Terra looked through the big window in the Tower's living room, lost in thought. It was a beautiful, sunny day in November. There was a little bit of snow everywhere, but not too much, and it was not too cold for an occasional walk.

Actually, that's what she needed. A walk. Terra put on some warmer clothes, including an orange jacket Starfire bought her a few months ago. The geomancer smiled at the memory of her beloved, before putting it on.

Of course, her prisoners were too dangerous to be left alone, even in their cells. She clicked her communicator. "I'm going for a walk. Make sure they won't escape while I'm gone."

"Sure, whatever." Was the slurred answer, and she grimaced.

"Are you drunk again, Hat?"

"Shut up and go on your stupid walk." Figures. He was always drunk. Terra just shook her head and left the Tower, using her powers to fly over the water and into Jump City proper.

Was this a better world? She asked herself. Only two days ago, she would have no doubt; obviously, it is. She looked around. People were safer than ever before. Crime was virtually nonexistent, especially crime on any larger scale. The world was a better place than ever.

As long as she wasn't around. She could see them averting their eyes, avoiding her. Doing their best to not walk too closely to her. People hid in their homes, not looking outside when she slowly walked the streets of the city.

It still hurt, a little. She knew it was necessary, in the end. It was better for people to fear them, then to fear everything else. There were no wars anymore. No organized gangs, and no supervillains. The eternal peace was a gift, and she would gladly be reviled and feared if that as the price for it.

But, she wondered as she slowly reached the Jump City park, could they have avoided it? Could they not be feared, not hated? It wasn't like that in the beginning. Things were different back then, for everyone.

After Luthor was killed, some people cheered. There were still those who believed him, sadly, and they were a slight majority before the corrupt businessman was killed; he did win the election, after all.

Killing the president, especially one that still enjoyed public support, was too much for many. As UN started an official investigation into Lord's activities, new election were called. With the newfound support, the new president promised to continue the very same policies, and crack down on superheroes.
And many people cheered.

Superman would not stand for this. He stopped the election, and forced a new, more moderate president to (illegally) take office.

Protests erupted. Many people were ready for violence to defend their voting rights, and their freedom to choose who rules the country. Large parts of the military refused to swear loyalty to the new, Superman-backed president…

By then, it was too late for anything. Most of the world was against the Justice Lords, and anti-superhero laws were being passed with massive public support. Superman refused to accept it, and responded with violence. Each and every government in the world was given a choice – surrender and support the Lords, or be destroyed.

Most accepted. Those that did not were killed, and replaced with new governments by the Lords.

Terra looked around the now-empty park. Everyone left when she arrived. No one wanted to risk coming too close to superheroes nowadays. Normal people just wanted to be left alone, resigned to their newfound lives.

But it was a better world, Terra said to herself, looking at the fountain in the middle of the park. Human rights became the law, enforced globally. Racism, discrimination, it was all illegal. Terrorist groups were struck down. Corrupt politicians were imprisoned or executed. The world was a better place than ever.

"Those who do not know suffering may oppose us," She quoted Superman from one of the superhero meetings. "But those who suffer and require our help will praise us. This is what we need to focus on."

And it was true. She personally broke into one of the prions holding 'moral criminals' in one of third-world countries. These people were brutally tortured and executed, just because their government, their culture, their religion considered them to not be 'normal' enough. She remembered their tears, as they were being freed.

She could not doubt this. They truly created a better world. People who were afraid, who opposed them? They were mostly composed of two groups, both of them despicable.

Those who lived in rich countries. Whose standards of living were so much above the rest of the world, that losing a tiny bit of their 'freedom' was enough to drive them insane. She felt no compassion towards them. They lived in luxury and privilege, and yet they opposed giving others the right to live, to be themselves. They were lost in hatred, and voted for monsters and criminals. If anything, they deserved worse than they got.

The second group opposing them were the most vile people, of course. Criminals. Religious fanatics. Corrupted politicians. Armies that were no longer needed. Corporations angry that they could no longer destroy and pollute the world. Leaders of countries used to ruling others with fear and intimidation.
If anything, Terra was sad she couldn't kill more of them.

Many were resisting. In truth, most of the world's population was afraid of them right now.

"They are all victims of propaganda and indoctrination." She once again quoted Superman. "In time, everyone will learn the truth, and learn to accept us. For now, we need to share between us the burden of their hatred."

It was the truth. Media were now under Lord's control, and no one was allowed to spew lies or incite hatred anymore. Same with schools; books were being rewritten, to make sure they contained no lies and promoted the truth.

Religions would follow the Lord's instructions, or be banned. In places of banned churches, Lords-controlled ones would rise, taking care of their faithful and making sure to teach the correct morality. Terra could not understand these people – couldn't they see what kind of evil religion brought into this world? – but Superman decided that just eliminating all religion would be morally bad, and instead tried to reform it.

There were also others. Students protesting, because students always protest. Pacifists and others who refused to cooperate on principle. But they didn't matter. She still remembered the day where last of the overt resistance was finally destroyed.

On that day, Superman stood in the UN General Assembly – now de facto controlled by Justice Lords – and showed them their future. The wide field where opposing armies tried to face him for the last time was still burning hot as he spoke, the screen behind him showing the raging inferno and tinting the entire room red.

"Let this action be a lesson that need not be repeated. I have been forced to destroy thousands of people in order to establish control and to prevent the death of millions later on, and it weighs heavily upon me.

Now, as we witness the beginning of a new age for Earth, it is time for peace and rebuilding. Under the authority of Justice Lords, we will solve all the problems that plague us now. Wars, famine, poverty, inequality. Soon they will all be just a memory.

The new era will become reality, as we devote our strengths to the betterment of our world, reaching new fields of knowledge and using them for the benefit of all.

We can coexist, all of us. But humanity proved to be unwilling to do the right thing. From now on, we will coexist on our terms. Without fighting, without wasting lives.

I heard many say that you lose your freedom. But that is not true. All you lose is the capacity for evil. Swallow your pride, and see with your own eyes the new, better world we will create!"

Terra remembered it well. She expected people to cheer, but the atmosphere in the room was not one of joy. It was fear. People averting their eyes. Some crying. Others shaking, in fear or anger, hard to say. And she even found herself scared, as she watched Superman standing in front of the destroyed armies and burning fields.

He was a god, furious at mankind for wasting His gifts.

"In time they will come to regard us not only with respect and awe, but with love." Terra quoted, remembering the last Justice Lord conference. He was right. He had to be. They did so much good for the world, stopped wars, shared their technology. Former LexCorp technology was used for the benefit of all.

So why…

"Why won't you understand that WE DO THIS FOR YOU!" She shouted at the empty park. The ground trembled slightly, and people of Jump hid anywhere they could. Some prayed for salvation that would never come, while others cried, fearing for their lives. Gods were angry at them. How could mere mortals face them? So they just hid, their hopes long lost.

Terra shook with barely-controlled fury, her powers almost slipping out of her control. The only thing keeping them in check was… was…

"Terra? The fuck are you doing, you bloody psycho?" A voice spoke in her mind. Her eyes opened wide, and she hurriedly forced her powers down. It hurt. It always did, it was like crushing a part of herself.
But it was better than the alternative.

"N… nothing." She said through gritted teeth. "I'm just taking a walk, nothing else. Everything is fine. How are prisoners?."

"Jolly good, lass. Keep it up, or professor 'Chester will have to punish you." The voice answered, amused, ignoring her question. The presence in her head slowly disappeared, leaving behind only the vague feeling of being watched.

Terra shook, tears flowing freely. It was for her own good, she thought to herself, fighting her emotions. She had to control her powers, otherwise she would end up like others. She would be a danger to the people she was supposed to protect.

She wasn't a hypocrite. She had to endure that, in order to keep others safe. Just like normal people may fear superheroes, she may fear some of them, as well. But it was all for a good cause.
Wasn't it?

Terra returned to the Tower some time later, tears dried out and looking more like herself. She could feel others watching her. They were supposed to help her guard the prisoners… and, of course, also guard her. After all, her power was unstable still. She needed guidance. Protection. Sometimes, a heavier hand to keep her in check. And with other Titans securing that parallel Jump, another group assigned to the Tower.

She tried to not think about it. She prepared some food, ignoring the stench of alcohol next to her, and brought it to her prisoners. She hoped they would keep quiet this time. She really didn't need any more headaches.

"You know, the worst part is how amazing what you do is." Beast Boy said as she entered the cell block. She stopped, looking at the green teen inside his cell. "All the good you do."

"You… mean it?" She asked hopefully. Maybe there was a chance she would not need to keep them prisoners for long. Still wary of a trap, she sat down, carefully putting his food inside the secure, airtight airlock. "It's not some trick, or a lie?"

"No. It isn't." Beast Boy slowly ate his food. Pasta with tofu, covered with thick vegetable sauce. Very tasty. Not a surprise, considering that their version of him probably liked similar food. "There is so much evil around the world. Hatred. Discrimination. Was. Torture. Slavery. But if what you said is true, you dealt with it."

"Yes!" Terra beamed, happily. "I am so glad you can see it, Beast Boy. We saved so many people, more than we ever did before we took over."

"And the evil corporations, that must have been cathartic." Beast Boy continued. "So many people poisoned, addicted, crippled for life because of the greed of some CEOs."

"And don't forget all the politicians starting pointless wars. Kaznia was such a horrible place, before we stepped in." Terra said, smiling. She remembered the happy faces of people they saved. Of children coming out of their homes, as war machines on the streets were disabled and soldiers disarmed… or neutralized in other ways. "Terrorists too. They thought they could hide, but no one can hide from us. They will not hurt innocent people anymore."

"And how did you achieved this? Terrorists always seemed impossible to stop." Beast Boy asked. He was honestly curious, even if this curiosity slowly gave way to sadness.

"Oh, that's simple! With Superman's super-hearing, and the Watchtower technology, we can detect them long before they strike." Terra gushed out happily, not noticing the sadness on the green Titan's face. "Everyone knows we are listening, and they know not to do anything wrong. It's that simple."

"A Panopticon." Beast Boy summarized. Seeing Terra's confusion, he explained. "A place where people are always under observation, but they never know if the person observing them is paying attention. This way, they will always police themselves. Even if no one is watching. I'm surprised your Beast Boy haven't told you that."

"We rarely engage in philosophy nowadays." Terra answered, looking at the food next to her. She didn't want to linger too long and deliver it to other Titans cold. "Talking about things does not make them better. But we can, if we take action."

"Do you know how totalitarian regimes work?" He asked. "Even a police state cannot control its citizens all the time. Instead, it creates paranoia. Makes sure that everyone knows how many secret agents are there, how everything is monitored. This way, people won't even say anything to their friends and neighbors, out of fear that one of them is actually a governmental agent. Fear keeps people in check."

"You don't really sound like the Beast Boy I know." Terra tried to change the topic. "He was one of those who were the happiest with changes we made. With people we saved."

"That's the worst part of it, you know?" He sighed. "You do so much good… but everyone fears you, and no one can resist you. It's scary."

"But everyone is safe! It's all for their own good!"

"Are they really safe?"

"Yes!"

"As safe as you are?"

"What?" She asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Terra, you were crying." She touched her cheeks reflexively, before she could stop herself. "Are you all right?" Beast Boy asked, worried. "Are you in danger?"

"No! I'm not! Everything is fine!" Terra jumped up, trying – and failing – to grab the remaining plates. They clattered to the ground, the weird Tamaranian food mixing with sandwiches and soup. The geomancer took a shaky step back, trying to force her powers down. "I'm fine!" She shouted, trembling in the effort to control herself. She could feel the voice in her head, watching, waiting for an excuse. "No, please! I'm in control!"

"Terra? Terra, what are you talking about? Terra!" Beast Boy jumped up as well, standing as close to her as his cell allowed. "Talk to me, please!"

"No! This is all your fault!" The geomancer turned to the open door, trying to leave. "I'm fine! Everything. Is. Fine!" She said, trying to ignore the amused chuckle of the voice inside her mind.

"Terra." His voice sounded different now. More serious. She turned around, still shaking, and looked at him. He was now laser-focused on her, as if looking for something. Whatever it was, he didn't find it, and he whispered quietly to her. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"You will thank me later." He quoted her, and Terra's eyes grew wide as she realized that he was going to do something. But what? None of his forms could possibly…

And the Beast Boy changed.

The cell he was imprisoned in was a technical marvel. The alternate version of him tested it himself, and helped Cyborg make it impossible to break out of it. None of his powers could possibly break him out of there.

However, no tests could replicate the true power inside Beast Boy. As Slade witnessed himself, the 'weakest Titan' was full of surprises, and his understanding of the power inside him was only growing. He hated what he needed to do, but he knew it was necessary; ironically, he bitterly thought, probably the same excuse his local counterpart used to justify all the evil he did.

The difference was, what he would do now would hurt only himself… mostly.

Terra's eyes opened in surprise and disbelief for a split second, before Beast Boy was no longer in his cell. Instead, it was a primordial soup, a mass of mutated flesh so horrible she could not avert her eyes. Paralyzed with fear and shock, she noticed the groaning of metal too late. The small microfractures created by her earlier outbreak of power were deepened and worked on by the green Titan for all this time, and now they couldn't hold him anymore. The whole front of his cell broke open, hitting Terra with such power that she fell unconscious before even reaching the opposite wall.

Beast Boy transformed back, the collars overloaded and broken. He stood there for a moment, shaking, trembling, before he forced himself to move. He couldn't stay here. He needed to have his friends.

He could scream and cry later, once this whole horror is over. He was not looking forward to another month of nightmares, but he knew he had to act. He needed to help his friends, and he needed to help Terra. The look on her horrified face, tears flowing down, was something he never wanted to see again.

The cells his friends were in were strong, but not indestructible from outside. His giant gorilla form easily tore out cables, broke reinforced glass. His electric forms burned out all electronics easily. He wished they could also take away the feeling of wrongness inside him. It felt like he was still a mutated mass of flesh, deep inside. And one day, it would break out.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire hugged him the moment she was out of her cell, but he wordlessly directed her to Cyborg's cell, while he slowly walked to one holding Robin. "Hey." He rasped out, tearing the door out with ease. Being just a regular human, the team leader had the least secure cell.

"Thanks, Beast… Boy… Are you alright?" Robin asked, noticing the half-dead look in his friend's eyes. "What happened?"

He didn't answer, and seeing this, Starfire felt her righteous fury flare as she tore the door to Cyborg's cell away. She flew towards her friend, and hugged him. Cyborg joined moment later. "Beast Boy!" She said, sounding worried. "What's wrong?"

The green Titan hugged them back, shaking a little. "Let's just… get Raven and get out of here. They must be holding her in the medical, if she's sedated."

"Took ya long enough, ya gits." A voice said, clearly amused, and they quickly turned towards the exit.

In the middle of the ruined room stood a person who reminded them of a younger clone of Mad Mod. He was easily recognizable, with Union Jack tattooed on his chest and black jacket on top of it. Behind him stood three others; a giant man with huge, bulging muscles and electricity cackling around, half-naked woman with green wings and sharp claws, and a long-haired man in an elegant suit with a brown tie and a hat. "What's up, ya wankers?" Machenster Black, leader of the group, asked with a big smile.

"You're kidding me." Cyborg said, looking at the four. He recognized them instantly. "The Elite?!"

"How are you not in prison?" Robin quickly tried to figure out a plan. He had no gadgets and not even a staff. Beast Boy was clearly shaken by whatever happened moments before. Raven wasn't here, and the Elite were definitely dangerous opponents. This could get ugly.

"What do ya think? He let us out, so we can beat some wankers for him when they step out of line." Manchester was still smiling, keeping his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He didn't seem tense at all, despite facing four Titans.

"Now kids, why won't you… burp… go back to your cells and we won't have to beat you up?" The Hat, Elite's magician, asked. He burped mid-sentence, filling the room with the smell of alcohol.

"Wait. Are you actually drunk?" Beast Boy looked at the villain, shaking off his fear and anxiety for the moment.

"Can't help it. I was super stressed waiting for you to escape." The drunk villain answered, taking off his hat. His voice was bored and relaxed, either too arrogant or too inebriated to even act stressed.

"Friends, I do not recognize these people. Are they enemies?" Starfire asked, powering up her starbolts.

"You bet we are." The woman, Menagerie, answered. She looked over the Titans slowly, finally focusing on Robin. "I'll take the colorful one. He looks like fun."

"Pam, if you touch him, Batman will rip your wings off." The giant man next to her warned her.

"Oh, do not worry, I am sure he will be… resisting arrest." The sadistic villain smiled with delight. "I may need to use drastic measure to put him down."

"You will do him no harm!" Starfire declared, her eyes now radiating a green glow similar to her starbolts. However, instead of worried, her enemies looked… happy? "Why are you smiling?!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist." Manchester answered, shaking his head with amusement. "Alright, I'll take this lovely lady here, you take the rest. Enjoy."

Cyborg did not wait for whatever was supposed to happen, instead firing a blast at Manchester. Instead, the big hunk of muscles – Coldcast, if he remembered his name correctly – got in the way, powering through the blast and charging straight at him. "Uh-oh!" He managed to say, before a mighty fist punched him into the wall.

Menagerie took flight, flipping mid-air. From her body, small, fist-sized bugs flew all around, most focused on Robin. The non-superpowered Titan dodged, but the creatures continued to move towards him, forcing him to continue running. If he had his gaddets, he could use flashbangs or something else to stop them for a moment, but without them, he was limited to dodging and trying to think of a plan.

Beast Boy changed into a monkey and jumped to his rescue, but the Hat pointed his hat on him and something emerged from it, jumping on the green Titan. At first he thought it was a giant monkey, but then he realized it was like a gorilla… with a spider head… and twelve spider legs in addition to normal gorilla legs and arms! "Argh!" He shouted, trying to shake off the demonic creature, while the summoner sat comfortably on air, pulled out a glass of wine out of his hat, and started drinking, while the horrible monstrosity kept mutating. Soon, Beast Boy started screaming.

Starfire was ready to pounce on her enemies, when suddenly, she felt horrible pain. She felt on the ground, barely holding back the scream. "You caped wankers are all the same. Can't handle some honest psychic powers, can ya?" Manchester asked, walking towards her slowly. He didn't even need to take his hands out of his pockets. His eyes turned black and green, and Starfire screamed as her head felt like it would bust open any time now.

The Elite were Superman's enforcers now, serving the Justice Lords as superhero hunter-killer squad. Their abilities, already more suited to fighting superheroes then most villains, were honed by actual training and years of fighting. With a lightning fast attack, they efficiently managed to disperse and force Titans to fight them one-on-one.

While normally they would be able to mount a counterattack quickly, they were severely hampered by Robin not having any of his usual gadgets. Beast Boy, still shaken, was a perfect victim as the shapeshifting demon feasted on his fear, magnifying it and consuming in a hellish feedback loop. Starfire was unable to fight the psychic attack, and Cyborg was too busy fighting off Coldcast, who in addition to super strength and endurance also possessed electricity-based powers and continued to try and fry the cybernetic Titan.

"I thought ya were supposed to be a challenge." Manchester laughed, his powers causing Starfire to scream in agony. "That's too easy, innit?"

"Starfire!" Beast Boy shouted, throwing off the horrible monstrosity and jumping towards the psychic.

"Careful not to slip, kid." The Hat advised him between two sips of wine.

"Wha?" Beast Boy looked down just in time to see that the floor coiled like a snake around him. "Hey!" He shouted, only for the… thing… he was fighting previously to jump on top of him. "Get off getoffgetoff!"

Robin had nowhere left to run. He managed to jump off the wall and execute a perfect flying kid against Menagerie, but it only made more bug-snake things emerge from her body and jump on his leg as he made contact. He fell on the flour, screaming as the things started to bite him. "How adorable." The sadistic villain smiled, watching with glee at squirming Titan. "Shouldn't have resisted the arrest so badly, kid."

With that, the battle was mostly wrapped up. Winchester blasted the minds of all Titans still resisting, one by one, as Coldcast pounded them with his giant fists. Hat just sat back, drinking without care for the world.

By the time Manchester got to Robin, he was so weak from all the bites and blood loss he just went slack the moment Manchester blasted his mind. The leader of the Elite looked at Menagerie with annoyance. "What? You know I love playing with my food." She innocently answered, her pets spitting some kind of quickly solidifying, green goo at the wounds. "Relax, he won't bleed out."

Even with the demon back in the hat, Beast Boy was too bruised, too shocked and too psychically blasted to get up and fight. Cyborg fell down, first electrocuted, and then almost having his brain fried by Black. Starfire was in too much pain to fight, and every time she tried, Manchester would just blast her head more. "Just stay down, ya bloody wanker." The villain said, lightning up a cigarette. He wasn't even sweaty or tired. He just got her down like she was nothing.

Starfire tried to reach down, into her fury and anger, but that wasn't enough. Her head hurt, the world was spinning around her, and she could barely move. She tried, and tried, but to no avail.

And then, she felt it. A different power. Much darker, and colder, a power she knew well. But I thought Raven took all her power when I left her body? She thought to herself. The coldness inside her stirred, but didn't answer.

Raven. She thought of her friend, and the darkness seemed to react, as if agitated somehow. Somehow, Starfire managed to focus on it, thinking… hoping. Wake up. Please, wake up!

And in a different room, a sleeping girl suddenly opened her eyes as the bed she was on cracked and bent, the room clouded in darkness so deep even alarms couldn't escape it to warn the Elite of what was to come.

"Woah!" The Elite jumped as Starfire was suddenly covered in a dark shadow. Like a phoenix, it rose from her body, only to return to ashes moments ago, and for a moment everything in the room seemed to cast a moving, writhing shadow. Then the moment passed, and everything returned to normal. "What the bloody hell?!"

"That felt familiar." Hat said, looking around, surprised enough to put his wine back into his hat. It really did, he felt something similar inside him from the moment he gained his powers.

"Magic?" Coldcast looked around, worried.

"Yeah, but…" Hat didn't manage to finish the sentence, as a dark shape appeared in the room.

Raven stood there, swaying a little. She was still out of it, under the effect of strong drugs and barely awake. Any normal person wouldn't be able to even move, let alone fight. She had trouble focusing on standing up, let alone using her powers.

In front of her, the Elite shook off their surprise. They were trained and experience killers, with four-to-one advantage in numbers and no hesitation when it came to hurting her. They weren't even tired after their fight just moments ago.

This fight really wasn't going to be fair.

For the Elite, that is.

Soon we will close the "Better World' arc, and move back to normal chapters for a while. After all, the best parts of this volume are still before us. Poor Terra.

I decided to make an account on a certain site, to see if people would be interested in supporting my writing. P a treon . com (slash) Alank2, if anyone is interested (can't put the link normally since this site blocks it automatically). You can support my writing, and even choose which stories get an update every month!