Beast Boy found Terra by the waterside, sitting on the edge of the rocks with her knees drawn to her chest. The waves lapped softly against the shore, but the tension between them was thick and electric. Beast Boy's heart was still racing, his mind reeling from everything that had happened in the Tower, but he knew he had to talk to her, and had to make things right.
He walked up slowly, his voice tentative. "Terra…"
She didn't look at him, her eyes focused on the water ahead. "Just go away, Beast Boy."
He ignored the sting in her words and sat down beside her, the silence hanging between them like a chasm. For a long time, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the distant roar of the ocean.
"I get it, okay?" Beast Boy finally said, his voice soft but strained. "You're mad, and I can't blame you. Raven went too far, and… yeah, maybe the others don't trust you. But I do. I've always trusted you."
Terra's jaw tightened, her voice bitter as she kept her gaze locked on the horizon. "You shouldn't. They're right. I've done terrible things. I let Slade control me, I betrayed all of you. I'm not a hero. I never was."
Beast Boy shook his head, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "That's not true, and you know it. You're not the same person you were back then."
Terra's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Aren't I? Look at me, Beast Boy. I'm still a mess. You're trying so hard to make me something I'm not. I don't belong here."
Beast Boy clenched his fists, his patience wearing thin. "Why do you keep saying that? You're just scared, Terra. You don't wanna admit you're better than what you did."
Finally, she looked at him, her eyes flashing with anger. "Better? You think I'm better? I nearly killed you and your friends. I helped Slade destroy everything. How the hell do you see anything 'better' in me?"
Beast Boy's temper snapped. "Because I love you!" he shouted, standing up abruptly, his emotions boiling over. "I've loved you since the day I met you, and it didn't matter what you did back then because I knew there was still good in you. But if you keep pushing me and everyone else away, then maybe they're right—maybe you don't deserve a second chance."
Terra stood up, fury written across her face, the earth trembling faintly beneath them. "You don't know what it's like to live with what I've done. Stop acting like you can just fix me by saying you love me!"
"I am trying to fix things!" Beast Boy snapped, his voice growing deeper, more guttural as his frustration mounted. "But you won't let me!"
Terra clenched her fists, the earth beneath them rumbling slightly in response to her anger. "Maybe because I'm tired of being treated like your broken little project!"
The ground shifted beneath them, and before they even realized it, they had moved into the training grounds—a fitting, ironic place for their escalating confrontation. Terra's eyes flared with defiance, and in that instant, everything exploded.
Beast Boy shifted into his tiger form with a snarl, leaping at Terra with raw emotion fueling him. Terra raised her hands, the earth responding to her will as she flung chunks of rock at him with precision. Beast Boy dodged the first few strikes, but she was relentless, her control of the terrain still sharp despite being rusty. She caught him in the side with a heavy boulder, sending him skidding across the dirt.
"You think you can just make everything better by punching me?" she yelled, flinging more rocks at him. "You're not the only one who's angry!"
Beast Boy snarled, shifting back into his human form and charging at her, transforming into a wolf mid-run. He was fast, but Terra was faster, raising a wall of stone between them. Beast Boy crashed into it, the impact reverberating through the ground.
Terra smirked, mocking him. "Come on, Beast Boy. You're gonna have to try harder than that."
The taunt was the last straw. Beast Boy's body began to shift, muscles rippling and expanding as he morphed into his full feral werebeast form. His eyes glowed a bright, feral yellow, and his roar echoed through the training grounds like a primal call.
With terrifying speed, Beast Boy lunged at Terra, smashing through her defences with brutal force. She barely had time to react as he overpowered her, his massive hands grabbing her and slamming her down into the dirt. Terra let out a gasp of pain as she tried to scramble away, but Beast Boy was relentless. He struck her with heavy, non-lethal blows, each one calculated to subdue, not kill.
Terra struggled to fight back, throwing rocks and debris at him, but the power behind Beast Boy's feral form was too much. He dodged her attacks effortlessly, moving with animalistic precision. When she tried to raise another wall of earth, he shattered it with a single swipe of his claws, knocking her off her feet.
He pinned her down, one massive hand pressing her into the ground, his other arm wrapping around her neck in a submission hold. "Give up, Terra," he growled, his voice deep and monstrous. "Just… give up."
Breathing hard, bruised and exhausted, Terra finally stopped struggling. Her chest heaved as she lay still beneath him. "Fine… you win," she muttered, her voice bitter but defeated.
They lay there for a moment, both of them breathing heavily, the tension between them slowly ebbing away. Beast Boy's heart still pounded in his chest, but the rage had subsided. All that was left was the raw, unspoken connection between them, and it hung in the air, fragile and tentative. As the last of the tension begins to clear and the dust settles, they're left breathing heavily, both bruised and a little worse for wear. As they catch their breath, Beast Boy looks down at her with that classic mischievous grin.
Beast Boy sighed, grinning despite himself. "You know, Terra, after all that, I'm really… head over heels for you." He winked, tossing in his cheesiest delivery yet.
Terra blinked, then snorted out a laugh that surprised even her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back a smirk. "Gosh, Beast Boy… that was awful."
"What?!" he protested, clutching his chest in mock pain. "Tears for Fears would be proud!" He shot her a toothy grin, pleased with himself.
Terra shook her head, still laughing softly. "You're such a dork…" she murmured, but her voice was warm. He leaned in closer, his grin softening. "Yeah, but I'm your dork."
Their eyes locked, and in that moment, something shifted. Terra's gaze softened, and Beast Boy's breath caught in his throat. Slowly, they leaned in, exhaustion softening the edges of their anger, and for a moment, it felt like they were finally on the same page, their eyes closing as they drew closer. But just as their lips were about to meet, a sudden, crushing force smashed into Beast Boy's back. He was thrown forward, hitting the ground with a brutal impact that left him gasping, his vision swimming in shades of dark and light. Terra whipped around, eyes wide, but before she could even process what had happened, a shadowy figure loomed above her.
A hand clamped onto her wrist, yanking her up off the ground. "Well, aren't you just full of surprises," the figure sneered, her voice rich with mocking amusement. "Falling for him? How sweet." The taunt sliced through the night, loaded with venomous amusement.
Terra struggled, her confusion clear as she tried to break free, but her fatigue and injuries dulled her strength. "Let me go!" she snapped, though her voice shook, laced with shock and a hint of fear.
Beast Boy fought to get up, his vision still blurred as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees. His head pounded, but he forced himself to lift his gaze. Slowly, the figure's outline sharpened, revealing a wicked smile framed by dark, flowing hair and a set of piercing eyes filled with dark amusement.
Blackfire.
A low, taunting laugh spilled from her lips as she glanced down at Beast Boy, her hold on Terra iron-strong. "Oh, are you getting up, hero?" she cooed with false sweetness. "Don't strain yourself. Not that you could do anything even if you tried."
She yanked Terra closer, eyeing her with a smirk that sent a shiver down Terra's spine. "Too bad your little boyfriend can't keep up. Kind of tragic, don't you think?" she mocked, her voice a mix of honeyed disdain and menace.
Beast Boy clenched his teeth, his vision darkening at the edges as he tried to stay conscious. "Let… her… go…" he forced out, his voice slurring from the pain and effort.
Blackfire just laughed, a harsh, chilling sound that echoed through the night. "How cute," she sneered, casting one last pitying look his way. "Catch up if you can."
With that, she lifted off the ground, dragging Terra with her. Beast Boy's vision blurred, her mocking laughter fading as the night closed in on him. His body finally gave out, and he slumped back into the dirt, unconscious and alone, with Blackfire's final taunt hanging in the air like a curse.