Teen Titans Season 6
Episode 1: Reckoning - Chapter 4
Authors Note
Its finally out! For anyone who has been waiting on the next chapter, I am sorry for the wait. Life has a bad habit of getting in the way sometimes… But to compensate for this, I made this a double sized chapter, so basically it's like you're getting two chapters in one go! Hope you guys enjoy it! And as usual reviews and feedback are very much appreciated (-: I love writing this chapter and I am very excited to say that BIG things are on the horizon for you Titan fans out there. Remember, as the saying goes...all good things come to those who wait.
As Robin walked through the long cold corridors, he felt prepared… He had an alien from another world with strength they haven't yet set a limit to, and the most powerful walking super-computer. But in his experience, being prepared against Slade still made him feel uneasy as if it was a false sense of security. Robin knew that just because he had two powerhouses at his side, didn't make him untouchable. He knew from personal experience, Slade had trained him to practically walk over the powers of his friends, using nothing but strategy and acute sense of timing. He remembered his brief time as the madman's "apprentice"... This was the closest he ever got to capturing him, nonetheless he slipped through his entire team's fingers. "But even if he had been caught… What prison is there that can hold him?" thought Robin, it was questions like this that he pondered over.
Come to think of it, these were not far from what Bruce would sometimes confide in him about. The Joker had escaped custody once again and hatched a scheme on the 4th of July. After a month of eluding the two of them, He had caused a power-outage, which encouraged the Gothamites to celebrate the 4th of July outside. By the time they had figured out what he had planned to do, hundreds were killed by Joker's smilex when the firecrackers went off into the air. Men, women and children: all victims to another brutal killing spree by the Clown Prince of Crime. He had never seen Bruce so fueled with rage as he proceeded to hospitalize the clown who had done so much damage to the city. Or maybe it was a combination of all that the psycho had done before and it reached its peak at that night. Robin was never sure which. But now he understood what it was like to question whether to uphold a moral code. Unlike The Joker, he had never truly caught Slade but he had always wondered what he'd do if he did. Was that where Slade had the advantage? Somewhere between all the twisted plans, Slade had an endgame: To rid the world of the Titans. But the question that he asked himself was… What was his?
The old hide out was a land of broken gears and rust, it was difficult to think of it as anything else. Taking a turn, he came across the dojo room where Slade had him undergo brutal training for his role as an apprentice. Robin winced at certain areas from memories of what seemed like yesterday. His thoughts were broken by a familiar voice. "Hello Robin… It's been far too long". Robin whirled around, looking at every possible direction when heard a heavy thud of a boot behind him. Turning, he saw the masked man staring straight into his eyes, with his usual unnerving calm demeanor.
"So good to see you again" stated Slade as Robin stood his ground and faced his enemy.
"Can't say I can say the same Slade…."
Slade's eye flashed as he spoke, "You know Robin… For some time now I have been thinking about you and me. How some day our battle will only allow one of us to walk away in the end. Sooner or later it will happen."
"Whenever that is… I'll be ready" Robin declared in defiance. "Some day… But not today." said Slade undeterred.
"I hear you have had your hands full lately… As you know. A former student of mine has returned at a similar time as the beast that hunts her."
"What are you talking about? What does Terra have to do with this?"
As Robin asked this Slade's eye flashed again this time with a hint of amusement. As if somewhere underneath that mask he was smiling. "Isn't it obvious?... I know something you don't."
Arriving to Titans Tower, Raven lays Terra on a gurney and moved her to the medical room. Whispering a few words of enchantments, to help heal the bumps and bruises on Terra's body. Taking a moment, she stared at the young girl lying before her. It was not too long ago that this same girl had helped a known terrorist bring the entire city to its knees, nearly killing her and the people she cared about the most. If she had been the same Terra as then, right here at her mercy, she may have considered the thought of ending her sad story once and for all. But that was in the past, she was not the same person. She paced around and wondered if it would be wise to leave her be to locate Garfield. Although she had a knack for controlling her emotions, she was awfully worried about the boy. Yet leaving Terra alone at the tower could break any sort of trust she needed to build and therefore impede possible progress to finding the answers they needed. It would be more like a kidnapping then a rescue. "No… You need to be focused. He'll be okay. He has to be." she told herself.
Putting her left hand on her forehead, she used her powers to gently awaken her former teammate.
With a grunt, Terra slowly opened her eyes, and upon realization that she was not in a hospital she jerked upwards. "Where am I? Who are you? What's going on?" She was frantic and squirmed at the telepathic restraints put on her.
"Calm down." said Raven, "you're at Titans Tower. You're safe here."
Terra looked unaffected by these words, "What about the school? My classmates! Did they get out?"
"Don't worry Terra… They're fine. We evacuated the building. Far as I know, people are shaken but no-one was seriously injured. I also told police to inform your adoptive parents of your whereabouts. For their own protection and yours, you will be kept under our protection for the time being."
Terra looked down, her breathing slowed and she sighed in relief. Then she looked at her with curiosity, "How… How do you know my name?"
Patiently Raven answered, "It's one of the reasons why I brought you here in the first place. My name's Raven, you may not remember but we used to know each other at one point."
"Oh no not you too…"
"Come again?"
"The other Titan. The green one… Beast Boy is it? He came to me, telling me the same things. I will tell you what I told him. I don't know you!"
Raven took a deep breath, "Look Terra. During the attack on the school… The White Monster got in contact with you is that correct?"
Terra rubbed her wrist…"Yeah…"
"I felt what you felt in that moment. The visions flooding into your mind at once, Too fast for you to even really comprehend? But it all was familiar… As if they were-"
"Memories..." Terra interrupted quietly. As if she was telling this to herself. "But…Why come after me? I'm nobody."
Raven sat next to her on the medical bed. "Look… We can stop it from hurting anyone else. But we need to your help. For you to do that, you need to trust us. Trust me. Can you do that?"
Terra seemed to take this to heart and said, "You're the Titans. You save people. Of course I'll help."
Raven nodded appreciatively.
"Okay Terra… In order for this to work. You'll have to allow me to join our minds. I know how it sounds. I won't look at what you don't want me see. Just understand, it's the only way we can find out how you and I are connected to whatever this thing is. If I do this, I may be able to access memories that may have been blocked firsthand."
"So like what Professor X does?"
"Who?"
"It's from a movie…"
Terra hesitated…"Alright. Do what you need to do."
Raven reached out and put her hand on her right temple. Taking a breath she whispered, "Azerath Metrion Zinthos"
"Whatever you've done with her Slade, I swear I will make you-"
"I did nothing dear boy… As I told your little green friend, the girl does not remember or use her powers because she chooses to. The monster hunts her because it is a manifestation of what was left behind. It desires to become whole again. But there are consequences to this action…"
"What kind of consequences?"
"Whatever force that freed her from her stone prison would revert the process; Should she become reunited creature. Except this time it would be irreversible."
"Even if this is the case. How can I trust that what you're saying is true?"
"You can't. But what you believe about the matter is irrelevant to the facts…"
"Then why go through all this trouble? Threatening her life? What do you stand to gain from telling me all this?"
"I've done my part. I do not expect your gratitude… Only a form of repayment"
"Not interested…"
"Oh Robin… To think that you have a choice in the matter is amusing to say the least…"
As Slade said this, a growl of machinery echoed the room around them as if it was awakened from a deep slumber. Among the piles of rust and ruined gears arose Slade's hidden minions: One after another they crawled their way out of what was an iron grave yard each carrying laser rifles. Quickly surrounding the room, dozens of them drew their weapons on the masked hero awaiting Slade to give the order. Robin scanned the room around him and made a vague signal with his fingertips. Cyborg at top left side of the dark corridors read the signal and aimed his hand cannon at Slade's head. Starfire floated discreetly across the hall, ready to shoot across the room like a bullet to grab Robin just in time for a escape. She had exactly one chance to do this… She and Robin had practiced hundreds of times before and she was ready to focus all her Tameranian physical prowess to zero in on her single target. All Robin needed to do was make one twitch of his right pinky finger and he would be in her powerful arms in an instant. The only difficult part of this maneuver was waiting for her moment.
"Waiting when you are Rob… I got a clear shot." Cyborg said on comms.
"You certainly don't think I was naive enough to think you didn't bring your friends?"
"If I go down Slade you go down too… And believe me, I'm ready to."
Slade chuckled to himself slightly, "That's precious Robin. But your life isn't what you should be most concerned about. You see, at this very moment I could end the lives of the girl's adoptive family with one push of a button."
In Slade's left hand was a trigger strapped to his wrist. Robin's eyes widened when he saw it, he understood immediately what he had in his hand and he was horrified. "Ah yes. You recognize this device don't you… It seems like yesterday doesn't it?"
"Vaccination shots… Something all too common between this happy couple. All that traveling can be hard on one's immune system."
"What have you done?"
"Nothing you're not familiar with. Just a small dose of my nanoscopic probes as a healthy precaution. But that is merely one family of many who have been prescribed my special medication. If you aren't careful, it could have unpleasant side-effects."
"You… You sick twisted… They've done nothing to deserve this!" Robin exclaimed.
Ignoring this, Slade continued, "This can be prevented. If you agree to my proposal."
Heating up with rage, Robin was tense but kept his composure in the middle of the stand off. His hand shook when it curled into a fist. "I'm listening…" Robin said as he stared down directly to Slade's shiny unblinking eye.
"Try to remember the first time you used your powers…"
"But how would I know?"
"Just try… I'll be here each step of the way."
Terra opened her eyes and stood in a hallway of a hospital, doctors were rushing everywhere past her as if she wasn't there. Confused she was compelled to enter a room in front of her. As she reached for the doorknob, she couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity, as if she was a ghost reawakened to a past life. Slowly, she edged the door open with a creak, a bright light filled the room from the window ahead. Next to a window lay a young girl sleeping with a breathing tube. She was covered in bandages and her left cheekbone swelled with an aching bruise. On a table near her were several cards and flower cases of all kinds. Beside her on the far end of the room was also a boy not much older than her in a similar condition. Terra stared at them with curiosity and looked back at the girl. Her facial features were obscured but taking a closer look revealed the truth. She put a hand over her mouth as she gasped in disbelief. The girl she was staring at was herself.
Raven appeared beside her, and scanned the room's surroundings. "Terra… Where are we?"
"Markovia, Europe… The boy next to me is my little brother Brion " Terra answered almost automatically. "I can't explain it… I just know…" Terra said while standing still lost in thought. Raven gazed at the broken girl lying on the hospital bed. Despite her injuries and body hooked up to various equipment, she seemed so peaceful.
"There was an accident…an earthquake… I...We were caught in the middle of it while driving down a road", Terra continued as her voice started to break… "Oh god… it's all coming back to me."
Concerned, Raven put a hand on her shoulder, "Terra…. What happened here?"
"I killed my family." Terra whispered softly. Raven stared at her in shock as her memories changed and the environment around them evaporated like a mist as she remembered what happened.
"Come on you rich little wimp! Let's see what you're going to do about it!" yelled a freckled faced chubby boy with a red beanie. He was holding Brion's prized art journal out the window of the bus; he and his goons surrounded him in the tight space they were in. Terra looked on with growing anger as her little brother was being bullied yet again, only now it was on the way home from school. The driver did not care whatsoever so they had to deal with the madness when it came. Now, normally they were driven by personal limo, but this time they had decided to take the bus "Don't please! I'll do anything!" The chubby boy grinned and asked, "anything?" Brion nodded. Chuckling the beanie wearing bully continued, "Huh… well how about a little cash bonus to that lunch money you owe me? Could put it to good use!"
"What for lard cake?" Terra interrupted, "To get more obese than you already are or to higher than you usually are? The chubby kid's friends snickered. Turning red in embarrassment, "I take it as a no…" before tossing the journal out the moving vehicle.
"NOO!" yelled Brion as he lunged at him, punching the fat one's mouth.
This immediately turned into a violent wrestle as the kids chanted "Fight fight fight" around them. The fat one was able get him into a chokehold and would not let go. The others then proceeded to kick him while on the floor.
"STOP! Stop it!" shouted Terra as her brother groaned with every hit landed. "Terra… please… help…" Brion pleaded through the arm around his neck.
"I SAID… STOP!" Terra screamed at the top of her lungs. When she said this ground trembled as the entire bus shook then swerved out of control smashing into five cars, before smashing through a building.
Awakening in the hospital, she felt her body hurt all over, she was hooked up to the bed and was breathing with the help of a tube. It was at this moment where she understood the weight of what had just happened. At once her mind went to her brother, although not being able to move, her eyes darted frantically around the room. At last her gaze rested on a bed on the far side of the room, her brother lay in a similar position but with a cast raising his left arm. Just then two men in dark suits entered the room. One was of thin frame and carried a notepad of some sorts, the other was a few inches taller and was speaking to the nurse. "What of the parents?" asked the man. The nurse took a moment and spoke grimly, "I regret to inform that the children's parents were caught directly in the middle of the highway as it collapsed...We did what we could but they were never going to make it."
As Terra heard these words, tears started to form, streaming down her face.
Brion took a deep breath and raised the ground in wave of earth that trampled the test droid from behind. From here, he morphed the ground into two enormous boulders that slammed together between the left over survivors, effectively crushing them. The last bot, built like a tank was impaled by dozens of rock-like tendrils rising from the ground, it was dragged to the floor. While it was held down, Brion leaped atop the struggling machine, with one motion he broke down the two boulders, forming a massive spear driving it into the machines chest piece, as he did this he expanded the rock from the inside, which caused the thing to become torn to shreds from the inside.
"**Test Subject One seems to have developed an acute sense of destruction, although with unnecessary amounts of aggression. It could be a result of lessening the effects of the serum with which dampen his individual thought process. Consider a more balanced approach…**" wrote down The Director observing the young man.
"That would be all Mr. Markov. Thank you for an excellent demonstration. Please report to the Room 101." a voice said from the intercom. Brion nodded and made a brief bow before exiting. As he did this, two guards held out a pair of cuffs. This was a sight Brion had grown accustomed to seeing after every training session. The cuffs were power dampeners that acted as a security protocol, they did not work on his sister because of her instability which made it impossible to calculate.
He and his older sister had been living at this compound for several months, from what was explained to them, it was a secret government project lead by a militant group by the name of CADMUS. They were investigating the growing "problem" of metahumans. Developing countermeasures should there be a need to defend their country from threats should the Justice League fail them or in the worst possible scenario, should they go rogue. Day after day, week after week, they were forced to undergo experiments to test the limits of their newfound powers. For an unexplained reason, she was born with a rare gene that had manifested itself the day of the "accident" which granted her extraordinary power. They had traced it to the day the being known as Darkseid's arrival to Earth and the subsequent invasion. He and his family had visited Metropolis during this time, Terra was separated from them and had accidently been caught in the middle of a radioactive explosion during the battle. Although the full force didn't hit her, she had been in contact with the materials. According to the scientists who dissected them, this is what caused her to gain geokinesis. Ever since finding out the truth of what caused the "accident", Terra had been terrified of her abilities. Not that CADMUS cared when they subjected her to their science projects. Using the studies conducted on her anatomy, CADMUS was able to duplicate the process on Brion as well, but only because the two were blood-related and therefore carried the similar genomes. Although he managed gain control of his abilities far faster, he did have the same potential she had but refused to tap into. Due to the paranoia of the "Meta Human Crisis", and the fact that They were both underage, the Markovian Government seized control of their estate; guarding it until they were of age to maintain control themselves.
Walking through the darkened passageways, Brion entered the enclosed room, the two men in dark suits, a general and three scientists sat at the round table while at the very front at a chubby dark skinned woman. She sat with an icy exterior that showed a level of intuition, like there was nothing in the world that could genuinely surprise her. She was the first to speak, "Hello Brion… My name is Amanda Waller, head of CADMUS. since the tragic incident that claimed the lives of so many ten months ago. You've done your country a great service by being a part of this program…"
"No offense ma'am. But it's not like I had much of a choice…"
"True… But nonetheless your cooperation is appreciated. You'll be happy to know that your time here has been cut short, and very soon you will be back to your old life."
"What about Terra?"
"That remains to be seen. She has not progressed as far as you have. She may have to be contained a little longer"
"I'm not leaving without my sister!"
"As you said. You do not have a choice in the matter…" Waller calmly retorted, with a tone of slight annoyance. She continued, "In two days, you will be released from this facility. I will be returning by morning for a final assessment of both of your abilities. If she is capable of demonstrating control of her powers, she may have limited means to live a life outside the compound. Now… understand. We cannot allow her to walk away scot free if she's leveling entire neighborhoods every time she encounters a stressful situation.", explained Waller.
Brion soaked in the information he had just learned, and suddenly it became all clear to him what he had to do, "What… what if she can demonstrate tonight instead?"
"It's on the head scientists here to decide. I will not be here to observe, but if there is a positive report, I'll consider it as progress."
"Thank you. We won't mess this up. I promise." said Brion. Waller looked at him with an expression of vague approval. "You're quite welcome. Dismissed"
As he exited the room he asked if he could use the restroom and the guards granted it. As he went into a stall, he overheard their conversation.
"Man I think I had a little too much to drink."
"You can barely stand still and now you're barely realizing that?"
"I just feel bad for those kids. They don't know that they're never going home. It wasn't the plan in the first place, what with Waller's crazy plan to take out the Justice League"
"Shut up man! What if he hears you? Besides we're not taking them out, we're just preparing too if it comes to that!"
"Who cares at this point? Everyone outside of this base thinks they're dead and It's not like we have a say in anything that goes on here."
As he overheard this, Brion's heart sank. Coming out, he held out his hands as they put the cuffs back on. Being led back to the cell, they uncuffed him as he entered. Terra sat at the edge of the bed as she read a book, while listening to music with a pair of headphones. She barely noticed when the door opened and her little brother walked in to tap on her shoulder. This startled her but gained her attention she pulled off the headset and sat up immediately. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry…"
"It's okay. I just was getting to a good part, Katniss better choose Peeta in the end!"
"Don't think I've read that book."
"What's new? I never was much into reading either, but it's not like there is much to do anyway. Honestly, you're missing out on some good stuff here!
"Terra…" Brion said quietly, "There's something I need to talk about." Terra's carefree expression vanished as he said this. He had grown up quickly since their arrival here, he no longer was the sweet little boy who was scared of hurting a fly.
"What is it?"
"I met with the Director."
"And?"
She said that we'll be going home soon. But I overheard the guards earlier… I was just lucky enough. They never planned on letting us go home in the first place."
"They can't do that! We're the only heirs!"
"That's what I thought too but it turns out everyone else outside of this place thinks we died on that bus!"
"We can't let this happen. I won't let it."
"I know… So that's why I made a plan. We're going to do one last demonstration for today. I say last, because that's what it's going to be. "
"What do you mean?"
"It means we leave… tonight."