Chapter 8

Faltering Confidence

It had been a few hours since Terran and Terra's last talk with the Titans back at the Tower, and they had now explored most of the city. Both had gone to many places in the past few hours including the mall, the industrial section, which they left shortly afterwards, the surrounding plains, and lastly the video arcade. Terra, feeling far bolder than her brother, decided to take on the Video Arcade challenge to achieve the high score on every game and win prize money. With a lot of practice, and the unexpected support of her brother, she won.

The runner-up, infuriated that he had lost to a rookie, began accusing Terra of cheating and with the help of a little bribery, got them kicked out. Terra pulled Terran out of the arcade before he could start a fight, one that she knew he'd win, therefore saving the guy's life.

"Don't sweat it bro," Terra told him. "It just goes to show that we're better than him, and that he takes games way to seriously."

Terran irritably accepted his sister's proposal, but could tell that she would have loved for him to knock the guy's lights out. They moved on for awhile before stopping at a local convince store. Terra then suggested that they should bring the Titans something to eat when they got back and her brother agreed.

"Let's see, what should we get," Terra asked herself. She went through the different variety of chips, candy bars, and sodas until she had a basket full of at least two things for everyone.

"You want anything bro," Terra asked her brother, who was two aisle away.

"Just pick me up a soda or something," he replied. Something had his attention fixed, she could tell. She carelessly went up and down the meter high aisles, keeping an eye on her brother. As she got closer, she thought she saw his lips moving. Terran's eyes shifted and Terra quickly looked away. She could feel his eyes on her and Terra did her best to seem interested in looking for more items to buy.

Terra risked a glance and was relieved to see Terran moving away. She moved to an aisle parallel to him and saw his lips moving again. A haunting feel overcame her. Was he talking to Slade? A lump formed in her throat as she turned the idea over an over again. He could have been lying to her the whole time; after all he was exceptionally good at it. He had fooled the Titans for a month without them ever suspecting a thing. Terra was so wrapped up in the idea that she failed to notice Terran moving towards her.

"Yo Terra," he said, shaking her a little. "You ok?"

Terra snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "Yeah I'm fine," she lied, trying not to make eye contact. Terran looked at her from the corner of his eye, and then lead her towards the counter. "Come on, let's get going."

Terra made sure she didn't stare at her brother for to long as to not arose suspicion as she made her purchase. The cashier was kind enough to give them their purchase for free once he recognized Terra as a member of the Teen Titans. They left the store soon after and made their way back to the coast.

"Hey bro, not to be nosey or anything but why were you talking to yourself," Terra said as she shifted the bag betweens arms, finally gaining the courage to ask him. She waited for her brother's reply, or at least acknowledgement that he heard her. When he didn't Terra turned to him and said: "Bro?"

"What?"

"Why were you talking to yourself back there?"

"Is that why you were staring at me," Terran asked.

"I asked you first," Terra countered, seeing that he was delaying.

"Geez Terra, haven't you ever seen someone thinking out loud," Terran retorted. He shifted back-and-forth between each leg as he and Terra continued to stand in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Ok," Terra finally submitted.

Terra turned back around and headed towards the coast. They didn't talk much on the way back, and the silence was getting to Terra. Finally she couldn't stand it and looked back to her brother to try and start up another conversation.

"Hey Terran, just a quick-"

She stopped cold when she saw Terran was munching on a chocolate bar. He had never even touched the bag since they left the store and Terra could not recall ever buying that item.

"Terran, where did you get that," she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"We bought it remember," Terran answered.

Terra reached into the bag and pulled out the receipt. She looked over it once and held it in front of his face. "No we didn't," she snapped. Her eyes narrowed. "You stole it didn't you."

"Of course not," Terran snapped back. "Man Terra, you guys just like to accuse me of everything don't you."

"Then where did you get it?"

"What does it matter?"

"TERRAN!"

Terra crushed the receipt in her hands as her anger rose. Terran, likewise, was losing his patience. But instead of continuing the back and forth argument with his sister, his eyes dimmed and he slumped his shoulders.

He sighed and tossed the rest of the bar into the sewer. "Alright you got me, I did steal it ok." He stepped past his sister, heading back to the Tower. "I'm sorry, alright. That's why I was talking to myself, trying to decided whether I should do it or not."

Before Terran could go any farther, his sister caught up to him. He looked very depressed and disappointed in himself. "Bro, why'd you do it? You're supposed to be a good guy now."

Terran halted and looked at his sister. "That doesn't change the fact about how I was raised. The only reason I can do good sometimes was that short period in my life were I could just be another person."

Terra placed her hand on his shoulder. "The 'Brotherhood', right."

Terran nodded. "I was raised to be a villain. Stealing and hurting others is all I know, and all I'm good at." Terra could see in his eyes that this was something he had to deal with on a daily bases. She couldn't image how hard it could be for someone who had to decide what to do with their life. Do what they thought was right, or do the only thing they knew how to.

"Don't worry bro, I won't tell."

Titans Tower East

Common Room…

All the Titans had gathered around the table on the top floor of the common room, except for Mas and Menos who had gone to search for the missing Aqualad and Speedy. The Titans had completed their search of the Tower, and had compiled any and all evidence concerning Terran. They had almost gone through all the evidence for the third time in the past hour.

"So, the attacks in Jump City are near identical to the times Terran left the Tower," Raven stated.

"But, that still doesn't give Terran enough time to go from Steel City and back to make all those times," Cyborg countered.

Bumblebee set down a data pad for the other Titans to see. "You forget that Terran's communicator disconnects itself from the mainframe, kind of suspicious if you ask me," she added to Raven's evidence.

Beast Boy brushed aside the data pad and set down a gray duffel bag onto the table. "But there's no way for him to taper with it. None of the equipment that could rewire the communication package and the only thing he has in his room is a bunch of laundry."

Beast Boy felt his hair flatten as the cybernetic teenager seated next to him patted him on the head. The changeling swatted the hand away and saw his friend with a peculiar smile. "What?"

"Congrads BB, you actually said something smart," Cyborg chuckled. Beast Boy growled but refused to make a comeback.

"Maybe Slade got into the spine of metal in Terran's back," Starfire spoke up, in very choppy grammar.

The leader of Titans East shook her head. "Impossible, when we found Terran all evidence of the implant had been removed. He's one hundred percent human."

"This means," Cyborg countered, "someone got to him first, someone like Slade. He could have done something to Terran before he set him loose."

No one argued with this point. All eyes turned to the boy wonder who had not said a word since the discussion began. "Robin," Raven asked, "do you have something to add."

Robin looked over his teammates once, then the evidence. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "Yes I do," he answered, his voice serious and determined. "All the evidence is here, and all of it points to Terran, especially seeing him attack us in Jump City." He looked back to his teammates and continued. "This is definitely Slade's handiwork, no doubt about it. But I think there's more to this than we're seeing."

"Like what," said Cyborg.

"Maybe we're not seeing the big picture. After all this is Slade we're talking about, and I've had years of experience tracking him," Robin continued.

"What are you getting at," asked Raven.

"Alright, tell me. What is the one thing that makes Terran special? In fact, what's the one thing that separates Terran and Terran from any other superhero or villain," Robin asked his teammates.

The Titans thought this over for some time. Robin sat back and waited for his teammates to figure it out, and was somewhat disappointed in how long it was taking them.

"They're…both…blond," guessed Beast Boy.

Robin was about to criticize Beast Boy for his guess when he stopped. Beast Boy was right. Robin had never thought about it before, but Terran and Terra were the only blond superheroes, at least the ones he knew.

"Yes," Robin mumbled, "they are both blond, but that's not what I was getting at."

"WOHOO," the changeling cheered, "I knew something Robin didn't!"

"Beast Boy, get back on track," snapped Raven. "Before I give us a reason to-"

Raven was halted by Starfire's sudden gasp. She had her hand clamped over her mouth, her emerald eyes wide open. "You mean…" she began.

"Yes, their powers," finished Robin. The other Titans groaned in frustration.

Cyborg slapped his forehead. "Ah man, I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"It all makes since now," said Raven. "We have been tricked."

"I know," the changeling concurred. "I was so wrapped up about being attacked by Terran I didn't notice the one we were fighting never used his powers."

"…And the one here was," Robin concluded. The boy wonder smiled, knowing that his teammates were now seeing the situation in a different light. Robin's knowledge of Slade's tactics had once again proved invaluable.

"So we're all agreed, Terran is innocent," Robin asked. His teammates nodded. "Good," Robin said as he got up from the table and left. The door to the hallway slid open, allowing Robin to exit. Now that they had pieced together a part of the puzzle that had stumped them for so long, now it was time to wonder. If Slade was using this as a decoy, what was his real objective?

Slade's Lair…

The double-steel door slid apart, disappearing into the wall. Their seams molded into the wall, becoming as invisible as their creator was in shadow. The master criminal, Slade, stepped through them and was placed inside the entrance hall. An enormous beam of light was casting long shadows throughout the cavernous room as the large elevator door above vanished from sight.

An old man was the only occupant of the darkening room. He had snowy white hair but not much of it due to his growing bald spot on the top of his head. He was thin and looked as though he'd be snapped in half from a windstorm. His nose was larger than normal, giving him a vulture like appearance which was amplified by his white tuxedo. Despite all his ghastly features, he was as kind as a grandfather, always ready to pour a cup of tea to anyone who asked.

Slade approached the man, his stride more friendly than commanding. The man saw Slade approach, and gave warming smile. "Ah, on time as usual," the man chuckled.

Slade nodded and halted a few feet from him. "I wish the same could be said for you old friend," Slade replied. "You're late."

The old man ignored the comment and inspected the room before turning back to Slade. "Honestly Slade, I leave for a few months and look what happens to the place," he joked.

Slade placed his hand on the man's shoulder and led him out of the room. "You can blame my new apprentice for that," Slade joked.

"Teenager?"

"Of course, who else could make such a mess?"

Before long, they had made their way back to Slade's throne room. The man once again inspected the room and nodded in approval. "At least this room is well kept," he said as he ran his finger along the wall, searching for dust. "Though I can't say I favor the location. Why choose this place?"

Slade sat down in his throne and rested his arms along the armrest. He gripped the edge of the right armrest, activating a control panel hidden on the underside. A large monitor snapped on, illuminating the room in a wavering blue light.

"I thought it'd be fitting," he said as he used the other buttons to cycle through the different video feeds, "considering the circumstances of my plan."

The old man looked at Slade from the corner of his eye. His chin tightened and he looked to the flashing images being displayed across the monitors. "So, I take it that everything is going well."

Slade nodded and leaned back in his throne when he found the feed he was looking for. "Oh, it is going far better than I had hoped," he answered. "The Titans are trying so hard to figure out what I'm up to, trying so hard to make sense of all the information I've laid for them." Slade let out a sigh of satisfaction. "They are failing to see the answer, even when it's right in front of them." Slade tapped the fast-forward button on his chair and watched the feed cycle at inhuman speed. It sped through hour after hour of footage until it came to halt at the current time.

The image was of the Titans Tower in Steel City, coming closer with each passing second. Slade tapped another button, and the screen split in half to show two different perspectives of the Tower, one from the base, and the other from a higher angle.

"So," the man began, "how is my 'nephew' doing?"

"Nothing out-of-the-ordinary," Slade replied. "Mainly trying to persuade the Titans to believing he's innocent…rather laughable really."

"So I take it the mission is going perfectly."

"Oh, it's going far better than I'd hope."

"Indeed," the man nodded. He looked back to the screen, and after a short time of consideration he turned back to his old friend. "Slade, I've been going over your plan, and…" the man stopped, trying to select his choice of words. "…are you sure about this. You know the risks involved."

Slade paused the tape and turned to the man. His expression was indistinguishable, but there was certain tenseness to his posture. "Quite sure," Slade replied, slightly irritated by his old friend's lack of confidence. "Quite sure, Wintergreen."

Titans Tower East…

Terran and Terra entered the elevator, both somewhat uneasy yet comforted at the same time. Their comfort came from having been around the city for the past four hours and felt like they were once again brother and sister instead of two fighting individuals. Terra could tell her brother was far more comfortable being around her and she was starting to trust him more than she had.

Their uneasiness came from having to return to the Tower. Terra was worried that her friends had discovered that Terran truly was behind the attacks and not one of Slade's tricks. Terran had the same fears, but he was also uneasy at having to be around a large group of people again, this was due to his seclusion in the 'Brotherhood' where he had little to no long term human contact aside from the main members.

The elevator came to a halt around the midsection of the Tower and they stepped out. Before Terra could get far, she was stopped when she realized Terran wasn't following her. His head was hung, and he was twiddling a piece of string between his gloved fingers.

"Something wrong," she asked, making her way back to him. Terran let out a long sigh, and instead of answering he stepped past his sister and made his way down the hall. "Bro?"

She followed him through the rectangular hallways still under construction until he stopped at door a few minutes later. He touched the control panel and the door slid open to reveal a gray, barren room.

Terran looked back to his sister and said: "Terra…thanks."

Terra returned a smile. "Anytime."

Terran looked back to his room and out the window. The sky was growing darker and the clock hung on the wall read 7:37 P.M. "It's getting late," he said as he entered the room. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you then," Terra replied with a smile just as the door. Once it was closed she headed back to the elevator. The trip to the top seemed short, and soon Terra found herself once again in the common room. Scattered around the room where the other Titans, doing their own various tasks. Beast Boy was the first to notice her return and hurried up to the balcony to greet.

"Hey Terra, how'd it go," he said cheerfully, wrapping his fingers between hers.

Terra placed the bag of groceries on the table and hugged her boyfriend in return. "It went great; I really think he enjoyed it."

"Good, cause we've got our own bit of news for you."

Terra let go of his hand and back away slightly. She looked Beast Boy up and down, afraid of what he was about to tell. "You…do," she said, hesitation in her voice.

By this time, the rest of the Titans had gathered around Terra and she began to feel trapped. Robin was the first to step forward and explain.

"Well as you already know, we did a bit of investigating…"

"…And we found some pretty suspicious stuff," Cyborg added.

"Which at the time made Terran the culprit undoubtedly," Raven added to Cyborg's statement.

"But once we gathered all the clues, not all of it fit together perfectly…" Bumblebee explained.

"…so we've come to the conclusion," Robin picked up.

"HE'S INNOCENT," Beast Boy exclaimed.

It took a full three seconds for Terra to absorb it all, but once she did she let out a whoop and gave Beast Boy and crushing hug. She refused to let him go until he turned blue and fainted.

"Are you guys serious," she said ecstatically. "He really is innocent."

Robin rubbed his chin as he looked over the unconscious Beast Boy lying before him. "We're pretty sure. Everything seems to point to Slade either tricking us into thinking its Terran when it's really someone or something else or..."

Terra's smile faded. Her eyes drifted back and forth between each member of the Teen Titans. "Or?"

Robin sighed. "Or…Slade is giving us false clues to throw us off track, and Terran really is somehow able to be in two places at once." The room became quiet, and Terra's smile faded more and more. "But don't worry Terra, we're almost a hundred percent sure he's innocent."

Terra's spirit lifted, but not by much. She placed her arm behind her head and smiled. "Thanks guys, I guess that's good enough for me. Come on, let's go down and tell him the good news."

Titans Tower East

9th Floor Terran's Room…

The door slid shut, leaving Terran cut off from the rest of the Tower. He let out a long yawn and headed over to his cot. His room was barren except for the cot, his duffel bag of extra clothes. He had lost his old backpack when he died, and all his childhood belongings with it. The rest of his room was empty and the only light came from an overhead light the open window. Terran stopped once he reached his bed. He stared the window with a confused. He didn't remember opening it, and it couldn't have blown open by itself. He walked over and closed it, and the cold breeze ceased.

Terran headed back to his bed and peeled off his worn gloves. He slumped down on his bed and buried his head into his pillow. He wanted more than anything to fall asleep right then, but he couldn't. His mind was running like mad, recalling all the events of the day, and at every turn coming back to the voice.

That voice nagged at him like a fly buzzing around his face. No matter how hard he tried to place it to a face, the answer still eluded him. But he knew he had heard the voice before, somewhere long ago.

Before he could press into his past any longer, there was a knock at the door. He lifted his head up and stared at the clock lying on the floor. It showed he had been resting for over an hour.

Maybe I did fall asleep, Terran thought to himself as he lifted himself off the bed. He quickly patted down his hair, feeling that some of it was sticking out to the side. He went to the door and opened it. His eyes snapped opened when he saw the Titans, including his sister, from Jump City outside his doorway.

"Um…hi," said Terran, wondering what they wanted.

Terra stepped to the front and smiled. "Hey bro, mind if we come in?"

Terran raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Sure, I was just sleeping."

The Titans filed in and Terran went over to his cot and sat down. Each Titan took up their own position somewhere in the room. Robin stood near the far wall with Starfire by his side, Raven stayed near the door, Cyborg propped himself against the closet door, and Beast Boy and Terra stood hand-in-hand near the window.

Seeing Beast Boy holding Terra's hand caused a rising anger in Terran. He felt his stomach churn, and his blood begin to boil. He tried to reason with himself, mainly to figure out why he was suddenly angry at the green changeling. He had known the two had had a relationship before and would undoubtedly have another in the future, so he was confused at why he suddenly seemed hostile towards the idea.

"Terran?"

Terran snapped back to reality and turned his attention back to Robin. Apparently he had been staring angrily at the couple and had drawn the attention of the leader of the Teen Titans.

"Oh, sorry about that. I was just…" Terran mumbled, "Never mind."

Robin looked between his two teammates and Terran before continuing. Beast Boy and Terra shrugged and Robin nodded in reply. "Ok Terran, I guess you know we're here for more than just to say hi."

"And I also guess that its good news or I'd be in cuffs by now," Terran smirked.

"Correct," said Robin. "It is good news."

"Well let's hear it," Terran rushed, his eagerness getting the best of him.

Robin let out a quarter smile. "Well, we've decided that maybe you were telling the truth. That you are innocent."

Terran immediately stood up and held his arms to his sides. "So, you guys believe me. That I'm a good guy."

"Correct."

"Told ya bro," Terra smiled.

Terran couldn't believe what he was hearing. For once in his life someone actually believed him the first time around. Though he wouldn't show it, he almost felt like crying. Seeing that Terran wasn't going to say anything, Robin stepped forward with his hand outstretched.

"Well, on behalf of all of us. I'd like to apologize for the way we-"

Robin stopped short when a floorboard shifted beneath his foot, almost causing Robin to fall in. All the occupants of the room snapped to attention and stared with great interest at the unearthed floorboards.

"Hello," Cyborg exclaimed.

Robin removed the floorboard completely and dug his hands inside. "I thought you guys said you searched through everything," Robin snapped, directing this towards Beast Boy and Cyborg.

"We did," they replied.

Robin dug in farther until his hand brushed a leather exterior. He clenched it in his hand and pulled it up for all to see. Everyone gasped as Robin held before them, and black and gray suit. An exact match to the ones that Slade's drones wore, and the one they had seen Terran wear a week before.

All eyes turned to Terran. He was dumbstruck, frozen in place. His limbs were shaking and his mouth was agape. "That's…but…no I'm…" he babbled.

"Terran," Terra said with a quivering lip. "You said you weren't…"

Terran looked at his sister, then the other Titans in horror. He rushed to Robin and snatched the suit away from him. He then found an opening and struggling with the stretchy material to put it on. Once he finally got his limps into the corresponding pant and arm holes, he showed the rest of the Titans. The suit was saggy on his body, and flopped around like spaghetti.

"You see, it can't be mine," Terran begged. "Its to big for me, there's no way I could-"

He stopped short when he felt the suit shrink, wrapping around his body like a second skin. The Titans had had enough. Each member, except for Robin, stepped towards the door, but not without giving Terran one last hateful glare.

"No wait, I can explain," Terran pleaded. "Please you have to believe me!"

No one responded, everyone but Robin was already halfway out the door. Before exiting, Terra looked back to Terran. Her saddened expression turned to one of anger and sneered. "It trusted you."

Terran was about to run to her, but Robin stepped in the way and pushed him down onto the cot. "Don't think you're going anywhere," he said, quickly cuffing Terran's wrists. "You're a criminal, and will be treated as such. I hereby arrest you, Terran."

Terran was about to protest, but felt no use in fighting. He closed his eyes and felt his eyes well up. He then hung his head between his legs, stroking his knees with his hands, and wallowed in his sorrow.