Author's Note:
It's here! The chapter you all have been waiting for, or maybe you weren't and only find this story as a lame attempt at something good. Either way, I have finally finished the chapter, and I'm sure that some of you were looking forward to it.
Anyway, hello and welcome my beautiful people, how are all of you doing? It has been a while and I have returned to ease your troubled minds. Now, I'm sure that some of you are thinking, "DAX, why does it take you so long to update chapters? I've lost interest in your story." Or "Man, I thought you were good at this, this story is boring!" If you are, then al i can say is... I'm sorry? I try to make the chapters as best as I can for you all because I know how frustrating it is to read a story with bad grammar and syntax errors. To those who patiently wait for the chapters, thank you all so much. Each and every one of you make this whole story worth it.
So yeah, here we go. The special guest that I've been talking about is coming and hopefully you all enjoy the chapter.
Well, that's about it. Remember to write a review if you like the story and to follow and favorite if you want to. If you have any questions or suggestions, PM me, I love hearing your thoughts.
And... uh... yeah, let's go.
A wide barren rocky landscape, with outcroppings on either side of a broad canyon, stretched as far as the eye could see. The morning sun was shining overhead, emitting strong waves of heat that was only intensified by the desert setting. Inside one canyon, a large, or rather gigantic, scorpion raced toward a bend in the rocks, kicking up a cloud of dust as it scuttled across the sand.
Upon closer inspection, a young girl was running as if trying to beat the devil in a hundred-yard dash. The girl was very thin, with spindly arms and legs. Her clothing consisted of denim shorts, a light gray long-sleeved shirt, and a dark gray crop top with black sleeves over the undershirt. Her hair was long, blond, and straight, and she also wore thick brown leather gloves and hiking boots, and a butterfly-shaped hair clip over her right ear.
As she continued sprinting through the rocky terrain, she turned to look over her shoulder as the pursuer's shadow fell over her, revealing large, light blue eyes that broadcasted her fear quite clearly. The scorpion had nearly closed the gap and worked its mandibles in anticipation of a meal. As the young blonde charged ahead, the giant tail of the creature lifted for a strike; it came down inches from her and threw her off balance. The force of the attack sent her skidding across the ground. When she came to a stop, she rubbed her head to reorient herself and noticed that her hair clip had been knocked loose and was in the dirt next to her. Before she could pick it up, the enormous stinger of the massive arachnid punched into the dirt, just barely missing her as she got to her feet and ran off.
Just as she swerved around another outcropping, her pursuer swept one of its' claws against the stone, blasting debris everywhere. The girl then vaulted over a lower formation to keep ahead and ran flat until she came to a dead end. Once she reached the wall of rock, she turned and found the beast's shadow falling over her. She cowered against the sheer face as the scorpion prepared to lunge.
However, instead of seizing it's next meal, the giant predator looked up to the sky where it saw a figure silhouetted against the morning sun. Before it had time to react, the arachnid felt the figure come down with both feet and slammed its face into the dirt. It then felt something grab its tail and fling it away from the blonde.
As the scorpion skidded to a stop underneath a natural rock bridge, Robin leapt onto a ledge on one side of the canyon, followed by the rest of the team, sans Kylar. "Titans! GO!" The leader shouted, as he got ready to help the defenseless prey.
But before any of them could move, a tremor that shook the ground caught the team by surprise. Inside the canyon, the young blonde assumed a cruel smile while her eyes glowed yellow and her hair blew all around her. The rock beneath the Titans' feet began cracking and shifting, and one end of the natural bridge across the canyon broke loose before being lifted into the air. Kylar was standing in front of the lithe girl and smiled as he watched her exert her powers.
Raising her hands and groaning with effort, the young blonde lifted the slab higher and higher, revealing her hands to be glowing the same color as her eyes. Finally, she brought them down, and the rock dropped squarely on top of the scorpion, crushing it flat. With one final tail spasm and scream of pain, the mighty predator fell silent.
With the crisis averted, the girl suppressed her power, letting her hair fall over her face, where she placidly pushed it back over her right ear. Once she got a good look at the brunette standing in front of her, her eyes lit up while a giant smile stretched across her face.
Back on the ridge, the rest of the Titans watched as the young girl leapt at their friend and wrapped her arms around his torso. "She was not in trouble." Starfire stated as she looked down confusedly.
"She was leading it into a trap!" Cyborg exclaimed.
Robin simply tried studying the girl as she released the black-jacketed Titan, "Question is…"
"…who is she?" Beast Boy finished, completely awestruck by the blondes' abilities.
Unbeknownst to the young team, a familiar foe hid inside a dark fissure in the side of a rock face up on a ledge behind them. When the armored foe stepped out of the darkness, it was revealed to be Slade. "Don't get too attached, my young friend." The masked villain said to himself as he eyed the young blonde and brunette in the canyon, "I saw her first."
0-0
As the rest of the team watched their friend speak with the mysterious newcomer, they noticed him point over his shoulder and then fly up and land in front of them. With a quick gesture, the young blonde summoned a patch of rock from beneath her that carried her up to the ledge as well.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet Terra." Kylar introduced as he gestured to the shorter girl.
"Nice to meet you!" The blonde smiled. The rest of the team was at a loss for words as they stared dumbfounded at this girl who had moved large pieces of earth with ease. "What? Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before?" Terra asked cockily as she placed her hands on her hips and raised her left eyebrow.
After another moment, Robin regained his composure and stepped forward, "I'm Robin." The Boy Wonder introduced as he held out his right hand, "We're the-"
"Teen Titans! Rock on!" The energetic blonde gleefully cheered as she tapped her own fist against his outstretched hand. "It's cool to meet you guys. Let's see, you're…" She began pointing to each member, "Cyborg," The bionic nodded with a smile as he greeted the girl, "Raven," The cloaked girl nodded, "Starfire," Said Titan curtsied, "And…"
"Boy Beast!" The green teen exclaimed in a panic, "Uh… I mean, Bass Boot!... NO!" He stammered as he nervously covered his eyes, knowing he just screwed up his first impression.
"Beast Boy?" The earth shifter asked happily. This caused the changeling to scream before turning into a turtle, tucking his head and legs into the shell as he spun in midair.
"Sorry. He does that." Kylar apologized as he scratched the back of his head.
This didn't seem to bother Terra as she started laughing at the display, "Dude! He's hilarious!"
This comment caught the embarrassed reptiles' attention as he stopped spinning and poked his head out, "Hilarious? Me? Really?" He asked happily. The blonde tipped him a wink in response, and in no time flat, Beast Boy was back in human form and absolutely thunderstruck. Hearts floated up from him as he staggered giddily about with more of the same in his eyes as he passed out. Kylar and Cyborg chuckled at their love-struck friend.
"Curiosity abounds." Starfire stated happily as she flew up and met with the newcomer, "Please: Where do you come from; how did you get here; what is your favorite color; how do you know friend Kylar; do you wish to be my friend?" She asked in rapid succession as she leaned closer and closer into Terra's face, causing her to lean backwards.
"Um…" The confused heroine processed the questions for a brief moment before speaking, "Earth, walked, red, we traveled together for a while, and… sure."
The Tamaranean gasped excitedly before pulling her into a bear hug. "Hello, new friend!" She cheered as she squeezed the little girl tighter; the sound of bones grinding against one another rang through the air.
"How's it going?" Terra strained to say through her strangulation. Starfire released her crushing grip, dropping the new arrival back to the ledge. Everything seemed fine, except her arms were a bit out of joint now. As she straightened them Kylar stepped up to her and playfully rustled her hair. "C'mon, big bro, quit it!" She blushed as she swatted his hand from her head.
The brunette chuckled at her embarrassment as he removed his hand, "So what have you been up to? I haven't seen you in, what, years?"
"Oh, you know, just going where the wind takes me." The young drifter explained, trying to act cool, "Seeing new places, meeting new people, stomping a few bad guys here and there." She listed as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Cool!" Beast Boy laughed as he slid up next to the girl.
"Fascinating!" The auburn-haired Titan smiled.
"Well, all right!" Cyborg stated, sounding approving of her lifestyle.
Robin and Raven traded a look of uneasiness before the former spoke, "You mean, you don't have a home?"
"The Earth is my home." The young geokinetic explained as she gestured to the land around them. "I've been crashing in a cave on the other side of the hill."
Kylar was about to voice his opposition, but his more energetic friend beat him to the punch. "Unacceptable!" Starfire exclaimed as she zipped up and stood between the brunette and the shorter girl, "I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness."
"I have a flashlight." Terra added, seemingly missing the point.
To her surprise, the taller alien teen grabbed her arm and began hauling her past the others, "You will stay with us." She demanded as she continued pulling the blonde.
The blue-eyed girl tried resisting as she dragged her feet, "Really, I-I'm…"
"Come on, we got plenty of room." Cyborg tried persuading as he walked up and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Yeah! And I can make you laugh some more." Beast Boy joyfully stated as he placed a gag glasses, large nose, and mustache combo on his face, "I'm hilarious, remember?" He said as he removed the gag.
Terra laughed as she finally came around to their hospitality, "Well, I guess I could stay one night."
"Oh, glorious!"
"Yes!"
"Boo-yah!" The trio of Titans jubilantly cheered before they continued leading their new friend toward their home.
Kylar chuckled as he and Raven watched the foursome depart, while Robin kneeled for a closer look at the battle site. Both standing Titans noticed this and turned to him, "Everything okay?" The blue sorceress asked.
"Not sure." The Boy Wonder responded as he picked up some dirt and let it fall. "Something just doesn't feel right."
Having gone unnoticed the entire time; Slade examined the trio of Titans that stayed before slowly retreating back into the darkness of the elevated fissure.
"I feel it too." The black-jacketed teen agreed as his friend stood up, "But for now, let's get home before Beast Boy does something embarrassing."
With a nod, Robin turned around and the three of them headed home. After they were gone, the area where they were standing crumbled away in a great cloud of dust.
0-0
With the events of the morning behind them, the team could finally kick back, relax, and show the newcomer everything about the Tower. Inside the Ops Center, Terra was excitedly scanning the room, clearly impressed by what she saw.
"Whoa! Nice digs!" The young blonde complimented as she approached the windows, "And check out the view!" After admiring the view for a few moments, she flopped onto the couch and placed her feet on the coffee table, "I can't believe you guys actually live here!" She awed as Beast Boy poked his head up from behind the couch before vaulting over and sitting next to her.
"Su casa es mi casa." The green teen incorrectly stated. "So do you want the grand tour," He asked as he scooted closer to the girl, "Or…"
"Got any food?" Terra asked with a sudden crazed, and bugged out look in her eyes.
The next thing everybody realized was a huge mound of dirty dishes accompanied by the sound of gobbling. At the end of the kitchen counter, Terra was stuffing her face at warp speed. How one person could put away enough food in one sitting to empty all those pans and plates was a mystery best left unexplained. All the Titans, save Starfire and Kylar, watched the display of sheer gluttony with stunned shock.
The gluttonous earthmover wolfed down some more food from a bowl in front of her, then tipped the rest of the contents into her mouth. She threw the empty container aside just as Kylar placed a plate of meatloaf next to her. Her head expanded until it was big enough as she took the plate and threw the contents into her mouth. It shrunk to normal size as she swallowed the last of her meal and released a thundering belch.
After that display, the alien cook flew up next to her, "Might you now wish to partake of my homemade glorg?" The redhead asked cheerfully as she held up a plate of what could be some alien gelatinous mass with several gray, wriggling, wormlike… things.
"NO!" Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven all exclaimed in an attempt to spare the innocent girl of the atrocious food.
Despite their protests, Terra seized the plate and slid the entire contents into her mouth and swallowed. "Tastes like… sushi mixed with ice cream." The blonde commented; each item appeared above her head in a thought cloud. "Got any more?" She asked as she handed the plate back to the giddy Tamaranean.
"I shall go cultivate the fungus!" Starfire nodded as she flew off, plate in hand, while the rest of the team watched her leave the room.
After she left, the lithe teen turned her attention to her taller friend, "So, where's the tub?"
0-0
A few minutes later, Cyborg and Beast Boy were peeking into one of the hallway bathrooms and were absolutely floored by whatever was inside. "Whoa." The metallic Titan gasped. Inside the bathroom, shower curtain, bathtub, walls, floor, towels-all were liberally splattered with dirt and marked with the prints of grubby hands and feet. "Mud bath."
Having finished her bath and changed into white slippers and a white robe that was too long for her arms, Terra stood next to them as they mentally processed the damages. "Sorry. Guess I was due for a rinse." The now clean geokinetic apologized as she rubbed the back of her head. "Mind if I use your sink?"
0-0
Back inside the Ops Center kitchen, Terra was busy washing her clothes in a soapy sink as she listened to music from headphones connected to a Walkman. After some more scrubbing, she pulled out her crop top, freshly hand-washed, and hung it on a nearby clothesline, where the rest of her outfit was already drip-drying. At the entrance of the room, the Titans watched her with bemused stares.
"Well, she seems comfortable." Raven spoke as they made their way into the room.
"That's just how she is. Besides, she's probably been alone for a while now." Kylar explained as they all took a seat by the kitchen table.
"How exactly do you know her?" Robin asked as he took a seat on a chair.
"Yes, I am most curious as to how you met our new friend." Starfire added gleefully. "I heard her call you 'big bro' earlier, is she your sister?"
Kylar smiled, as he shook his head, "No." He answered, "That's just something she calls me. We met, I think three years ago now, when I was just drifting from place to place." The brunette began explaining, "After we met, she started following me like a stray dog, and I guess I started seeing her as a little sister. We never kept in touch after we went our separate ways," Kylar admitted as he turned to look at the girl who was making her way over to the couch, "but I'm glad to see she's safe." He smiled warmly. The rest of the team also looked over at their houseguest.
Setting the Walkman on the cushions, Terra sat down, stretched expansively, yawned, and then curled into a little ball. A moment later, she began snoring loudly and sprawled out to her full length, with one foot hanging over the edge.
"Wonder how long it's been since she had a decent place to crash for the night." Beast Boy stated with concern in his voice.
"She needs more than a place to crash." The masked leader gathered from his examination of the girl.
"She needs a home." The orange teen stated.
After a moment of thinking, the shape-shifting Titans' eyes lit up with an idea, "Why not our home?" He asked, "She could stay here with us."
"Yes!" Starfire cheered.
"That's a great idea." The black-jacketed Titan agreed.
"I don't know." Raven voiced her caution about inviting a girl they barely know to live with them.
"She would make a good addition to the team." Cyborg argued.
"Maybe." Robin said as the rest of the team faced him, "Let's ask her to train with us tomorrow. We need to see what she can do."
What the team didn't know was that the girl sleeping on the couch had heard the entire conversation since her music stopped. The expression on her face betrayed the worry that started taking hold of her when she heard about the plan for tomorrow.
0-0
The rest of the day passed rather quickly. After making the plan to ask Terra to train with them, the Titans separated as they thought their new friend was still asleep on the couch. Kylar was the only one who stayed up for a bit longer as he took his friends' clothes off the line and folded them when they dried. He also didn't want to leave the girl on the couch, so he picked her up and carried her bridal style to his room. However, on their way back to his room, the geokinetic woke up, surprising the brunette.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. Have a good nap?" He jokingly asked.
"Yeah, I *yawn* dreamt I was lying in a meadow." The girl groggily yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Where are we going?"
"Well, I wasn't going to leave you on the couch." Kylar rationalized, "So, I'm taking you to my room." He said as he stopped at the door to his room.
"Y-your room?" Terra stammered nervously as a blush came over her face. At the end of her words, the door to the brunettes' room slid open and revealed the inside. "Wow…" The young girl awed as she jumped out of her friend's arms and landed on the carpeted floor.
She scanned the room and admired everything inside. The maroon colored walls gave her a sense of warmth and serenity as she looked at everything in the room. The first thing she ran to was the coffee table in the middle of the room and picked up a purple colored candles. "What's this? Lavender?" The geokinetic sniffed the candle and smiled, "Mmm, it's so relaxing."
"It's my favorite flower." Kylar smiled as he followed the energetic blonde.
Terra then ran off to his bookshelves and scanned their contents, "Aw, look at this puppet of you." She cooed as she picked up a marionette of the brunette.
"Oh yeah, I've been a bit too close to that thing." The aura manipulator chuckled as he took the puppet and placed it back on the shelf.
With the same energy as a child in a candy store, the young guest ran to the other side of the room where the desk was and picked up the trident spear. "Wow! Where did you find this?"
"Ah! Careful!" Kylar cried as he quickly seized the weapon, "Sorry. This is an alien spear that shoots electrical bolts from the tip."
Terra stared at him with wide-eyed admiration, "That is so cool!" She smiled. "How'd you get it?"
The taller teen chuckled at her enthusiasm, "That's a story for another day." He said as he leaned the spear back against the wall.
With a pout, the lithe girl turned around and set her eyes on the grand piano. "I didn't know you had a piano." She stated as she lifted the cover for the keys. "Can you play me something?"
"And here I thought you were tired." Kylar smirked as he walked over to the instrument. He sat down on the bench and cracked his knuckles. Before he could start playing, Terra took a seat next to him. "What are you doing?" The pianist asked, giving his guest a puzzled look.
"Can I watch, please?" The girl asked innocently as she shot him puppy-dog eyes.
The brunette sighed as he shook his head, "Okay, but don't be mad if you fall asleep." He said before pressing keys. The song he played was slow in pace, and very calming. In fact, it was so calming that Terra yawned as her head began bobbing. Soon after, she leaned over on her taller friend's shoulder. "Told you." Kylar chuckled as he quietly picked his friend off the bench and carried her to his bed. "See you tomorrow." He whispered as he gently placed the sleeping girl down. With that, he quietly made his way out of his room.
After a few minutes, the blonde opened her left eye to see if the coast was clear and stood up. She quickly gathered her things, changed into her usual outfit, and made her way out of the room as well.
0-0
On the shore of the island, the dejected houseguest was sitting on a rock with a backpack in the sand at her feet. A stone floated up next to her head, and a flash of her eyes sent the stone bouncing across the water. As she levitated another one, she noticed Beast Boy walk up.
"So, I'm guessing the couch was too lumpy?" He asked as he took a seat on a rock next to her.
"No, big bro took me to his room." Terra admitted as she sent the other stone across the water.
This comment caused the greenling to pout a little, "Oh… What a gentleman." He deadpanned as he grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it into the water. It merely splashed, not even skipping once. This made the blonde laugh a bit before she lifted another stone for him to use.
With a smile, Beast Boy threw the rock, and this time got it right. He laughed and flexed his muscles jokingly, causing the geokinetic to blow out a relieved little breath. He responded with a loud raspberry while she stuck out her tongue and pulled down on her face to distort it out of shape. He retaliated by changing his head into that of a gorilla and snarled loudly. She promptly stretched her face as if it were a rubber mask, startling the changeling into human form. Both jokesters laughed heartily for a moment before cutting themselves off sharply and stared into each other's eyes for a second before turning away nervously and blushing.
"I can't stay." Terra disclosed sullenly as she hugged her knees up to her chest.
"Why not?" Beast Boy questioned.
"Places to go, people to see." The blonde answered vaguely. She avoided eye contact with the concerned Titan as if she was hiding something.
"Come on. You know you want to stay." The greenling defended, "We've got free cable, indoor plumbing, and all the tofu you can eat." He counted the three items off on his fingers as he named them. When he finished, he had his entire hand outstretched-one thumb and only three fingers, not four. With surprise, he shook his hand and smiled as he brought his fourth finger back.
"Tofu?" Terra giggled, "You sure know how to charm a girl."
"I try." Beast Boy chuckled nervously as he rubbed his right arm, "Besides, I'm sure Ky would be sad if you left."
"Yeah…" The geokinetic sighed dejectedly while hanging her head, "I-I guess I could hang out for one more day." She finally agreed.
The shape-shifting Titans' face beamed at her decision, "Awesome!" He cheered while jumping for joy, "We're gonna have so much fun!" He stated once he landed back on the rock next his new friend. "And I can't wait to see what your powers do when you really cut 'em loose."
His last words ignited the same worried look Terra had when she eavesdropped on the team's plans for tomorrow. Suddenly her eyes blazed bright yellow and her hair blew straight up as light shined over her. As a result, the rock Beast Boy was seated on rose into the air, dumped the young hero back to the shore, and hit the water with a huge splash, leaving the green teen soaked and spitting out mouthfuls of water.
"Sorry! I'm sorry, I'm so stupid!" The lithe blonde apologized, completely flustered at her loss of control, "Don't tell! Please don't tell!"
"Terra, it's okay." The changeling reassured as he stood up and faced his friend, "You can't totally control your powers. So what?"
"Promise you won't tell anybody-ever!" The scared girl begged as she leaned into his face.
"Wait, Ky doesn't know?" Beast Boy questioned, leaning back from her invasion of personal space.
"No! And I don't want him to!" Terra answered anxiously, "Please don't tell!"
"Sure." The green Titan vowed, hoping to calm the girl down.
"Swear it!" The short drifter demanded as she glared at him.
"Okay! Okay! I promise." Beast Boy promised as he brought his hands up to try and calm the girl down. "But really, it's no big deal." He comforted as Terra turned away from him, "Even if you can't control your powers, we'd still accept you."
"You just don't understand…" The girl said sadly as she hung her head.
0-0
The next day, Cyborg was running at top speed as he crossed a broad plain outside the Tower. Steel columns, each topped with a large fist, shot up from the ground as he continued running. As he dodged each obstacle, Robin was working a control panel and caused several laser cannons to fire. The titanium athlete dashed, swerved, and jumped to avoid being hit. Now, the obstacle course operator activated more controls on the panel. On a screen, an image came up of a gateway with a large panel mounted in its top half that descended like the blade of a guillotine.
Out on the plain, three such structures rose from the ground just as the metallic runner approached. He got under the first two gates, but had to stop and catch the third before it could crush him. Straining mightily, he pushed it up on its tracks and leapt clear before it crashed back down. Cyborg wasn't out of the woods yet; launchers rose from the tops of two rocks and fired a stream of disc-shaped projectiles. Busting out his sonic cannon, the Titan shot down several of the oncoming attacks while dodging the rest.
On the side of the obstacle course, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Terra cheered their friend on while Robin, Raven, and Kylar stood behind the control panel that was situated up on a ledge behind them. Cyborg stopped and looked at a panel on his forearm once he crossed the finish line; it showed a time of 2:17.
"Boo-yah! New course record!" The victorious bionic boasted with a laugh.
"Well, yeah." The sorceress stated flatly, "You're the first one to do the course." This comment caused him to steam a bit as his eye twitched.
"Okay, Terra! Ready to show us what you can do?" The spiky-haired teen asked, leaning over the control panel.
Nodding in response, the nervous newcomer stepped up to the starting line. "I just hope you're ready to see it." She said to herself with uncertainty.
In an attempt to ease her troubled mind, Beast Boy walked over to the participant, "You can do it. 'Sides, it's just practice; it doesn't matter if you mess up." He said reassuringly. "Not that you're gonna mess up," He quickly corrected himself while scratching the back of his head, "but I'm just saying that even if you really blow it, you…" As he trailed off, Terra placed her blue goggles over her eyes and shot a quizzical look at him, "Shutting up now." He said before backing up.
Looking back up at the control panel, she saw Kylar giving her an encouraging grin along with a 'thumbs-up' gesture. Smiling back, she turned around and adjusted her gloves.
"Countdown initiated!" Robin called out, the timer on the front of the control panel starting to count down from 11. "Good luck, Terra."
"Come on, Terra!"
"You go, girl!"
"Onward to victory!" Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire enthusiastically shouted as their new friend walked further and further from them.
"Don't lose control. Don't lose control." The geokinetic told herself while she limbered up.
Once the timer reached zero, the young blonde clenched her fists and summoned her powers into them. On the path in front of her, laser cannons sprang out of the rocks and began firing. She raised the spot of land she was standing on as a large column of stone to dodge, and the blasts struck it repeatedly. After enough abuse, the column broke apart. Luckily, she caught herself on a large fragment and rode it down with a much larger boulder under her influence. Using the bigger rock to break the cannons, she safely flew through the air into the wall of dust caused by the destroyed equipment.
At the main controls, the aura manipulator stepped over to his shorter friend. "Hey, Sparrow, you mind if I take over the control panel?" Kylar asked.
Robin smirked, "Sure thing. I'm sure you can bring out her best."
With a nod, the brunette cracked his knuckles before he began pressing buttons on the panel.
Back on the course, Terra coughed a bit as she made her way through the dust. Once it cleared, she panicked as she saw what she was approaching. Yelling and frantically waving her arms, she attempted to maneuver herself around giant steel fists that punched up from the ground.
A glancing blow almost knocked her from her flying perch, but she dug in her fingers and kept aloft. Another cry of terror left her mouth as she flipped onto one side to avoid the next fist, but it was no use; this giant blockade smashed the rock into gravel and sent her tumbling. Thinking quickly, she levitated several boulders and grabbed hold of one big enough to carry her. A relieved little sigh gave way to more panic as she realized she was heading for a crash landing against a rock formation in front of her. With a mighty effort, the geokinetic was able pull up the leading edge of her perch and barely grazed the natural formation in front of her.
As Kylar pressed more buttons on the panel to trigger the next challenge, Robin and Raven observed from their seats while the other Titans watched in admiration.
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Glorious!" Cyborg and Starfire rooted as they jumped with joy.
"Yeah! You da man, Terra!" Beast Boy shouted before soon realizing how badly he fumbled his wording, "Um… I mean… you're the… way to go!" He finally cheered as he gave her two 'thumbs-up.'
Unfortunately for "da man" in question, she was spinning along, barely in control of that boulder, and was headed straight for the guillotine-like gates. At the last possible second, she brought up a snake of stone and used it to punch through the upper panel of each gate. She then leapt from her flying pedestal and ran across the long pillar.
"We're gonna need a new obstacle course." The resident mage sighed while the brunette moved over to her end and worked a few controls.
With the next challenge activated, Terra was flung free from the stone snake, and sent screaming toward a large pit that was opening in the earth. She brought one rock toward herself, but couldn't get a hold of it. She had better luck with a second boulder, but lost her grip and slid to the edge where she scrabbled for a finger hold. Unfortunately, gravity proved to be a harsh mistress and dragged the lithe blonde into the hole. A couple of fist-sized stones fell after her, and she was able to get a hold on each of them. Using them to lift herself back up, she dropped them after clearing the pit and jumped onto a larger rock to sail onward.
The black-jacketed 'older brother' couldn't help but chuckle at her unorthodox methods, "Truly as graceful as the black swan." He joked as he continued activating more challenges. Robin and Raven watched in silence while the three vocal Titans cheered.
The next challenge was the disc launchers. Caught by surprise by the flying discs, Terra pulled up the leading edge of her stone to shield herself. To retaliate, she quickly swept her hand through the air and sent rock fragments of all sizes hurtling toward the projectiles and launchers. All of the equipment was quickly put out of commission, thus leaving everything in the obstacle course completely destroyed.
As she came in for a landing, the stone broke when it struck the ground, throwing the young blonde ahead to skid to a very unsteady stop on her feet. As the dust cleared, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire stared wide-eyed at her. Trying to pass off the entire run as though it was planned, Terra straightened up into the sort of pose every gymnast does when landing after a routine.
After a brief moment of silence, the three Titans on the ground broke into wild cheering while the victorious teen lowered her goggles.
The friendly changeling was the first to approach the newcomer, "You rock!" He congratulated.
"Magnificent success!" The energetic Tamaranean praised as she quickly zipped over to the pair.
The third cheerleader was examining the panel on his right forearm with a sullen look. On it, the time 1:56 was flashing in bright blue; his record was beaten by over twenty seconds.
"Looks like we have a new course record." Raven stated flatly, catching her bionic friend off guard.
"I'm sure Cy was just warming up, right?" Kylar teased as he gave his African friend a toothy smile.
"Yeah, that's it. I just softened it up for her." Said friend shrugged.
"You were incredible!" Beast Boy complimented as he held up his left hand for a high-five. Much to his surprise, the youth he complimented laughed and swept him into a monster hug.
"I did it! You said I could do it, and you were right." She thanked him sincerely. As a result of the hug, hearts spewed forth from the little green joker. After she released him, the love-struck teen staggered woozily backward before toppling to the ground.
Next it was the older brother's turn to congratulate the newcomer. Leaping over the control panel, he landed next to the record holder. "Great job, Terra." He smiled as he tussled her hair, "I don't think I could do any better."
"I'm sure you could." The shorter teen chuckled as she playfully swatted his hand away, "I didn't do that good."
"It may have been a little rough around the edges, but you've got some real talent there." Robin commended as he made his way dwon from the panel as well.
"You think?" Terra smiled eagerly.
The Boy Wonder nodded, "With a little more training, you could-" Before he could finish his thought, the ringing of his communicator cut him off in. He pulled it out and flipped it open.
Completely nonplussed, the newcomer looked back at the rest of the Titans and saw much of their outfit flashing. The emergency signal in Starfire's neckpiece began to flash, as did the one on Beast Boy's belt. Cyborg looked at his forearm panel while Kylar pulled out his own flashing communicator. As Raven floated down to join the group, Terra noticed the signal in her cloak's brooch was flashing as well.
"Okay. Why is everybody blinking?" The annoyed teen asked as locks of hair fell over her right eye.
0-0
Inside the Ops Center, everyone was gathered in front of the window screen where a still image of Slade was displayed against a white background.
"Slade." Robin hissed, "He's back."
At the back of the group Terra was standing between Beast Boy and Kylar, "Slade?" She vocally asked the greenling.
"Bad guy. Way bad." He explained as though he were whispering into her ear.
"And very dangerous." The brunette added with the blonde turning to look at him, "Someone you should avoid."
Back in front of the screen, the spiky-haired teen did a bit of typing on the control panel. After a moment, the picture of the masked mercenary shrank to a small box against a map of Jump City and an arrow pointed from the mug shot to a particular spot.
"Got a fix on his location." The Titan leader stated, "Titans! Move out!"
With a nod from the other teammates, they vacated the premises while Terra watched, hopelessly puzzled. Before he left the room, Beast Boy stopped short and turned around to address the houseguest. "Hey! You coming or what?" He called back to the dejected teen.
She smiled broadly and ran out with him, locking her arm with his, as the door closed behind them.
0-0
Inside an underground mining excavation, with assorted earth-moving equipment parked among cart tracks, several men were at work. Without warning, a series of laser blasts attacked them and threw them all into chaos.
"Protect the diamonds!" One of the miners shouted from behind a crate of the precious cargo. Unfortunately, more blasts sent him and his coworkers across the ground as two robotic commandos surrounded them. As the panicking miner crawled across the ground, he stopped when he bumped into the legs of another figure. Looking up, he saw a white haired female dressed in similar armor as the commandos. As he quickly got to his feet and ran, Ravager, as well as the many more commandos, opened fire on the workers.
"Forget the rocks, they're taking over the entire mine!" Another miner yelled as he and the rest of the workers hastily made their way out of the cavern.
As the female mercenary and the commando's continued firing at the fleeing men, a birdarang flew across the cavern and knocked the weapons from their hands. This caught the attackers' attentions as they turned and faced the team standing at the entrance of the mine.
"Tell your boss we'd like a word with him." Robin quipped as his projectile returned to him. Ravager narrowed her eye and pointed toward the group, signaling to the robots to attack. "Titans! GO!" The Boy Wonder shouted.
As the six Titans charged, Terra came up behind them, put on her goggles, and took to the air on a boulder. "You boys ready to rock?" She taunted. But before she could do anything, two robots jumped onto her perch and grappled with her.
On ground level, Kylar ripped the head off of one of the commandos and threw the body at two more, knocking them to the ground. He noticed his 'younger sibling' in trouble and quickly flew off after her. Once he reached the midair melee, he punched one off, knocking it to the ground, while the second one was kicked through the air.
"I thought you were going to hang back." The worried brunette said.
"I can't just stay back while you fight." The blonde argued, "I have to do my best too."
Seeing the determination in her face, Kylar sighed in defeat. "Fine, just be careful." He reluctantly agreed before flying off to fight another group of commandos.
At ground level, Robin engaged one robot at close quarters and drove it back with a kick to the gut before hearing the sound of weapons being primed. Turning around he found himself facing an entire squadron of reinforcements. Whipping out his fighting staff and extending it to full length, he twirled his weapon in the air before bracing himself for the upcoming brawl. As they charged, the veteran Titan knocked them away one after another. This didn't last too long as numbers proved to be more effective as the enemies dog-piled on the masked teen. One mighty effort threw all the robots clear and left him standing alone. One leveled its weapon and was about to fire on the distracted leader, but was promptly plowed away by a boulder from the geokinetic. Two more came up behind the inexperienced girl and charged her. One was torn in half on a stone spike she raised while running off.
One robot gained a high vantage point and took careful aim at the spiky-haired Titan. Starfire flew past a load of steel girders held aloft by a crane and blew apart a second robot that jumped up to stop her. The resulting explosion obscured the view of the robot, but did not stop the shooter from pulling the trigger. Robin continued his fight with several others and was thrown clear when the shot blasted the brawl.
"Robin!" The Tamaranean cried worriedly. To avenge her friend, she flew back toward the shooter and unleashed a few starbolts that sent the robot tumbling. However, the shooter, as well as two more robots that jumped up at her, grabbed hold of her in midair and bore her struggling to the ground. Two more moved in to lend a hand, but the resident bionic seized them and knocked their heads together.
"Hang on, Star!" Cyborg shouted as he broke out his cannon and ran into the fray.
Now two other robots dropped to ground level and charged in. As these two occupied the charging metallic Titan, another robot climbed into the driver's seat of a large drilling vehicle and fired it up.
As the colossal fight continued, the leader of the commandos stood on a ledge that overlooked the entire scene. Scanning the fight, she came across the aura manipulator quickly dispatching a group of robots. Unsheathing her two katanas, Ravager leapt from her perch and descended toward her target.
Cyborg had his cannon going at full throttle, dispatching several aggressors, including the ones holding Starfire on the ground, allowing her to free herself and take to the air. A laser blast struck the cannon and forced the titanium Titan to cease-fire. As other shots flashed past him, he looked over at the shooters, then up at the overhead load of girders. A well-placed shot broke the platform holding them up and dumped a few tons of steel on the opposition. A victorious smile stretched across his face, but soon changed to an expression of shock when the sound of a drill's engine caught his attention. A cry of surprise escaped his lips when he saw the giant drill coming straight toward him.
"No!" He shouted as he brought his hands up to try and stop the machine from drilling a hole into him. As strong as the bionic teen was, the machine proved to be a bit too much for him. The tip started grinding against the metallic side of his head as the momentum of the machine slowly pushed him back toward the wall of the excavation.
On the other side of the excavation, Kylar summoned orbs of energy and threw them at two commandos, blowing his targets apart once his projectiles connected. The brunette then felt another robot leap onto his back. He quickly pulled the attacker over his shoulder and hurled it across the ground where it collided with another aggressor and knocked it to the ground. As three more commandos came up behind him, they were seized by black energy and thrown across the cavern into the wall.
Turning around, he saw Raven float down next to him, "Thanks." He smiled. The sound of a drill whirring caught their attention as they turned to see the giant digging vehicle collide with their robotic friend.
"No!" He cried as he gripped the drill and tried pushing it back from his body.
"Cy!" The black-jacketed teen yelled as he ran toward his endangered comrade with the mage in tow. Before they could get close enough, a familiar female commando dropped down in front of them and hindered their progress. The girl primed her two swords and began swinging at the brunette.
"Kylar!" Raven shouted worriedly.
"I'll be fine!" Kylar shouted back as he continued dodging swings from his opponent. "Help Cyborg!"
With a nod, the blue-cloaked sorceress flew into the air to help her bionic friend. Once she was finally close enough, she levitated a cart with her influence. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted as she let the makeshift projectile fly. It proved to be effective as it crashed into the robot driver and sent it careening across the excavation.
Having noticed the giant drill digging into his cybernetic comrade, Beast Boy sprinted over to help his friends. "Raven, look out!" The shape-shifter warned once he was within earshot.
Several robots had surrounded the mage and opened fire. She was able to shield herself from the shots and lifted into the air as several other blasts lanced toward her. Raven dodged the fusillade, after which the green teen leapt into the free-fire zone, transformed into a stegosaurus, and came crashing down on the shooters, sending the lot scattering.
As the prehistoric reptile whipped its' tail against the endless waves of minions, Kylar was preoccupied with their leader. Engulfing his arms with his purplish-black aura, he let loose a barrage of orbs that barely missed their target.
Ravager ran around her prey as she stayed just ahead of the explosions and leapt into the air. She brought her two swords down in hope of impaling her target. Fortune seemed to favor the foolish this time as the brunette rolled to the right just as her swords dug into the ground. Pulling them out, she braced herself for an attack from the aura manipulator.
"I'm starting to sense some connection here." Kylar joked as he circled his opponent. The mercenary in training didn't say anything. "I mean you single me out and separate me from my friends. You want me for yourself, don't you?" Ravager only narrowed her eye and shot him a glare. "Still not talking? Fine by me." He grinned wickedly as he quickly surrounded his legs in aura and sprinted toward the girl.
Once he got within swinging distance, Ravager lunged with an x-cross slash. This didn't work as she soon realized the charge was a feint. Kylar leapt over his opponent, place both his hands on her shoulders, and flipped her across the cavern, sending her high into the air. She caught herself in the air, but couldn't do anything to protect herself from the follow-up roundhouse kick. Flying into the air, the brunette kicked the leader of the robots out of the air and sent her plummeting into the ground.
The result of the impact created a small crater where the female villain was lying in. After picking herself up, Ravager saw the brunette standing by the edge of the hole. He had this dangerous look in his eye as he summoned his aura around his arms, ready to attack the defeated girl. Before he could, however, a tremor knocked him out of his bloodlust, "Terra!" He cried as he turned his attention away from his foe.
This distraction was enough for Ravager to throw a few smoke bombs at the brunette, obstructing his vision. Coughing from the smoke, Kylar noticed that his adversary disappeared from the crater. With an angered grunt, he quickly turned around and sprinted toward the rest of his team.
More and more commandos kept coming and eventually overpowered the green dinosaur. Concentrating their fire, they began driving it back toward the entrance of a mine tunnel, where the young geokinetic was dropping a piece of the ceiling on a robot. She stopped several falling rocks in midair and launched them at the oncoming minions to end their laser fire. However, the effort was a genuine strain on her, judging from her groans and the flash of her eyes behind the goggles.
"Can't control it!" She groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut. The force of her powers caused her goggles' lenses to shatter with a great flash as well as cause more of the ceiling to fall in.
The green stegosaurus whipped its' tail around to repel more opposition, then returned to human form. Seeing a few smaller rocks fall around him, Beast Boy looked up, his face went slack, and he let off a scared little whimper as the shadow of a descending slab fell over him.
"BEAST BOY!" Terra screamed fearfully, catching the attention of the rest of the team. Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Kylar all looked in her direction just as the cave collapsed, cutting them off from the lithe blonde.
Inside the darkened cave, one of the smashed robots, with its bottom half gone, began crawling toward the girl while others got to their feet and advanced as well. Removing her ruined goggles and placing them around her neck, Terra gathered herself for a mighty effort; once again her eyes and fists glowed yellow, and columns of stone descended from the ceiling to crush every robot. The last spasm of movement was from a sparking hand. When it stopped, she ran off deeper into the tunnel.
0-0
The distraught leader of the Titans dashed to the cave-in site and started to clear away the rock. Starfire joined in the effort as Cyborg and Kylar warded enemies away from them. Raven arrived a moment later and moved a larger slab. After most of the rocks were gone, the largest slab of the pile was lifted away by a colossal green Sasquatch and tossed aside.
"You okay?" Robin asked his friend as he tossed a rock to the ground. The green creature nodded as it rubbed the back of its' head.
Transforming back to human form, Beast Boy scanned the room, "Where's Terra?" He asked worriedly.
Kylar came up to them and pointed in the direction of the cave-in. "In there." He stated uneasily.
0-0
Further inside the tunnel that collapsed, Terra stumbled over to a wall and leaned against it for support. Winded and exhausted, she tried catching her breath after having escaped her pursuers. After a moment, she slid down to the ground and looked at her hands.
"Why can't I do this?" She muttered to herself as she clenched her fists in anger and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't have time to answer her own question as the sound of echoing, running footsteps drew her attention. Looking toward the source of the noise, she saw another figure dash past a junction into another tunnel. "Slade." She hissed softly.
Going after him as fast as her legs could carry her, she noticed the armored man cut the corner and head down another passageway. After following him, the earthmover skidded to a stop and raised one hand to cave in the ceiling just ahead of him. He quickly stopped running as he found himself trapped and with no escape.
"Looks like I've got you." The eager blonde boasted as she walked up to the dangerous villain.
To her surprise, a huge leap carried the mercenary airborne and deposited him just behind her, where he performed a swift low kick that dumped her to the ground. Straightening up, he produced a sphere with his insignia on it. "Actually, Terra…" Slade said before throwing the object upward; it stuck to the ceiling and started beeping as a red light flashed, "…I've got you."
The device exploded in a mighty blast that wiped out the entire ceiling, dropping many large rocks behind him. Once the second cave-in finished, Slade walked implacably toward the downed girl. Emergency lights switched on at the bases of the tunnel walls, bathing the enclosed space in eerie yellow-green light. His approaching silhouette put fresh fear into the downed girl, who scuttled backward a bit and found herself staring directly into the black-and-orange mask of the villain.
"Now, Terra…" Slade stated in his eerily calm voice, the young girl quickly standing up and backing away from the man, "…you walked right into a trap. Another mistake." He said as he pulled out a metal staff and leaned over her. "You of all people should know better. But at least you and I are finally getting a chance to talk."
At the end of his sentence, he tried to hit the girl with a jab, but she easily ducked to the side and countered by launching a stone at him from the wall. It zipped past him, just barely missing.
"Hmm." The Titans' archenemy mused, looking in the direction the stone went. "I see we have much to talk about."
"Mind if I talk with my hands?" Terra growled as she summoned two large stone snakes from the walls and hurtled them toward her opponent. Slade dove to his right to avoid being crushed between them and landed in a kneeling crouch position at the young geokinetics' feet.
"Good, Terra." He complimented, "But not good enough!" The armored commando swung his staff and followed up with a jab. Terra sidestepped both attacks and somersaulted away, as well as rolling out of range of another overhead swing that was sent her way.
Before she could move again, Slade brought the staff down to cut off her anticipated movement. Bringing her hands to her head, the frightened blonde huddled on the ground under his next descending blow, but a chunk of rock surged up from the ground and sent him staggering backward across the tunnel.
Terra, still behind the makeshift shield, peered cautiously around the edge and saw the mercenary approaching. She stepped out and heaved the mass toward him.
Planting the end of his staff in the ground, he swung himself up along its length, just barely dodging the attack. The rock struck the staff and broke it, but left him untouched. As the slab crashed into the wall, he regained his footing.
"Impressive-unless, of course, you were aiming for me." Slade goaded as he dropped the piece of staff he was still holding onto and slowly advanced toward her.
The blonde backed up a bit and launched several medium-sized stones from the tunnel wall at him. A mighty punch shattered the biggest of them, and as she sent out another volley, he moved in and knocked several out of the air. Now she hurled a colossal boulder at him, but one blow smashed it and drove her back against the wall, causing her to collapse to the ground.
"Back off!" She yelled as she quickly stood up. "I'm with the Titans! They'll be coming to-"
"You don't belong with the Titans." The imposing criminal interrupted.
"You don't know anything about me!" Terra shot back.
"On the contrary, Terra." Slade argued as he produced her missing butterfly hair clip and held it up, "I know everything about you." The blondes' expression changed from that of anger to shock in a split second. "I've been watching you for some time. I know why you're always running away. I know your secret, little girl."
"No!" The little girl shouted defiantly as she rushed him. His proved futile as he seized her wrist and forced her back against the wall.
"Earthquakes. Avalanches. Mudslides." The terrifying villain listed as he leaned in close to her, "Everywhere you go, you try to do good." He stated as he released his hold on the girl, "And everywhere you fail. So everyone turns against you."
Broken down by his words, Terra turned away from the man, and without the clip, her hair fell forward and obscured the right half of her face.
"You lack control, Terra." Slade continued as he gently pinned her hair back with the clip, "And when you lose control, you are more dangerous than anything I've ever seen." The young outcast looked up at him wonderingly as he turned away. "But it doesn't have to be this way. I can help you, child."
"You can?" The scared little girl asked.
The armored commando bent over and picked up a small stone, "Right now you are… rough around the edges." He explained as he held up the object, "You need more than obstacle courses to overcome your problem. You need a teacher. A mentor." Slade went on as he squeezed the stone viciously, causing it to crumble. "Come with me, Terra, and I can teach you to shine." He opened his fist on the end of his sentence, revealing a diamond in his palm.
She looked on, completely befuddled, then up at him. "But… big bro told me you're…"
"You don't really believe he cares about you, do you, Terra?" Slade asked, trying to confuse the naïve young girl. "He already found others to be around."
"No! He'd never-"
"What makes you think he hasn't already replaced you with them?" The villain questioned.
"But… they took me in. Gave me a home." Terra defended weakly.
It seemed that Slade was succeeding in leading the young girl astray. "And what do you think your 'big brother' will think when he finds out what's wrong with you?"
"Beast Boy-"
"-can't keep his mouth shut forever." The criminal mastermind interjected, "He'll tell him."
This struck a nerve as the geokinetic balled her fists angrily and warmed them up. "He promised!" She growled as the tunnel started shaking.
"He lied."
"Shut up!" Terra shouted as torrents of dirt and stone went flying in her rage, "Just shut up and leave me alone!" She shut her eyes tightly as a few tears began breaking from them. When she opened them up, they were glowing yellow with a fierce intensity. Gasping in shock, she dropped to her knees and held her head. "Don't lose control… don't lose control!"
"Now, Terra…" She heard Slade call out to her, "…how can you lose something you never had?" The debris flew in circles around her as she voiced a tormented scream.
0-0
Elsewhere in the tunnel, pieces of rock were shaken loose by the force of her outburst. In the main excavation, one last robot was knocked backward and smashed against the side of a crane, accompanied by a yell from Robin.
Looking up as the place trembles, the Boy Wonder saw stones falling from above as Raven flew over to him. "We need to get out of here." She stated.
"Slade's trying to bring down the whole mine!" Cyborg shouted as he ran over to join them.
"I'm not sure he's the one doing this." The masked Titan returned as Starfire swooped down next to him.
"I cannot locate Terra or Beast Boy." She said worriedly.
This time, Kylar ran up and regrouped with the rest of his friends, "I'm not leaving without them." He stated.
Robin mulled over this for a second before giving his brunette friend a nod.
0-0
Amid the chaos inside the tunnel, a wall of collapsed rock parted, giving Slade the escape he needed. "No one else understands you, Terra." He shouted as he looked at the funnel cloud that developed from Terra's breakdown. "No one else can help you. I'll be waiting." He finished before running through the opening and disappearing into the darkness of the mine.
As the girl huddled in the center of the destructive funnel, a green gopher popped up from the ground at a distance and caught sight of the maelstrom. Diving back underground, he burrowed toward it and under the edge of the funnel cloud. Inside, the small rodent emerged and returned to human form.
"Terra! Terra!" Beast Boy shouted, trying to snap her out of her breakdown. He jumped toward her and was nearly swept away by the gale storm. Only a one-handed grip on the terrified geokinetics' shoulder kept him from saying hello to the ceiling at two hundred miles an hour. The grab was enough to shake her out of the fit, and she fully realized how much danger he was in. His free hand and one of hers inched slowly toward each other and took hold for dear life. "It's okay, Terra. I'm here." He comforted the girl as she fell sobbing into his arms. "I'm here."
The whirlwind dissipated, leaving them slowly descending to the ground. Once they touched down, Terra looked up at her protector, "You won't-"
"I'm not gonna tell anybody." The changeling reassured her. "I promise." These words eased the weary, tear-stricken blonde as she felt him tenderly cradle her head.
0-0
After that exhausting commotion, and finally escaping the mines, the Titans returned to their home. The sun had finally set, leaving the moon to take over the sky.
Inside the Ops Center, Terra was slinging up her backpack. "Well, guys, uh, it's been real." She addressed the team, save Cyborg and Kylar, "Seriously, thanks for everything, but I should-" She turned to leave, but the sliding door opened to reveal the bulking bionic and black-jacketed brunette blocking her exit.
"Don't even think about it." The metallic Titan smiled.
"You're not going anywhere." The aura manipulator grinned.
"Okay. What's going on?" The surprised blonde asked as she turned around to face the other four teens.
"Well…"
"…we talked it over, and…"
"…we wish for you to stay here, with us!" Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire all said, with the last one giggling cheerfully.
"We think you'd make a great addition to our team." Robin added happily.
"So… want to be a Titan?" Beast Boy asked as the spiky-haired leader handed her a communicator.
"Me?" The speechless girl asked as she took the device, "Really?"
"Definitely!" Kylar cheered as he rustled the shorter girls hair, "I don't mean to brag, but your big bro put in a good word for you." The rest of the team chuckled a bit at his words, still happy to have a new addition. "I got you something, too. Wait here." He said before running off toward his room.
The geokinetic watched him leave before staring at the communicator in amazement. She finally felt like she had a place to belong. "I can't believe it. A Teen Titan." She smiled.
"Of course, you'll need more training." Robin stated, catching her attention, "I know you have trouble controlling your powers, and we can help."
These words sent a horrifying feeling up Terra's spine as she dropped the communicator. Her expression showed the battle between disappointment and fury raging in her head. "You told him?!" The furious blonde shouted as she addressed the green teen.
"I didn't!" Beast Boy defended, his ears dropping in sadness.
"You promised! You lied to me! You lied!" She screamed as she ran off, leaving her one chance for a home behind.
"Terra, no! Wait!" The shape-shifting teen shouted as he ran after her.
0-0
On the shore of the island, Beast Boy was sitting on one of the rocks as he hung his head dejectedly.
Robin walked up behind him, his face filled with regret, "I just figured it out. I didn't know it was a secret." He apologized, though it proved to be small comfort for the heartbroken teen.
"She didn't even say goodbye." The changeling sighed as he picked up a stone and skipped it across the water.
A moment later, Kylar flew down and landed behind them, drawing both Titans attention. Beast Boy quickly stood up and ran over to him, "Did you find her?" The brown-haired Titan didn't say anything, he only shook his head sullenly and handed him her butterfly hair clip. "Terra…" The greenling muttered sadly.
Kylar placed his right hand on the shorter teens' shoulder. "It's all right." He reassured his friend. Beast Boy looked up at him with worried eyes, "She'll be back. I know she will." This still didn't seem to ease his troubled mind as the shorter Titan hung his head and stared at the hair clip.
0-0
Deep in an underground lair, two figures watched on a screen of the fleeing blonde as she ran through a mountainous region. Upon closer inspection, the two figures were Slade and Ravager, watching their next target.
"Run all you like-" Slade stated eerily, "because no matter where you go, every step brings you closer to me."
"Change comes with both fear and some pain. Those two ingredients create mistrust, misunderstanding and misinformation."
-David Mixner
Author's Note:
Wow, way to screw that up, Robin. Seriously, did being raised by Batman not give you people skills or something?
Now to those of you angry with me for not having Terra stay, don't worry she will come back. To everyone else, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. For the next chapter, I was thinking of putting in a filler that focused on Kylar to give everyone a better idea of him, as well as introduce somethings that will involve him later in the story. Tell me if you think that is a good idea and I will take your opinion into consideration before disregarding it and then write the chapter.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and come back to read more when more updates come. If you liked the story, remember to write a review and to follow and favorite if you want to, I won't force you... just saying... Also if you have and questions or suggestions, PM me, I love hearing your thoughts. To those of you who are joining us on this journey, I just want to say, "How're you doing?" To those returning, thank you so much for your continued love and support of the story. You are what makes this story great, and I cannot thank you all enough.
I know you all don't want to go, but it is that time again. But don't worry, we'll meet again.
Until that time comes, though, See You Space Cowboys.