted that, soothed her frazzled nerves. Terra was sure to let on that she was at ease with him, when in fact the opposite was true.

But in return, Beast Boy opened up to her. And everything he said was faithfully relayed to Slade.

---

Robin had been working with his team, including Terra, working out new techniques that could make use of her powers. Cyborg and Robin got very good at balancing on moving rocks while she hurtled them through the air, zooming this way and that, tilting back and forth to avoid obstacles.

That practice was paying off, now, as Slade's robots streamed out of the abandoned building. Not even a word was spoken as Terra carted Robin through their ranks, he decimating them on either side while his mount took care of the ones in front of him. Terra herself leapt nimbly from rock to rock, calling others to catch her as she used the ones she had to wreak havoc on her master's minions.

"Catch!" Raven called. Terra caught the boulder and laughed as she hurled it into the ranks of their enemy.

"Thanks a ton!"

"Closer to two tons, actually." Raven spread her hands, creating a shield against the specialized red lasers that one robot fired, but it still knocked her out of the sky. A similar beam hit Terra's rock and she, too, fell. Robots closed in on all sides. Terra knew they wouldn't hurt her too badly, but still...

Beast Boy landed behind her, as a huge gorilla, and roared at them. It was like something out of King Kong: My girl. No touch. He swatted them away like flies, roared again, and picked her up. It was a strange sensation, being held in his arms while he shrunk... especially since, as a human, he was shorter than her.

That battle was won by the Titans, but Terra knew that it was a minor, even false, victory. Soon, Slade would call her into his service openly.

---

Terra had known from the very beginning that Slade would eventually command her to betray the Titans. It had been one of the key facts of her apprenticeship.

That didn't change the feeling of dread that rose within her when she read the instructions Slade had sent.

Tonight is the night. You have told me all about the security in the tower. I have the apparel used by each of the Titans. Tonight I shall send my robots and you will be there, helping bring about the downfall of the Titans. Make sure that they are all asleep by midnight.

Slade wasn't one to waste words.

That day featured a brief battle against Slade's robots, though the villain himself made no appearance. Terra played her part eagerly, wishing in some small corner of her mind that she could whole heartedly mean it when she shouted insults to Slade.

Afterwards, of course, they had pizza. Nothing special there.

About five that evening, as she was finalizing her part of Slade's plans and checking with him to see that they were accurate, Beast Boy knocked on her door. "Um, uh, just a minute!" Terra called, hurriedly clicking send and hiding the screen. She rushed to the door and opened it.

"Hi," Beast Boy said, a huge, sappy smile on his face. Terra shifted uncomfortably.

"Hi?" She waited for Beast Boy to go on, but he didn't. "Okay... uh... nice talking to you..." She started to close the door. Beast Boy squeaked and threw out his hands to stop her. He was holding a sparkling box, heart-shaped. It was the same shape and color as Rhea's clip, only bigger and... boxier.

"Beast Boy?" Terra asked.

"I, uh, made this... for you..."

"That's so sweet!"

"Yeah, but... I kinda went overboard with the glue." Sheepishly, he turned his open hand upside down and waved it enthusiastically through the air. The box stuck to his hand. Terra laughed quietly, but her good mood faded into an awkward one quickly.

"I don't know what to say."

"You could... say yes. Because I'm about to ask you out on a date."

"A date?" Terra's voice caught.

"Yeah! I thought we could maybe see a movie... go to dinner. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Beast Boy would hate her by tomorrow. Terra, despite all her efforts to remain aloof from her teammates, felt her heart break. She hated the idea of Beast Boy not liking her.

"I... I'm sorry. I can't." Terra vanished into her room, wincing at the way her voice sounded cold and clipped. She checked her email. Nothing from Slade. Taking a deep breath, Terra flung open her window and leaped out. She called a boulder to catch her and flew around to Beast Boy's room. His window was open, as well, and she could hear everything he was saying.

"Or maybe I could have... You, me, movies, Friday. Deal. Or... You are ze most beautiful woman I have ever seen... Or... You wanna go for a ride on my moped? Or... or... or... anything would have been better than standing there like a total goober!" Terra giggled at his voice changes, first to a deep and tough voice, then to a silly French accent and finally to what he obviously considered smooth-talking and cool. Then, to interrupt his fit of self-pity, she loudly cleared her throat. Beast Boy looked at her like a deer in the headlights. "Have you been there... this whole time?"

Terra opened her mouth to apologize for turning him down, and to warn him about what was going to happen very soon. What came out was: "Wanna go out?" Mentally, Terra slapped herself. What an idiot she was! Slade's takeover was tonight! She had to be here. She didn't really care about Beast Boy... Another part of her brain told her to stop lying and accept it. The Titans were her friends and there was nothing she could do about it. She had let him, especially, into her heart and that mistake would haunt her.

"Yeah! Uh, I mean... Sure! But... uh... why didn't you just knock on my door?"

Terra glanced at the door in question. How could she tell him that, even now, Slade's robots were beginning to enter? He would be hurt and confused. He wouldn't understand. Instead, she leaned toward him and offered her hand. "Do you trust me?" Her eyes were wide, begging him to just give her this chance... because she knew she would never be able to make it up to him again, ever.

"More than anyone I've ever met," he replied honestly, taking her hand. Terra was saddened as she pulled him up beside her. His trust was badly misplaced.

She took him to one of her favorite perches, for a long time since before ever meeting the Titans. Beast Boy was surprised. "I didn't think you meant out of the city," he confessed to her.

"It's really pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes, you have to leave a place to really appreciate it." Her home near Denver. Pacificsville. Titans' Tower... there were so many places that she longed for after leaving. She lived in Titans' Tower, for another few hours at least, but she could already feel the deep ache of homesickness. Soon, she would be forever stuck in Slade's hideout... unless they were causing trouble. To distract herself, Terra turned to him and asked, "You hungry?"

---

Ben's, about fifteen miles outside Jump City, was a small diner. It wasn't quite as good as Joe's place, in Pacificsville, if you wanted a meal. But Terra had to admit that there was no better place for apple pie.

Beast Boy agreed. "This... is the best pie... in the history of pie!"

Terra smiled as if she had been complimented, and not just her taste in dessert. "There's a place about a hundred miles outside Gotham that makes a mean cherry, but for apple, this is the best there..." She had turned toward a mirror and now looked into it. Terra dropped her spoon with a gasp and whirled around, expecting to see the masked figure of her mentor. But there was no one... well, other than some senior citizens playing pool. Beast Boy was too interested in his pie to notice.

Terra pulled some coins out of her pocket. Slapping them on the counter, she said, "Let's get out of here. Night's still young."

"But... pie!" Silly Beast Boy! He could get pie any time, but if Slade was here... She dragged him out the door, onto a rock, and away from the diner. Her nervous glances in every direction went unnoticed. So did the communicator that fell from Beast Boy's belt.

Over the next hour, Terra thoroughly enjoyed herself with Beast Boy at the amusement park where she had spent so much time during the last seven years. If she had known what would happen on the ferris wheel, she would have avoided the park altogether.

"Beast Boy... if you knew something... bad about me, would you still be my friend?" She couldn't believe she was even considering this. No matter how much she liked him, and no matter how much he liked her, they were enemies.

"Of course!"

"No, I mean... if you were really my friend... I could tell you anything, and no matter how... how horrible it was... you'd still like me?"

"You know I would."

"No, I mean it! Anything. If it was worse than... all that stuff I told you about... you'd still..."

"Terra, anything. I promise." He scooted closer and leaned in to kiss her.

"Hello, Delani. Remember me?"

Beast Boy pulled away and they both turned to look. The ferris wheel continued to rotate, bringing Slade's mask into the light.