Titans: Elemental

Chapter 30: Titan Rising

We see Titans Tower, with the sun setting behind it.

Dick jumps into the air, swings it forward and nails a volleyball that sails over a net toward Vic, Bryan and Starfire, on the other side. Vic sends the ball up. They are playing this game on the Tower's roof. BB and Rose are Dick's teammates.

We then see Raven meditating at the edge of the tower, chanting, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…."

Jack and Blackfire are sitting on a bench, out of breath from playing.

The ball sails across, but BB hops up as a kangaroo and kicks it back hard. Starfire flies up to deliver a killer spike. Dick jumps for a counter-move, but Starfire slides across to bump. Bryan kicks the ball over the net, and Rose is able to jump up and hit it towards the other side.

Vic rushes in for the follow-up. As the ball descends toward the net, the big man gets ready to spike and suddenly finds himself facing a big green gorilla with the same idea in mind. BB smashes the ball past both members of the opposition; it hurtles straight toward the back of Raven's head. An instant after BB comes down from his jump, he resumes human form and panics.

He exclaims, "Raven, heads up!"

The ball continues its flight, but stops just short of an inch to her head thanks to an annoyed glance and a bit of her magic. It rockets back toward the players as Raven faces forward to resume meditation, and it slams into BB's head.

BB exclaimed, "yow…! Thanks, uh….", he collapses and says, "... Good save."

Dick looks worriedly at him, then at Raven and asks, "are you sure you don't want to play, Raven?"

Bryan said, "yeah, it could be fun!"

Starfire said, "yes, please, you must volley the ball with us!"

Vic said as he removed his left arm, "come on. I'll play you with one hand behind my back. "

Raven said, "I can't. I have to meditate."

Jack said, "and don't look at me, I'm dead tired from playing."

Blackfire said, "same here. I couldn't even chase down a handsome guy if I wanted to…."

Shrugs are had all around. Vic puts his arm back on and they resume the game. BB transforms while raising his hand to serve, and we pull back to show that he has again become a gorilla. After pounding it ahead, he hits the court and returns to human form, blowing his cool a second time.

Rose yelled, "aw crap!"

BB exclaimed, "heads up, again!"

The ball zooms toward Raven as before; this time, though, she does not stop it, but instead floats off to one side and lets it continue toward the edge.

The players all yell, "OH, NO!"

Jack and Blackfire can't help but laugh at this.

All the players scream as the ball flies off the tower. It bounces among the rocks and toward the shore. Back to the six players, whose panic gives way to resignation.

BB said, "I'll get it…."

He trudges toward the edge, but is brought up short by the reappearance of the ball, which sails back up from below to roll across the concrete and stop at his feet. BB looks up puzzled as something begins to rumble. A slender silhouette rises into view, long hair blowing in the breeze, hands planted on hips, standing on a floating object.

A familiar voice belonging to the silhouette says, "so…."

We see a familiar face perched on a levitated rock. Her face is set in a confident half-smile; instead of the crop top she wore last time, she now sports a black crop-top turtleneck with long sleeves, a yellow-orange Titan insignia on the chest, and no second shirt underneath and has traded her denim shorts for yellow-orange ones, but still wears her old brown hiking boots, leather gloves, a matching belt, and a new pair of goggles around her neck.

It was Terra!

Terra asked, "... which team am I on?"

Terra's rock floats down to the tower and she leaps off. She tosses her hair back.

Starfire exclaimed, "Terra!"

BB exclaimed, "Terra!"

BB and Starfire exclaimed, "Terra!"

They shoot dirty looks at each other; he swerves in front of her, but she elbows him.

Starfire exclaimed, "Terra!"

He charges back as a gorilla and rams Starfire away.

BB exclaimed, "Terra!"

Starbolts from the Tamaraneans direction make him jump away; she runs back in and is about to collide with Terra.

Starfire exclaimed, "Terra!"

She sweeps the returning guest into a monster hug, just as she did when they first met. This time, however, each squeeze makes Terra's head bulge more and more, as if air is being forced into one end of a balloon.

Starfire exclaimed, "oh, hello, long-lost friend! You remember me, yes?"

Terra groaned, "o-of course, Starfire. I still have bruises from the last time you hugged me."

Starfire releases her grip. BB, in human form, runs to Terra.

BB said, "Terra! You're…. I mean, I….", he holds out his hand to shake, "... how's it…. Heh…. Wassup?"

Terra hugs him. He moans happily and keels over.

Vic said, "well, if it isn't my favorite little rock-and-roller!"

Terra and Vic high-five one another.

Terra said, "Victor! Dick! What's shaking?"

Dick and her begin shaking hands as he says, "good to see you again."

Jack high fives her and says, "hello my fellow earth bender!"

Terra said, "what's up Jack!"

Rose said, "hey Terra."

Terra said, "hey Rose."

Bryan fist bumps Terra and says, "great to see you."

Terra says, "right back at ya."

Blackfire gives Terra a more gentle hug and says, "it's good to see you."

Starfire approaches; BB beats her to it.

BB exclaimed, "good?! Are they kidding? It's great to see you again! I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"

Raven has not budged from her meditation. BB drags Terra over to her.

BB exclaimed, "Raven, wake up! Terra's back! Isn't that awesome?"

Raven said, "super. Just help yourself to anything in the fridge, and don't forget to lock the door when you leave."

Jack groaned lightly at Raven's words before Terra said, "actually, I kinda wasn't planning on leaving this time. I'm ready to take you guys up on your offer. I want to be a Titan."

The big smile on her face fades into uneasiness as the others stare confusedly at her.

Terra said, "got it. Sorry", she walks away, "didn't realize the offer had an expiration date."

Dick's hand lands on her shoulder, stopping her exit, and she sniffles a bit as tears form in her eyes.

Dick said, "the offer didn't expire, we're just concerned."

BB said, "yeah, it's 'cause, well, um, last time when you kind of freaked out and ran away, you didn't exactly…. Uh…. You weren't completely, uh-"

Raven said, "you couldn't control your powers."

BB yelps, surprised.

Jack said, "er, yeah. As Raven bluntly said, you had a bit of trouble controlling your powers."

Rose said, "and for the record, Beast Boy never told us that, we just figured it out. So…."

Terra said after a moment, "hel-lo? That's why I left! Dick said I needed practice, so I've been practicing", she puts on her goggles, "check it out."

She jumps backward, lands on the boulder, and quickly brings up four others. Bounding nimbly onto one of these, she rides it to a higher elevation and takes the three spares with her. Off she goes, guiding the stones through a loop-the-loop like a roller coaster; she drops from the lead one and lands at the end of the line. Dick, BB, Rose, Blackfire, Jack, Vic, and Starfire, are watching awestruck from the roof as Terra zips past.

Starfire said, "oh, glorious!"

Bryan said, "yeah! wicked!"

Vic said, "whoo-yeah!"

BB said, "dude! She really has gotten better!"

Jack said, "I'll say. Even I'm not that skilled with controlling Earth like that."

Raven said, "she learned a few tricks. Doesn't mean she's any less dangerous."

Blackfire said, "ever the optimist, ain't ya?"

The four rocks sail on, in a diamond formation with Terra in the lead. She circles the tower, skimming so low over Jump City Bay that her passage throws up a wall of waves. On she goes away from the Tower, the rocks now in a four-abreast line, and she begins a steep climb that sends them veering away from each other. A couple of quick barrel rolls, and she goes into a headlong charge straight toward the building. One of the other three rocks is approaching fast from that direction.

The four missiles hurtle straight toward a collision above the roof. When they are within mere feet of crashing, though, all turn up into a sharp climb.

All the Titans brace for impact, but it never comes and Terra lands neatly before them in a crouch. Standing erect and groaning with effort, she sends the rocks high in a tight spiral towards the sky; as they are about to pass out of sight, they explode in a mighty display of pyrotechnics.

All of the Titans are wide-eyed and jaw dropped, well, except for Raven.

Bryan said, "that was incredible."

Vic said, "yeah, fantastic."

Jack said, "I gotta learn how to do that!"

Terra props her goggles on her forehead and says, "see? I've got everything under control."

A tremor shakes her out of this mood, and we see that it is also jolting the Tower and Jump City to boot. When it stops, nine very annoyed pairs of eyes look her way and she blushes a bit.

Terra said, "wasn't me."

….

We see a computer map of Jump City. Four pulsating dots are marked on it.

Vic said, "they're earthquakes."

He and all the others are studying the map, which is on the window/screen in the living room.

Vic said, "small ones, but they're happening all over the city."

Terra said, "too many to be natural."

BB pops up behind her, hearts in his eyes.

Jack said, "you're right. Those can't be earthquakes."

Dick said, "that's because they're not earthquakes. They're a trail."

Now spots have appeared to mark two more quakes.

Dick said, "something is moving under the city. We need to find out what. Titans! Go!"

Starfire, Blackfire, Rose, Bryan, BB, and Vic charge out. Dick, Jack and Raven follow them, but stop well short of the door and turn back.

Dick asked, "are you coming or not?"

Terra asked, "does this mean I'm on the team?"

Dick said, "it means we could use your help."

She gives him a satisfied nod and runs for the door, brushing against Raven as she passes. Three images flash by in quick succession, each one showing her desperately struggling to rein in her powers; they are followed by a split-second of Slade's face on a small round screen. The view clears to show Terra running out past the three Titans. Raven is badly unnerved by the sequence that has just played out in her head.

Jack touches her shoulder and Raven swears she sees the image of Terra's face floating past and vanishing. The features are set in a cruel smile.

Dick asked, "everything okay?"

Jack said, "yeah, you looked like you saw a ghost, Raven."

Raven said, "can't tell…. Are you sure it's safe to have her around?"

Dick said, "not entirely. But everyone deserves a second chance."

Jack said, "Dick's right. We gave him, Rose and Blackfire a chance."

Jack and Dick run out. Raven has clear distrust written on her face as she follows behind.

….

A little later in Jump City; it is now nighttime and very quiet. Traffic flows normally in one of the streets until something very tall and broad erupts from beneath the roadway, throwing drivers and pedestrians into chaos. The thing's shadow extends down the block, and it rears up to show itself in full detail: a long, wormlike machine with an enormous drill bit on the front end, which it had used to break through the pavement.

It rises to full height; it retracts upon stopping and is replaced by a head with a small, screeching mouth. There's a bus stuck at the edge of the worm's crater. Inside the shaking vehicle, the driver and passengers look up alarmed; in the sky, that head rears back and knifes toward the street to send people running for their lives.

The bus is hit with Raven's powers and pulled out of the way, an instant before the worm bites into the pavement and throws up a cloud of dust. When it clears, the head is pulling free.

Dick, Jack, Bryan, Rose, BB, Blackfire, Starfire, and Terra are a bit farther along the street. Raven floats down to them and sets the bus down safely behind.

Dick said, "you missed the bus."

We see Vic holding up a taxi.

Vic said, "looks like you'll just have to take a cab!"

He throws the auto and scores a bullseye on the worm's head; there is an explosion, which clears to show the invertebrate rearing up and roaring anew. It comes down, as does Raven.

Raven tried to chant, "Azarath Metrion-"

Terra shoves her aside.

Terra exclaimed, "I got it!"

She raises a large stone spike in the worm's path; it plows into this and is flung backward. The machine slowly overbalances and gravity gains the upper hand. It smashes to the asphalt, shaking the entire block and ruining a car or two.

Jack flies on a piece of earth and shoots lightning at the machine. It merely shrugs the lightning off and hits Jack with a beam that nearly sent him into a building, if it weren't for Blackfire catching him.

Jack exclaimed, "thanks Blackfire!"

Blackfire shouted, "don't thank me yet! We've still gotta take care of this thing!"

Once it is down, BB thunders in as a wooly mammoth and rams the head end into a nearby building.

He trumpets as best he can and looks at the thick curtain of dust that has risen, and after a moment, an infernal red light begins to shine within it. A beam shoots forth and nails BB; he is driven to the opposite side of the street in human form and bounces off the pavement and a building.

Terra shouted, "Beast Boy!"

Out of the smoke plumes, the worm rises once more, and a red spot on the head glows to indicate where the blast came from that took down BB. We see BB, woozy, as a yellow flare encircles him and turns into a pavement fracture, Terra's powers at work.

The worm fires its laser down at him, but she runs across, gets on the chunk she has just broken out, and carries him and herself to safety on it.

Up they go, the beam tearing into the architecture as it follows them. Once they have risen past the rooftops, Blackfire and Starfire fly in with both hands ready to fire. A barrage of starbolts strikes the worm, which lets go with another laser beam from its now-smoking head and swivels to sweep it after them. Vic has his sonic cannon going full tilt, and Bryan is shooting his laser gun rapidly, while Dick and Rose stand by him and watch. Terra and BB touch down.

Dick exclaimed, "good work, Terra! Now help me get in his face!"

Jack landed nearby and said, "I'll do the same with Rose."

Terra has a determined expression, then she sweeps one gloved hand through the air with a yell. A large hunk of pavement breaks loose and starts to rise; Jack does the same, and we see that they have brought up many such pieces to form a floating staircase.

Rose and Dick bound from one to the next, dodging laser blasts that blow the steps into dust behind them, and go into a long leap accompanied by two handfuls of grenades flung forward.

The projectiles sail toward the open mouth. Dick and Rose drop out of their leaps and are caught and carried away by Starfire and Blackfire. A string of internal explosions bulges out the monster's sides and sends smoke belching from the mouth. The weapons have just given it the world's worst case of indigestion. After the sisters tow them to a safe distance, BB, now a pterodactyl, flies in with Vic in his grip. The latter unloads a salvo of cannon fire that leaves the worm reeling; it recovers and shoots back, but the two Titans easily avoid the beam.

Now Starfire and Blackfire carry Dick and Rose in again, so low that their chests barely clear a rooftop; they let go and peel out, leaving them to drop into a dead run toward the worm. As another cannon shot slams into the metal body and distracts its attention, both of them pull out grappling hooks, leap over the edge, and fire. The line wraps around the body, allowing them to swing down and stay just ahead of the laser beam that slashes through the pavement behind him.

The two Titans' momentum carries them to the upper surface, where they land behind the head and bring out their fighting staff and sword for some quick twirls. Extending it to full length, Dick jams one end of his staff under the edge of a panel and leans with all his weight to try and lever it up, only to have the shaft break in his hands. Rose tries to do the same with her sword, but it has similar results. The worm rears up and thrashes about in an attempt to buck them off; here come Vic, Bryan, BB. The latter becomes a charging triceratops, while the two former leap onto his back, and horns and cannon blast/laser blast hit the hide together. They stagger backward, stunned briefly by the collision, and Vic gets his cannon going again once he comes to his senses. The same goes for Bryan as he starts shooting once more.

Terra jumps in behind them and starts to lift a piece of pavement; these chunks cover the full width of the street. Raven throws her powers over the mass to keep Terra from chucking it at the worm. Jack does the same, trying to slow the pavement down.

Raven yelled, "no!"

Terra glares at her and asks, "what are you doing?"

Raven said, "it's too dangerous. Someone could get hurt", she pulls it toward herself.

Jack exclaimed, "especially with how big that thing is!"

Terra exclaimed, "I know what I'm doing! Trust me!"

Now the stone bulk moves toward her again. We see Jack and Raven's straining faces, then Terra's, then the slowly shifting rock. Raven and Jack again, then Terra, whose eyes go wide with fear. The sheer magnitude of their opposing forces causes fractures in the pavement; the breaks spread all over.

Bryan and Vic, still mounted on BB's reptilian back, keep a steady stream of fire trained upward as Dick and Rose land behind them. The worm rears up and prepares a laser shot.

Dick exclaimed, "look out!"

The blast rips into the crumbling pavement piece, blowing it to gravel and hurling Terra, Jack and Raven backward in opposite directions. A wave of energy radiates out from the site and sends the worm crashing to the ground. When it subsides, Raven and Terra sit up from the sidewalk and get in each other's faces. Both of them are boiling mad.

Raven and Terra both say sarcastically, "way to go."

Jack gets in-between them and says, "alright, settle down."

Dick stands up in front of them.

Dick exclaimed, "come on! It's getting away!"

The worm is submerging as he says this. The tail disappears under the road surface as Dick, Bryan, Rose, Vic, Blackfire and Starfire rush after it. As they stand at the lip of its escape burrow and stare into the blackness, the other three Titans and Terra move up to them and a beeping draws Dick's attention. He pulls out his communicator and flips it open. It shows Slade's face on its screen along with some static.

Dick said, "Slade."

The sight matches what Raven saw at the tower!

Slade said, "Nightwing. Good to see you again. I do hope I haven't called at a bad time."

Rose said, "cut the crap, dad. We know you're behind this."

Dick growled, "the worm! What are you planning?"

Slade said, "well, now, kids. If you're so very curious, why don't you come down here and find out?"

The screen goes dark. All the Titans stare, absolutely confused, at the silent communicator in Dick's hand.

….

We see a long circular tunnel. Everything spoken down here echo in the emptiness.

Starfire said, "that evil worm has left a very long trail."

A spot of light comes into view, then starts to grow, marking the team's progress. They are in the burrow cut by the departing worm. The illumination is from Vic's built-in flash.

Starfire said, "this tunnel continues for at least two more plinthorgs."

Blackfire said, "maybe even three."

Bryan muttered, "I still can't tell if half the stuff they say is real…."

Vic said, "and we're more than three hundred meters below sea level."

Jack said, "we'll have to tell Aqualad that at some point. Imagine his reaction!"

Vic asked, "what's it doing down here?"

Dick growled, "whatever Slade tells it to."

Rose growled, "so nothing good from the world's worst dad."

Bryan growled, "without a doubt."

We look at Terra, Raven and Jack in the back.

Terra said, "so, sorry about our little tug-of-war back there. You know I wouldn't have let anybody get hurt."

Jack said, "I'm sure you wouldn't."

Raven said, "whatever."

Terra said, "okay, look. I don't know what your problem is, but get over it. If I'm gonna be a part of this team, we have to get along."

They stop walking.

Raven growled, "you're not part of this team, not yet! And if you endanger my friends, or my boyfriend again, you never will be! The next time I tell you something's too dangerous, TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!"

Raven walks forward as Jack rubs the bridge of his nose and says, "my girlfriend, everybody."

BB steps into view to stare after her.

Terra asked, "um, why does she hate me?"

BB said, "ahh, she kinda hates everybody."

Jack said, "speak for yourself."

BB said, "yeah, except for Jack. But he's her boyfriend, so it doesn't count. It'll be fine. Raven just needs time to get used to you. I think she's still getting used to me."

Rose muttered, "I think it's your jokes she hates more…."

Jack and Bryan snicker at that. BB and Terra smile at each other. In another part of the tunnel, the group proceeded along cautiously.

Raven said, "dead end."

Blackfire asked, "did you have to say dead?"

Rose said, "I'm assuming the answer is yes."

Dick steps across, communicator out and beeping.

Dick said, "not necessarily."

He approaches a wall and is rewarded with faster beeps. Vic comes over and adjusts his eye implant.

Dick said, "I'm picking up a signal from deep inside the rock."

Vic said, "way deep. Electronics, and a heartbeat."

Dick said, "Slade."

Bryan came forward and did the same with his eye, and said, "he's the only person in there. This is almost too easy."

Terra asked, "how about we dig down there and see what's up?"

She warms up her hands and prepares to start moving bits of the floor, only to stop with a gasp when the whole place rumbles. Rock fragments fall from the ceiling; Terra, Jack and Raven back away as the shaking dies down, after which the Titan fires a very nasty glare at the wannabe.

Terra asked, "are you gonna give me that look every time there's an earthquake?"

Suddenly, the worm's drill cuts up through the floor.

Terra yelled, "whoa!"

Elsewhere, Starfire eases cautiously away, ready to throw a Tamaranean slider, but stops and gasps as another drilling worm breaks the surface nearby. A third comes up for air, and we see all three drills aiming at the ten fighters.

Dick yelled, "Titans! Ready!"

The metal monsters are off in a heartbeat, but instead of attacking, they charge at an empty patch of wall and dig through it to clear out. BB looks after them and waves his arms.

BB said, "hel-lo? The good guys are over here!"

His words echoes in the broad path they have just cut for themselves, and he turns around to face the others.

BB exclaimed, "dude, we got snubbed!"

Starfire said, "because we are not their target."

Vic said, "three of those worms together could wreck anything in the city."

Blackfire said, "took the words right outta my mouth."

Terra exclaimed, "we have to stop 'em!"

Raven said, "we have to stop Slade."

Bryan said, "we gotta do both."

Dick said, "split up. Victor, Bryan, Starfire, Blackfire, Beast Boy…. Go after the worms. Jack, Rose, Terra and Raven, we're going after Slade."

Vic said, "Star, BB, Bry, Blackfire, let's move!"

Blackfire muttered, "I seriously need a nickname…."

It takes the five no time to set off in pursuit. Dick stares intently at the wall he, Bryan and Vic checked out.

Terra said, "I can make a tunnel on my own", she looks at Raven, "shouldn't she go with-?"

Dick said, "no. Raven's almost as good at moving Earth as you are. Same goes for Jack. We're digging through solid rock. Rose and I are going to need all three of you."

Raven throws back a hard glance.

Jack rolls his eyes as Rose mutters, "this ain't gonna end well."

Dick checks his communicator.

Raven said, "nice try."

The screen shows a grid with a blinking dot.

Dick said, "I've got a fix on the signal. Forty degrees down, six hundred meters deep. "

Jack, Raven and Terra all said, "no problem."

Rose mutters, "here we go."

Their combined powers hit the stone face and send up masses of dust and fragments.

Terra asked, "is that as fast as you can go?"

Raven said, "not even close."

Dick said, "careful. This rock isn't stable. Just take it a little…."

They are already at least a hundred yards downrange and still going strong.

Dick said, "... slow."

Rose said, "I don't think Jack is even doing most of this."

Jack had stopped halfway through as he saw how aggressive Raven and Terra were working. All three stare incredulously.

…

We see the whirling drills of two worms as they break through an expanse of stone. After a moment's grinding, the metal diggers emerge fully and race forward, passing it on either side like a pair of onrushing subway trains. We watch them zooming away; and we can now see that the third worm is alongside them, and Vic, Starfire, Bryan, Blackfire, and BB, as a cheetah, give chase.

The worms proceed steadily on and one turns upward; when the dusty haze from this move clears, the view has dissolved to a shot of their three tunnels, the two level courses diverging from center. Up come the five Titans, who examine the scene in the light from Vic's sweeping beam for a moment.

Vic said, "I'll take the ugly one."

Bryan asked, "which one's the ugly one?!"

Blackfire yelled, "heck if I know!"

Vic exclaimed, "Titans! Go!"

Each heads along a different tunnel. Bryan goes with Vic as Blackfire goes with her sister. Vic and Bryan barrel after a worm and Vic raises his left arm with a yell. A panel flips open to expose a small launcher loaded with a clamp/suction cup device. This is fired ahead, trailing a long line, and hooks the worm's rear end. The big man hauls in with all his strength, feet striking sparks from the tunnel floor as he is dragged along. Bryan jumps onto his back to help add some weight. Suddenly, Vic's face registers great surprise-and a second later, the leviathan angles sharply downward and drags him and Bryan screaming into the depths.

The sudden change in momentum throws them off balance and dumps Vic onto his chest; more sparks fly up from the contact, and he ends up spitting out a mouthful of gravel. After Vic has been towed, another worm breaks through the tunnel floor and continues upward, and the Tamaranian sisters fly after it. Starfire tosses off a couple of starbolts to destroy falling rocks before unloading an eye blast. This melts a ring of stone around the end, welding the body to the tunnel walls to stop it cold. Starfire stares and giggles at her work.

Blackfire said, "nice work sis."

However, the worm quickly breaks loose and bores its way upward. Once the debris has cleared, the sisters charge off after it.

Blackfire said, "well, at least it worked for a minute!"

We then go to a section of rock face that is already fractured. It shatters entirely under the advance of the third worm, which BB is chasing. He catches up and launches himself at it, turning into a giant sloth on the way down and digging his long claws into the metal hide. Unable to get a firm grip, he slides back and is dumped to the tunnel floor as the prey thunders into the distance. After a surprised look at claws that have been ground down to nubs, he resumes human form.

BB said, "guess I won't need to cut my fingernails for a few years."

The three worms dig in all directions: one towing Vic and Bryan, Starfire and Blackfire shooting after the second, BB as an ostrich chasing the third.

….

We then see a rock face with part of a steel framework visible in front of it. The material shatters from the other side to reveal Raven, Jack and Terra, who have excavated their way in, and Rose and Dick are still behind them. The two girls and boy stare as they shoulder past them.

They are in a huge underground expanse whose walls are lined with those steel members. Sitting at its center is a cylindrical computer console, with keyboards spaced at regular intervals around its perimeter. A broad beam of green light emanates upward from the middle of this rig and generates a holographic image. We are in a truly gargantuan vertical shaft; the computer stands on a platform that has walkways connecting it to the walls, and the hologram is an image of the Tower and its island.

….

We see the three worms, joined to form a circle, oriented horizontally and spinning near the ceiling.

We focus on one of the busily digging worms. Vic has reeled himself in and climbed aboard, and he is now crawling toward the head. Bryan jumps off of his back and climbs alongside him. They stop and look up in alarm, and a large chunk of stone breaks away from the tunnel. It plows into Vic's face, throwing him off his perch and leaving him to watch the monster continue its headlong rush.

Bryan loses his grip and flies off next to Vic.

Standing up, Vic checks his forearm panel; it shows one worm tunneling straight up, and the other two soon join it on converging paths as all head for fresh air.

Vic exclaimed, "BB! Blackfire! Star! We're getting close to the surface! Whatever their target is, they're about to hit it with everything they've got."

Bryan exclaimed, "then we better hurry up!"

….

We see a patch of ground at surface level. One by one, the three worms break through and rise into the air with the help of small rocket thrusters mounted along the body lengths. Tilt up as they fly in different directions, then we see Vic and Bryan emerging from underground. Starfire and Blackfire do likewise, then BB in gopher form; up above, the giant drill bits retract into the segmented bodies. Two free ends hook up. Now all three worms have joined into a ring that matches the one spinning in the underground chamber. It is suspended directly above the Tower, on whose island the worms surfaced.

As Starfire, Blackfire and again-human BB stand frozen in shock, Vic and Bryan move closer and stare. That emitter comes to life, firing a laser beam straight down to cut a circular incision into the earth. Two other beams have started up, one on each worm, and at ground level the five Titans are forced to make a run for it as one of them rips toward them. Once the dust has cleared, Vic stands up and addresses his onboard communicator.

Vic exclaimed, "Nightwing! It's the Tower! They're attacking Titans Tower!"

….

The worms down in the underground shaft have started firing beams of their own, but up instead of down to chew through that rock from two directions at once. We see the holographic Tower image, now with a cylinder marked around it and a flashing red arrow pointing downward from the bottom end to show the structure's intended movement. Rose, Jack, Dick, Raven and Terra stand at the computer console.

Dick said, "it's not just under attack. It's about to be underground."

….

The Tower is still under siege by the aerial worms as Vic, Bryan, Blackfire, Starfire, and BB watch.

Starfire exclaimed, "our home!"

Bryan exclaimed, "my stuff!"

BB said, "Slade's trying to sink it."

Vic said, "one drill going up and another going down. If either of 'em break through, we're gonna need a new place to live!"

Starfire growled, "I like where we live!"

Blackfire growled, "amen sister!"

The sisters take off, while BB becomes a pterodactyl and hoists Vic up. Bryan stays on the ground and starts shooting as fast as he can. Starbolts and cannon are brought into play against the wreckers.

….

Back at the drilling ring going up. Dick whips a birdarang at it without effect, and Raven's black shots do no damage either.

Jack starts shooting fire at it, but the burns leave no lasting damage!

Rose keeps working at the console, trying to think of a solution.

As Raven keeps shooting, Terra warms up and looks toward the wall; she brings two large boulders out and projects them at the worms, but even these missiles have no discernible effect.

Dick said, "not even a scratch", they all ran back to the console, and Dick started working at the keyboard, "if we can't break the drill, hacking this computer is our only shot at shutting it down!"

The gloved fingers fly on the keys. But they all hear well, and see that Slade has entered and is charging straight at Dick, and with a furious roar he launches a flying kick. The blow drives him past Raven, Jack, Rose and Terra to dump him on the walkway behind. The masked criminal rushes at him, and as Dick sits up to rub his shoulder, another steel boot zeroes in on his head. He rolls away just in the nick of time, and after a moment, the two take a few pokes at each other without connecting as they work their way toward the shaft wall. Rose quickly joins the fight and starts helping Dick fight her father!

The three of them move into a service elevator at the outer end of the walkway. Raven, Jack and Terra run toward it.

Terra exclaimed, "Nightwing! Ravager! Hang on!"

Dick exclaimed, "forget about us! Shut down the drill!"

Rose exclaimed, "we'll handle my dad!"

Slade said, "good. Now I have you both to myself."

Rose groaned, "could you get any creepier?"

Slade hits a button, bringing up a waist-high gate: the sort often used on lifts like this, and lunges at Dick and Rose. Jack, Terra and Raven watch the elevator climb the shaft wall until it has passed.

Terra said, "looks like it's just us."

All three look up toward the ceiling. One laser beam incises the bedrock above.

Raven said, "we have to hack in."

She runs toward the computer; Terra warms up.

Terra asked, "why hack when you can smash?"

Jack exclaimed, "wait, no!"

She propels a boulder toward the hardware.

Raven exerts her powers and yells, "no!"

Raven has stopped the rock halfway between herself and Terra.

Raven said, "we don't know how this thing works. Destroy the controls and we might never be able to stop it."

Terra said, "or we might stop it sooner and save our home."

Jack said, "yeah, but we gotta think what'll happen if we just smash it! You can't make an omelet if you smash everything into the bowl with the shells!"

Terra puts more effort into trying to move the weight on the end of this line, Raven increases the resistance, and small fragments fall around them as a result of the strain.

Jack tries to keep the rock steady, but his own powers pail in comparison to the standstill between the girls.

Terra asked, "why can't you just trust me?"

Raven yelled, "'cause you don't deserve it! I have to meditate every day to keep my powers under control. And I'm supposed to believe that you can just suddenly control yours? Trust is something you have to earn!"

Jack yelled, "she's right! It took me ages to control my powers!"

Terra asked, "how? How do I earn it?"

Raven said, "you can start by trusting me."

Jack said, "you trust us, we trust you!"

Terra turns this over nine or ten times in the space of one second, and then relaxes her hold on the stone. Raven and Jack do likewise, allowing it to crash down onto the walkway, and all three turn to the console. The rock ceiling is being sliced by the drilling laser beam once more. The trio look up from the keyboard in sudden alarm; a second later, a gigantic piece of stone falls from above and crushes the system to scrap. Sparks fly everywhere as the two girls and guy are thrown backward from the impact. One emitter starts to glow much more intensely and puts out a wider beam, breaking away the ceiling at a greatly accelerated rate. All three lasers behave in this manner, put into overdrive by the literal system crash. Jack, Raven and Terra, get to their feet.

Terra said, "okay. Maybe smashing the computer was a bad idea."

Jack said, "that's very clear right now."

….

Back in the elevator, Rose, Dick and Slade continue to fight as it rises up, up, up! After several hundred feet of climb, during which Dick takes a blow that knocks him back to the wall, the elevator jolts sharply and throws him to the floor. Looking up, he finds that they have nearly reached the ceiling and the drilling worms.

Dick exclaimed, "the Tower!"

Rose starts holding back her father with her staff as Dick tries to get to his feet.

As the lasers make yet another pass, the interior section trembles and slides down, accompanied by a shower of dust. The rock has now been cut so deeply that the Tower's weight is enough to fracture it.

Slade said, "going down."

He leaps nimbly over the back half-wall of the elevator and into space. When Dick and Rose rush to the guardrail, all they see is the worms and the approaching ceiling. Out they go, just before the car goes off its rails and crashes. They both fire off their grapples, catching them on a neighboring set of guide rails, and perch safely on one of the horizontal bracing members.

….

Back at the Tower, Starfire carries Vic up toward the rotating wreckers, while Blackfire does the same with Bryan, and BB, now a falcon, flies up alongside them. The three boys drop onto the upper surface, BB as an octopus, Vic converts his hand into a drill and puts it to work on the metal skin, and Bryan starts firing a continuous stream of lasers. Blinding sparks play over the spot.

Vic yelled, "Beast Boy! Go!"

The octopus flips him a salute with one tentacle, becomes a mouse, and scampers to the newly bored hole. In he goes.

We see within the worm to show bundles of wiring running along its length. BB chews on one, then another, and the crackling arcs testify to the circuits he has broken or shorted. Outside, the worms' bodies bulge from a series of internal explosions before blowing apart. One blast throws the shape-shifter clear; he has transformed into a turtle, but soon resumes falcon form and wings away.

The worms, now completely separated, fall in three different directions toward the bay and splash in. On the shore, Vic, Bryan, Blackfire and Starfire cheer wildly as BB lands and takes human form.

Vic says, "Dick, we did it", he activates his communicator, "we took out the drill... Dick?"

A laser beam erupts from below the water, issuing from the subterranean drill, and starts to trace around the shore. All five Titans are thrown down with a yell due to the accompanying tremor. Sure enough, all three lasers have pierced the bedrock, and after a long moment, the entire island begins to sink into Jump City Bay.

Vic yelled, "Go!"

Starfire and BB gasp. The former lifts off, carrying Vic with her, and the latter again becomes a falcon to fly up with them.

Blackfire quickly grabs Bryan, and they follow after the others.

As the descent continues and dust and smoke pour up, they get clear of the site.

….

Underground, the sliding mass of rock is about to hit the drill.

Raven, Jack and Terra watch it.

Raven yelled, "we have to go! There's nothing we can do now!"

Terra's eyes glowed as she said, "yes, there is! Trust me!"

Down it comes. The glow has shifted from her eyes to her hands, and it manifests itself in a pair of wide-angle beams as she raises them with a savage yell. The energy strikes the lower face of the monolith, which smashes the drill apart as it stops and the worms crash down all around her. After several seconds in midair, the sheer weight of this formation proves too much for her and it starts to drop again. As her knees buckle, Raven steps up next to her with both hands loaded for bear.

Raven chanted, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Jack stepped forward and tightly gripped his staff with his hand extended into the air, helping to stop the formation.

Jack exclaimed, "we got you Terra!"

Terra straightens up. Ever so slowly, the combined force of the three heroes' powers begins to push the collapsed rock back up the way it came.

….

Back on the surface, Blackfire, Bryan, Vic, Starfire, and BB, in human form, stand on the shore of Jump City Bay. The boys sadly regard the site of the Titans' lost home, but Starfire cannot bring herself to look, hiding herself in Blackfire's arms. But suddenly, a loud rumbling starts up, and BB stares dumbfoundead.

BB said, "no way."

Bryan looks up and says, "holy crap!"

Vic follows his lead.

Vic said, "Starfire, look!"

Starfire says, "I cannot", she raises her eyes a bit, "our home is…."

Blackfire turns her sister so she can see. The rumbling marked the rise of the Tower, which is now emerging from the waters to stand as tall as it did when the Titans were playing volleyball on its roof.

Starfire exclaimed, "... It is Saved!"

Blackfire said, "and here I thought I'd seen it all."

Vic asked, "but how?"

BB smiled and said, "Terra."

Vic lifts his forearm, and his communicator panel shows Dick.

Dick said, "as well as Raven and Jack. Working together."

The five heroes watch as the island and structure are pushed up back into proper position.

….

Later in the hall, Raven and Terra are walking along. The blonde's goggles, which have been propped on her forehead since she wrapped up her stunt on the roof, hang around her neck again.

Terra asked, "so…. Friends?"

Raven said, "close enough."

Terra said, "sorry we kinda got off to a rocky start.'

They stop at a door.

Raven said, "actually, I thought things went pretty well. Took me a year to stop hating Beast Boy."

Both laugh. A door is heard opening as Terra's boots advance and are followed by Raven's. Raven turns toward the wall as Terra steps forward, puzzled.

Terra asked, "um…. Where are we?"

Raven said, "your room."

She flips a light switch. We see across the area: walls painted to show a mountain landscape under a starry night sky, big green bed at the far wall, a cactus next to this, bookshelves, a large couch and coffee table facing the window. The other Titans are here.

Dick, Bryan, BB, Jack, Vic, Rose, Starfire Blackfire all yell, "SURPRISE!"

Terra looks around, flabbergasted, "you guys did all this…. For me?"

BB said, "yeah, since you helped save our home and all", he slides to her, blushes, and cocks his eyebrows, "we thought you deserved your own room."

Dick said, "you also deserve one of these."

He holds out a communicator, and she takes it and looks wonderingly down at it in her palm.

Terra said, "so I'm…."

Dick answered, "... A Titan."

He holds his hand out to shake.

Dick said, "glad to have you on the team."

She shakes.

Vic said, "aw, yeah! Very nice!"

Rose said, "very very nice!"

Bryan said, "right on!"

Blackfire said, "welcome to the team. You're gonna fit right in!"

Jack said, "it'll be nice having someone with similar powers on the team."

BB said, "this is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Starfire exclaimed, "welcome, new Titan!"

Raven said, "congratulations, Terra. You earned it."

The newest teammate gives her a gratified smile.

Vic said, "alright. There's only one way to commemorate such a momentous occasion. Waffles!"

All but Terra head out.

Dick said, "mmm!"

Jack said, "sounds great!"

Starfire said, "perfect!"

Blackfire said, "I'm drowning mine in syrup!"

Rose said, "whipped cream and strawberries!"

BB asked, "can they be non-dairy waffles?"

Bryan groaned, "seriously?"

Terra said, "sounds good. I'll catch up in a minute, okay?"

She watches the group leave. After the door has closed behind them, she turns and looks down at her new communicator.

Terra said, "I don't believe it. They actually trust me…."

As she says this, the hair above her right ear, where she used to wear her butterfly clip, falls forward to cover that side of her face….

….

Reviews:

Bailey Radcliff: thanks so much. Hope your year has been going well.

Canadude2029: yeah, I thought that would be a cool detail to add in. Happy late new year.

pokemonking0924: glad you enjoyed the chapter and the changes. And yeah, this year seems to be going a little better. And indeed it was Jack and Cassia!

SuperSentai199: happy late new year and thanks.

….

Well, I'm finally back. Hopefully I'll have some more consistent chapter uploads from here.