Chapter 5
[The next morning]

The team had stayed up all night finishing their planning. Edward didn't say much to Terra, but, he was pleased that she was allowing the rest of the team to help her.

[Terra's doing pretty well, all things considered,] he said to Raven telepathically.

[Don't let that fool you, dear. Terra's fuming,] she said.

[Why?] Edward asked.

[It dates back to before she was petrified. I sense that she's hurting under the anger,] Raven said.

[I'm not surprised at that,] Edward said, [I've wondered that as well at times. I think part of this might have to do with her problems before the team met her. She seems to have self-esteem issues, but, I'm glad to see she's letting the rest of the team help her. I wish I had more time to study her mannerisms and attitudes to better mimic her.]

[If Cyborg gets her rings ready, she can probably use me for a disguise or something. You can't use her powers any more than you could use mine,] Raven said wistfully.

[I'm going to meditate for a while,] she said with a soft smile. Edward smiled to himself as well.

[Cyborg's Lab]

Cyborg put the finishing touches on the rings that Terra would have to wear. He needed to know what Terra should look like, though. She was close to Raven in height, but, the size difference (5'2" for Raven, 5'4" for Terra) was just enough that Raven wasn't a good match.

But, it was a toss-up between Edward and Starfire as they are similar in size.

The other problem was Terra's powers. If she overdid it, the rings could short out, rendering them useless and blowing the cover totally. Slade certainly would be able to figure out which was the real Terra and which one was Edward.

Cyborg was hoping that they would have had more time in which to test different configurations for the rings. If he would have had time, he would have been able to figure out a way to turn Terra invisible and any indication of her powers being in use would have been disguised behind Edward's use of her form.

[Robin's room]

Robin was able to get an hour of sleep and knew it would have to do. He didn't want to risk overdoing it.

He wasn't happy that Slade was calling the shots and against his better judgment opted to have the team stay in the Tower. There was no sense in spooking Slade into detonating those bombs early. Even if there was a chance that Slade was bluffing, the team had to assume that there were several high explosive bombs.

He didn't really like the plans, either. Too much was left to chance on short notice. Terra's disguise might falter before Edward put his part of the plan into motion. It depended on Slade being convinced that he had captured Terra and to give up the detonator to the bombs. Either that or Edward would have to wrestle the device away from Slade in a hurry.

One thing that Raven had stressed earlier that evening is that Slade's devices typically had a failsafe built in. Her and Terra found out in their second mission the "hard way" when Slade's attack on the tower went into high gear when their controls were smashed by a 2 ton rock.

If the detonator was destroyed, there was a good chance the bombs had a timer backup that would activate if there was a loss of signal. Not even Edward could throw that far.

But, it was all that they could come up with.

[Terra's room]

The geomancer was also concerned. Next to Robin, she knew the most about Slade and, well, she had no problems giving him up to the Titans. It was part of her payback plan. She would betray him one last time, the way she did the Titans and tell them every possible thing she knew about him.

There wasn't enough time to give the full story, but, Terra was determined to see it through. She knew that if she didn't, there's be no closure and she'd be left wondering if there was any loose strings.

She hoped that Edward could pull off the ruse. He had to convince Slade that he was Terra.

She was more than ready to kill Slade herself, but, after talking to Edward a few days prior, after she was more willing to listen to not just him, but, the rest of the team. The initial talk had set in but, Terra had needed to ask a few more questions.

[Edward's Room]
[Four days earlier]

Terra had become curious and wandered over to Edward's room to talk. She was surprised to see his door open and she called out, "Hey, Edward?"

"I'm here, Terra," he said, "Come on in."

Terra came in and saw that Edward and Raven were sitting next to each other.

"I'll come back," Terra said.

"It's all right, Terra," Raven said, "You can stay. Please, sit down."

"You sure?" Terra asked. She still felt uncomfortable around Raven at times."

"We're sure, Terra," Edward said, getting up.

"Coke?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a smile.

"Why was the door open?" Terra said.

"So that the others will not think that Raven and I are doing anything funny," Edward said.

"If the doors were to be closed," Raven said in her usual monotone, "The others might think Edward and I are engaged in…" She blushed heavily.

Terra put things together, "No need to say anything else."

"Thanks," Raven said with a sigh.

Edward handed Terra a glass of Coke, Raven got some Sprite, and Edward a 2d glass of Coke.

"What's shaking, Terra?" Edward said.

"Well," she said, "I'm confused about something. Since I know that Slade's back, part of me wants revenge, plain and simple. Part of me is hesitant to get even. What should a hero do?"

"Good question," Edward said, "As you know, I've lived a very long time, so, I've worked alongside different heroes and heroines.

"Some thought that it was proper to avenge wrongs or deaths instead of bringing the person responsible to justice the right way. They, like you, sought my advice and some took it. Others still opted for revenge and paid dearly for it.

"The thing, Terra, is that we're looked on as heroes and protectors of Jump City. We cannot seek revenge, no matter what the person did to them.

"This is especially true for you. There are people out there that were reminded that you and Slade worked together to take over the city. They might not care that you sacrificed yourself when all was said and done. If they see you as seeking revenge on Slade instead of letting the Titans do their job, that will make it harder to get you a pardon from the Governor and the President.

"If they see you as letting the Titans work alongside you, they will be more likely to forgive and be supportive of those pardons."

Terra thought for a moment, "I haven't been pardoned, yet?"

"No," Edward said, "That I will take care of after this mission. Both tend to hear me out more than they do most folks. If I suggest they consider a pardon, they will. They might not agree right away, but, I can be stubborn at times."

Terra smiled at that news. She hadn't told anyone that she was worried that she'd have to do some time in jail due to her past.

"The bottom line," Raven said, "We can't stop you from seeking revenge, but, remember that we can't have your back if you go that route. No matter how you feel, let the team help you."

Edward reached out to Terra with a hand and was surprised when Terra took it.

"I know Slade hurt you badly, Terra," he said, "You have to try to set as much of that aside as possible. We're not going to expect you to put every single hurt aside, and, if you want to chuck rocks or whatever at him with something like 'This is for …' insert some hurt here, fine. If you even want to save your last move for 'And this one's for me,' I'm not going to say anything."

"You didn't tell anyone what we talked about?" Terra asked.

"He didn't," Raven said, "I'd know if he did and boyfriend or not, he'd get smacked."

[Ouch!] he said via the link.

[Dear, please don't use the link in cases like these. You give something away and you might not have to worry about me…Terra would literally bury you,] she replied and closed the link.

Edward raised an eyebrow in response. Terra interpreted that to mean he was actually a tad concerned with Raven's threat. She tended to make good on them.

"I gave you my word, Terra. That stands until you die or you allow me to tell others. And, even after your death, my sister-in-arms…I still would not say anything unless there was an overriding reason," Edward said, "This time you have an impartial witness in Raven."

"No offense, but, she's your girlfriend," Terra noted, "Not exactly neutral or impartial."

"I know Raven enough to know she'd kick my rump regardless of her feelings towards me. She's one of the few that actually has my permission to kick my rear end," Edward said.

"I noticed that you don't call her 'Rae' anymore," Terra said.

"That's intentional on my part," Raven said, "I don't mind it coming from him, but, I did ask him to use my name in public. In the Tower, that's OK."

Edward smiled as his girlfriend. He was learning that she was really uncomfortable with "PDA".

But, she made time each day to visit Edward (or he'd visit her) for some physical time. In many ways, the empath was opening up. With Malchior behind her and Trigon also out of the way, her mind was recovering.

But, she hadn't let him re-enter Nevermore since the rescue. She had, however, relented and let her emotions use the link when needed. That was interesting as they all sounded alike. Edward had to determine which one was which by their inflections. Like if the voice was really mirthful, it was usually Happy. Timid piped up at times, mainly to ask a question or two, and so on.

They talked more, mainly to assure Terra, again, that the team would be there for her.

[Present – Raven's room]

Raven was probably the calmest one so far. She was actively meditating and inside her own mind, talking to several emotions to see if there was anything else that could be done.

"I think," Knowledge was saying, "that there's not much more that can be done. It's up to Edward to pull this mission off and we can support him like we do the rest of the team.

"That's a BIG help," Raven said sarcastically.

"What do you want me to say?" Knowledge groused, "I don't think your books will say much about immortal Dragons, especially those that take a human girlfriend. He's got the experience needed to look like Terra, but, does he know enough to act like her long enough to get the detonator from Slade?"

"I'm sorry," Raven said, "I don't know the answer either."

"You will need to use the link," Logic piped up, "It's logical to use all assets available to your disposal. We know Terra very well and if need be, project Terra's mannerisms and speech on the fly."

"Terra will be very nervous," Timid said, "I hope she can do her part."

"He can," Raven said Timid, "I have full confidence there."

"I do as well," Brave said, "I was impressed with his actions recently, you know."

"You're impressed with the rest of the team," Raven allowed.

Raven meditated in thought for a while longer as she chanted her mantra in a slow, soft voice.

[Starfire's room]

Starfire was really concerned for her friends. They had become her family after she was forced to exile Blackfire from Tamaran forever. Starfire did desire to return to her first home, to see how the planet was recovering from war, but, she knew it would have to wait a while.

"I am worried, my little bumgorf," she was saying to the larva, "Friend Edward might not know enough about friend Terra to act like her. But, as long as friend Edward gets that detonator of the bomb, it should be all right."

Silkie merely made some noises. He was used to his k'norfka's musings. It beat Killer Moth's treatment of him.

"If the Slade realizes that Edward is Terra, boyfriend Robin is ready for that, though, I think. Slade seems to want the revenge more than friend Terra," she said.

Silkie rubbed against Starfire to show that he was trying to understand what she was saying. The Tamaranean princess had a reason to be concerned. While she trusted in the team's ability to defeat Slade, she was worried about the devices as well. How would the Titans defuse the bombs in time?

[Edward's room]

Starfire wasn't the only one concerned. Edward had enough time to study Terra's mannerisms since he met her, but, with a lot of things riding on his performance, even he had his doubts. She'd spent a lot of time with Slade, so, he'd know a lot about her.

He was also apprehensive about getting that device and the locations of the bombs as well. Once the Titans had that information, they'd spread out to get the bombs either defused or out of the city where they could explode harmlessly via teleport.

There would also have to be an element of surprise involved. Edward would have one shot to knock Slade out. If Edward failed, he'd have to have a plan B in mind…or Terra would as Edward fully expected her to want to apply the final touch. She'd probably bury him, literally.

As Edward and the team were going over their plans and trying to deal with any lingering doubts, there was a chiming sound throughout the Tower…

I know...short chapter. Go figure :)
As the story evolved in the ole brain, I realized that while our geomancer friend certainly would want revenge, she really did voluntarily do everything Slade asked her to do. She's remembering that Beast Boy was absolutely right. She chose to follow Slade, chose to betray the team to Slade, and, yes, she initially chose to sleep with the sleazeball. But, she's also had time to reflect on her actions and realized that Slade planted the seed of doubt in her mind regarding the Titans.
Folks, I know I'm re-inventing Terra here as well as the other characters to some degree :) Terra, I'm writing as if she got a clean slate and is wanting to reform from being the "bad apple" in the Titans basket. She's on a personal quest, in a way. That will play out as the series progresses.

Thanks for reading :)