The faint sound of condensed moister dripping within the confines of the cave were audible, echoing off of the walls of granite, seeming to last for untold ages. The damp caveren was normally empty, not a living soul setting foot in it for great lengths of time, but today, today was different. It was playing host to figures, four of them, and they weren't just anybody, they were to Titans. Little over a month had passed since Raven was declared deceased, emotional wounds that ran deep into their very souls still fresh, but beginning to heal. It may have been of pure coincidence, but there were also many fewer calls or requests for their assitence, villains catching word of Slade's departure from this realm as well, not wanting to end up just like him. All in all, they knew that Raven's death, no matter how unfair it seemed, was for the best, taking possibly the greatest evil upon Earth with her. Cyborg's flashlight mounted on his right shoulder illuminated the narrow walkway bordered by deep crevices on either side, leading the group of heroes safely through.
"Are you sure you wanna do this man?" Cyborg questioned, continuing to walk forward, his voice echoing off of the cave's barren walls.
"I'm sure," Beast Boy replied.
"We don't have to do this now, you know," Robin inquired, Starfire nodding with his statement.
"I know," he answered, turning to the Boy Wonder, "and I know I'm sure I want to do this. Listen, I knew Raven really well, maybe better than all of you, and all I know is that it would be Raven's wish to do this. Even though it didn't seem like it, Raven forgave her long ago, as well all did, and with that, she has every right to live once more."
"Are you sure it isn't for other reasons?" Cyborg questioned, turning to see his friend, yet he continued forward.
"Like what kind of reasons, Cy?" Beast Boy asked, confused, yet, as if he were avoiding it.
"Like reviving her to cover up the hole in your soul that Raven left in her wake, as she did in all of us," Robin replied before Cyborg could answer, even though he was going to say almost the same exact thing.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Beast Boy stated, "nothing will ever be able to cover up the pain I feel from losing Raven, and nothing will be able to replace her. I'm doing this for the sake of things. Think about it guys, I know this will sound plain awful, but we are minus a team member, and we have the opportunity to gain one back. Trust me, I hate the way it sounds too, but it is the cold, hard truth. I know all of you know this as well."
They agreed within themselves, knowing it to be true, and there was no sense in denying it. They needed a replacement for Raven, especially at such a trying time, as it would only be a matter of said time before villains decided to get up the courage to continue what they were doing before Slade scared some of them straight with his death. The remainder of the walk went in silence, all brooding over the recent events, as well what lay ahead of them. Cyborg stopped as the path widened to a large room-like area, the others encircling around him. He brought his flashlight up, running the beam across the floor until it came in contact with the only irregularity in the room, a pedestal. The light traveled up the pedestal, casting upon a statue made of solid stone, the one belonging to Terra. Almost in awe, they stood there, having not visited as a group for quite some time, as if they were paying respects to her, even though she may have the chance to grace the Earth once more in a matter of mere moments.
"May I interrupt?" A dark, distinct voice broke the silence, everyone wheeling around out of fright, ready to attack, only to see it was 001. He had changed as well, Cyborg offering his expertise over his own design upon him, changing him. After many upgrades both hardware and software, he was the equivlance of a fully mechanized Cyborg. He altered his appearence as well, not wanting the robot to represent the very thing that took Raven away from them. Now having two eyes, both of which were light blue in color all the way through, much like Cyborg's artifical one. His mask also had been altered, having half black, the other half a dark blue, and made to look a little less menacing in apperance. The number had been removed from his head as well. His entire body looked much like Cyborg's, except he was black and blue, not white and blue, yet he retained the build of Slade.
"What, 001?" Cyborg questioned the machine, the one that had basically been his project over the past month.
"Who is this?" It questioned, pointing to the mortifed statue of Terra, the moment she saved the entire city, encasing her in that pose in solid granite.
"That," B.B. interjected, "is Terra. I don't know if Slade ever told you about her or not, but she used to be one of us, a Titan, like Raven used to be. Anyways, Terra's real mission was to spy on us, get all the information she possibly could on us, including all our weaknesses, and give them to Slade. In return, Slade showed her how to control her powers, the ability to control Earth. Terra did what she was instructed to do, but in the process, had developed feelings as friends, compromising her mission, yet she did what she thought she had to do. After that, she came after us, pitted in combat against her, almost losing too. When it all seemed lost, and I was about to meet my final curtain, she did what Raven did, listening to her heart, and her heart told her that we were her friends, and not his property, so she retaliated, ending his life, saving the city, but sacrificing herself in the process. We hope to bring her back to life."
"She isn't dead, friend Beast Boy," Starfire stated, looking up at Terra's rock form, "as Cyborg stated, she is merely unactive, as if she were in a deep sleep of the hibernation, yes?"
Cyborg nodded, surprised Star was able to remember that.
"If Terra ended M-, I mean, Slade's life before I was constructed, then how was he able to come back and do what he did to Raven?" 001 questioned in his altered voice, Cyborg making it less harsh than it was before.
"Raven's father, Trigon," Robin began, actually warming up to the machine as a reliable ally, "he is the master of all darkness, the emperor of all that is evil. He brokered a deal with Slade, granting him what he wanted in return for his service. Slade did his bidding, Trigon said he would revive him. After Trigon got what he wanted, he screwed Slade over, so he went and got his own flesh and blood back himself."
"What was Trigon's bidding that Slade was to do?" 001 continued, wanting to know the entire backstory to all the events that led up to what caused all of this.
"To bring him his daughter, the Portal," Starfire stated, remembering that horrid time.
"Who? The Portal?" he asked, looking at them, taking in all the information.
"Raven," B.B. answered, "Raven was the Portal, his only entrance into this realm. Slade broght Raven to be used as the Portal, and he came through, ending the world as we knew it. Even after all of this, we didn't give up, we knew there was someway we could defeat Trigon. We fought valiantly, but to no avail, then and only then, Raven finally realized that she was the one that must force her demonic father back where he came from, which she did, and saved all of us, and the Earth as well from iminent doom. Mind you, I have left out many details, but we can inform you of everything back at the Tower, all we gotta do is plug you in."
001 nodded, knowing B.B. was right, and it would be much easier.
"Anyways," Cyborg broke the silence, "do you have the injector?"
Beast Boy remembered, pulling it from the pocket on the front of his hooded sweatshirt, still wearing his usual uniform underneath of it. The eerie red casted its glow upon everything, the Xenothium sitting idle, merely dropping it would spell disaster for them. He looked at it, glancing up at the statue, then back down at it.
"How do I do this, Cyborg?" Beast Boy questioned in a serious tone, not wanting to harm Terra, nor waste what serum they had.
"By the way that thing is designed and the compostion of Terra's rock form," he informed, "I'm going to assume that you will inject the serum into her neck, below her ear, close to the jugular vein so it will quickly go into her system. Be careful though, if you puncture the the jugular, she'll die from massive blood loss when she comes to, we don't have the proper items to save her if you d-"
"I get it, Cyborg," Beast Boy interrupted, not wanting to hear of all the possibilties, looking up at Terra once more. "I just want to make sure I do this right."
Cyborg nodded, patting his friend on the shoulder, looking up at Terra's rock form as well.
"We're ready whenever you are, Beast Boy," Robin commented, Starfire smiling and nodding as well.
The heroes looked on, waiting to see what was going to happen, anxious for the result.
"Here goes nothing," B.B. commented, stepping forward, readying himself to climb the statue. He grabbed hold of one of her arms, easily climbing up, standing on the pedestal, little over an entire headlength taller than Terra, looking down on her.
"I really hope this works," he thought, pulling the trigger on the device, the needle-like drill extending out, beginning to rotate at an incredible speed.
B.B. steadied himself, making sure he had good balance in order not to slip or fall, or even risk damaging Terra's form with his own body or the device. He pushed the device closer and closer through the air, within millimeters of Terra's rocky exterior, holding it there, his hand beginning to shake.
"Calm down, man," Cyborg consoled, "it's all right, trust me, the sooner you inject that stuff, the sooner Terra will be alive. Take a deep breath, focus, and gently push it in."
Beast Boy headed his friend's words, taking a deep and much-needed breath, closing his eyes. After a moment, he reopened them, finally finding the said focus Cyborg instructed him of. He found the area he wanted to put it in, pushing it closer and closer once more, except this time he began making entry. The drill's sound of rotation quickly slowed as it pushed into the rock, small bits and pieces of rock, as well as dust, began to exit from the area Beast Boy drilled into. He continued to apply pressure, not stopping until the entire drill bit was within the confines of the statue. B.B. quickly diengaged the drill, then pulled the other trigger on the device, a plunger in the tube of Xenothium quickly injected the red liquid into the statue, but not before passing through the capacitator, giving it a quick electrical charge generated by the liquid diode crystals. After the entire solution was within the confies of the the rocken figure, nothing happened. Beast Boy, disappointed, quickly retracted the device, the small hole still visible. Disappointed, he started to climb down.
"Beast Boy, look!" Exclaimed Robin, pointing at the statue.
He quickly snapped his head around to see what Robin had pointed out. A small crack had developed from where the injection had taken place, yellow, glowing energy coming from it, pulsating.
"Is it really working?" He questioned himself, looking at the light.
The crack fissured, spider-webbing outwards, the energetic light following it as well, dancing across the surface, moving in quick succession. Anticipation, as well as a smile graced B.B.'s face, knowing that Terra's revival was at hand. The entire surface of her statue was covered in these small cracks, yellow energy visible from beneath them, the light growing stronger and stronger, even shooting rays of it out of the wider cracks. As if someone hit a switch, the light dissapated to nothing, but the cracks remained visible. Before any of them could react with disappointment, the energy exploded, nearly blinding them, sending B.B. flying off of the statue's pedestal and to the ground, several feet away. They all sheilded themselves from the light, as well as the numerous pieces of rock and debris that were expelled from the violent blast. Still protecting themselves, they glanced at the statue, except it was no longer a statue, Terra was of flesh and blood, still retaining the pose that she had held for so many years, the neural interface suit still upon her body. The yellow glow had turned into an aura, radiating from her body, her long, blonde hair fluttering upwards, making for something along the lines of being viewed as divine. Terra opened her eyes, solid with the same energy that surrounded her, but fading away into their normal, vivid blue eyes. She finally relaxed her muscles, the energy fading away, allowing the cavern to be engulfed in darkness once more. Cyborg turned his light on again, shining it on Terra, finding her on her knees, heaving for breath. She snapped her attention up, her face full of fear and confusion. Through the light though, Terra saw a figure, the very same figure she had intense hatred for. Her confusion quickly turned into anger, shooting upwards from her kneeling postion, using her powers to grab the very rock that played as a pedestal to her, letting out a growl, launching it. The boulder went out from underneath of Terra, her simply dropping to the ground, while the rock sped towards her former master. 001 continued to stand there, not even making an attempt to protect himself, confused, being told that Terra was their friend, his ally. The rock struck him in the chest, knocking him off his feet, leveling him.
"SLADE!" She exclaimed, taking off, running towards the downed machine, mistaking it for Slade by his build.
"No, Terra, stop!" Beast Boy managed, grabbing hold of one of her arms, Robin the other, Cyborg grabbing her from behind, Starfire in front, trying to stop her rampage.
"Let go! Slade's right there!" Terra yelled, angered by both the man that had complete control over her, as well as them trying to stop her, not even realizing what was going on.
"Terra!" Robin exclaimed, struggling to contain her, as the others were. "Listen to us! That isn't Slade!"
Upon hearing that, she quite struggling against them, yet they continued to hold her. 001 rose to his feet once more, dusting himself off, walking towards them.
"See, Terra," Cyborg consoled, shining the light off of the robot, showing how much he resembled Cyborg, yet built like Slade, "that ain't Slade, he's with us."
"I'm truly sorry for the misunderstanding," 001 stated, "entirely my fault."
Terra looked into each of their faces, seeing how much older they were. She knew it was the Titans, but had no idea it had been so long.
"W-what's going on, guys?" Terra questioned, frightened. "Why are all of you...older, changed, what happened?"
They all released her, taking steps back to give her room.
"Do you have any idea what happened to you, Terra?" Robin started. "When the entire place was ready to blow, and what you did, all of it."
"I remember faintly," Terra managed, "I remember telling Beast Boy goodbye, I knew I was going to stop it, but I didn't know of the ending result. There was a bright flash, then nothing, as if I were sleeping, dreaming, dreams of all the memories within me. After a while, they started repeating themselves, but I knew something had to have happened to cause this, but I didn't know exactly."
"You were turned into stone, Terra," Beast Boy managed, happy, yet regretting to bring it up. "You have been a stone statue for the past 7 years."
Terra's mouth went agape with disbelief.
"How did I come back?" She finally managed, happy to be breathing once more.
Beast Boy held up the device, showing it to her.
"Who made it?" Terra asked once more, wanting to know who her savior was.
"Slade did, Terra," Cyborg managed, her actually expecting him to take responsibility for it.
She was shocked, knowing what he would have done or would have been able to do if he had been the one to revive her. Terra snapped out of her trance upon thinking of what atrocities Slade had in store for her.
"I killed him though, how was he able to come back and.." Terra began.
"It's a long story," Beast Boy solemnly informed, "we'll fill you in on the rest when we get home."
Terra nodded, but took notice to the people she called friends around her. She saw Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg, plus the robot she nearly destroyed, but no Raven. She even looked behind her, searching for her.
"Where's Raven?" Terra naively questioned, not knowing what had happened to her. "I know she didn't like me all too well, but I figured that she would at least be present."
They all stopped, turning back around, none of them able to find words. Starfire's eyes shimmered wtih tears, all of them attempting to retain their composure.
"Raven..." Beast Boy began, preparing himself to say it, "Raven's...dead...Terra."
A massive tidal wave of grief struck Terra, knowing that she was never truly able to apologize for the horrid acts she commited, knowing Raven hated her with intensity.
"As I said," Beast Boy managed, taking hold of her hand to lead her weakned state out of the cavern, "there is a lot we have to fill you in on. More than you think."
Terra nodded, knowing that if the death of one of their own wasn't the worst of it, she was reluctant to hear the rest.