Demonic Awakening II Wherever I May Roam xXxXxXxXx "Ah!" Terra let out a scream as she ran as fast as she could away from the falling rocks she had attempted to keep levitated over her head. Her powers had erupted, and the sudden lack of concentration forced the large pieces of earth to fall from the skies, and directly toward her. She dove at the last second, barely avoiding a near-death experience. As large amounts of dust clouds picked up all around her, she punched at her very element, pounding against the Earth she laid upon. "Why can't I do this?" Terra cried out in frustration. She had spent nearly a week away from the tower, and she hated it. Never had she felt this way about anywhere she had been. From town to town, from city to city she had gone and left without a trace after her powers had caused problems, or she simply became bored with her life there. She could literally feel the pain from disclosing the voices in her mind that urged her to return to her home. She wanted to learn to control her powers first, then ... maybe ... "It is because you lack concentration, my sweet Tara," a sudden voice echoed from above. Tearful eyes, which she hadn't even noticed looked up to the mountainside to where the mercenary was perched, glaring down upon her. "Slade..." Terra let out with a frown, a look of determination set upon her. How did this man know who she really was? Hell, she didn't even know who she really was! "How is it you know that name?" Terra demanded to know, unable to back down from him like she had before. "I know all about you, Tara Markov," Slade stated as he leaped down from the mountain, landing twelve meters away from her. "I know about the experimentation in Gotham ... I know about the path you took in order to get here." "Why?" Terra asked as she took a hesitant step back, though kept up her tough pretense. "Why me? Why do you know so much about me? What can be so interesting about me?" "Your powers, Tara," Slade stated emotionlessly as he continued a slow pace toward her. "You are very unique, as I have said before. A diamond that needs a little ... shaping." "I think it's you that needs a little shaping," Terra yelled out while surrounding her hands in a yellow glow. She forced her arms outward, while the very ground the mercenary stood on crumbled. Slade leaped off the rock a few yards back, crouching down as Terra sent several rocks in his direction. "Lesson number one," the mercenary's voice became slightly louder like a teacher would to emphasize his point. "Never attack based on your emotions." With a quick reach to his back he pulled out his metallic bo-staff, extending it outward and swinging through several pieces of stone. The staff spiraled around his form, completely shattering any and every rock that aimed to harm. Terra took a step back while Slade advanced forward, hurling stone after stone while the mercenary deflected each attack. "Lesson number two," Slade began to say as he neared closer toward her. "I don't need lessons from you!" Terra shouted as a bright yellow aura erupted around her. The very earth Slade stood upon suddenly crack and crumbled, forcing him to leap high into the air. "Use your opponents weakness against them," he shouted from the air as he hurled several disks outward. With a quick lifting of her arms, Terra shielded herself from the attack, forcing the disks to explode against the raised earth. The blast hurled Terra back a few yards and onto her back, with Slade once again walking up confidently beside her. "What's the matter, little elementalist," Slade asked in a low tone while leaning down toward the blonde. "Were you not strong enough to help fight along side your fellow teammates? Or did personal issues force you to run, like you always do..." Terra let out a grunt, then a scream as she turned toward the mercenary, lifting a portion of rock behind her, surrounded in a yellow hue and hurled it in his direction, two which he easily sidestepped. The blonde forced herself to her feet and ran straight for Slade, arms cocked back and swirling with a golden yellow energy. Her sapphire hues were filled with rage as she launched punch after punch, each one being dodged or easily swatted away by the man's pole. Terra dropped to the ground, barely avoiding a roundhouse and quickly lifted the earth behind her, smacking into Slade's chest and sending him several yards back. "Hah!" Terra cried out confidently after a few intakes of breath. Sweat poured off her form, but she was at least glad to have made one hit on her enemy. "Take that, you son of a-" The side of her head was struck by the instep of Slade's boot, the man having to move like quicksilver while the dust had collected where he landed and coming up from the girl's side, striking while she celebrated her hit. "Lesson number two," Slade began to repeat. "Never drop your guard even when your enemy is down." Terra began to lift herself from the ground, her body trembling in both exhaustion from her earlier attempts to control her powers, and the excessive training Slade forced upon her. The man's index finger began to lift up the girl's chin, while blonde strands covered the left side of her face. Slade's one eye stared into Terra's own, seeming to enjoy the look of fear he placed in her. "Why is it you chose to fight me?" Slade asked curiously as he dropped his grip from the girl and straightened his back. "Do you not seek information of your past?" "I don't care about my past," Terra was quick to shout as she pulled herself to her knees. "You say you know so much about me, I'd assume you'd be the first to know the reasons why I run all the time." Conversation. Slade smirked. Yes, the girl was indeed opening up to him now. "Because no one understands you, Terra," Slade stated, referring to the girl by the name she chose. He placed his hands behind his back while the girl attempted to catch her breath, walking circles around her while he continued. "You attempt to do good, to prove that you are not a complete screw up. But your powers are far superior than your own strength. You need to learn your limitations, and you need to learn control. You rely too much on your own powers and not enough upon yourself." Terra's shoulders slumped as the man's words began to sink in. "When things go wrong, others immediately place the blame upon you, but it's always easier to point fingers rather than accept responsibility," Slade continued on as he now stood face to face with the girl who now sat resting an arm on one knee. "When you begin to take responsibility for your actions, when you learn to control your powers, will you stop running?" Terra thought long and hard about the question her supposed enemy announced to her, her brows lowering while her eyes focused upon the ground. So many people had been hurt because of her inability to control her powers, so many lives had been lost. How long was she supposed to keep running for? How much longer before she ran into a dead end? "You're an adventurer, Terra," Slade interrupted the girl's thoughts before she had time to answer his question. "You run recklessly through life, burning the bridges you cross in hopes that no one will follow, but what will happen when you attempt to return to those bridges?" She had been on her own for so long, she couldn't remember exactly where she was from, where it had all started. Her eyes closed as tears built, fighting to keep herself calm. She couldn't break now, especially in front of him. "How many more lives must you destroy before you realize you can't learn to control your powers on your own?" Slade asked, his voice more harsh but quickly calmed as he knelt down to become eye level with the girl. He placed his index finger upon her chin once again, lifting her head up to look her in the eye. They slowly opened, misty and attempting to shield her emotions. "I'm offering you the chance to never have to run again, Terra. No more bridges will be burned, and no more fingers will be pointed in your direction. Train as my apprentice, and I shall show you to control your powers. All that I ask in return is your trust." xXxXxXxXx In mid-leap and with a fierce growl, Robin swung his fist back passed his head and swung hard at the flying volleyball, sending it soaring through the air, clear over the net toward Cyborg and Starfire on the other side. A metal-handed pump sent the ball back up, with Starfire quickly taking action next, bouncing the ball back to the other side. A green skinned kangaroo was waiting, however, quickly kicking it back hard. Starfire was first to take initiative, delivering a killer spike. "Az'rath, Metrion, Xinthos ... Az'rath, Metrion, Xinthos ..." Raven continued to chant. It had been a few weeks after Terra had left them, and Raven couldn't fill in the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps if she had tried more to get the girl to stay ... maybe if she had ... she quickly buried such thoughts. She was attempting to meditate, to clear her mind of such thoughts in order to become more focused upon her emotions and the source of her own powers, not to reflect upon the past. In attempt to save, Robin jumped up, barely in enough time to send up flying upward toward the net, setting up for a perfect spike for either team. Cyborg quickly rushes in for the follow up, with the ball descends toward the net. As the big man gets ready to spike, however, he finds himself facing an even bigger green gorilla with the same idea in mind. Beast Boy prevails, and smashes the ball passed both members of the opposition, hurling it straight toward the back of Raven's head. An instant after he comes down from his jump, he resumed his human form and began to panic. "Raven, heads up!" The ball continued its flight, but stopped dead an inch short of the sorceress' cranium, thanks to an annoyed glance and a bit of telekinesis. A lowered brow would rocket the ball back toward the players, smashing directly into the changeling's face, while she resumed her meditation. "Yow!" Beast Boy exclaimed, while grasping his bruised nose. "Thanks, uh ... good save." "Are you sure you don't want to play, Raven?" Robin shifted his worried view from Beast Boy to Raven, who had remained in even further solitude than he was normally used to. "Yes, please, you must volley the ball with us!" Koriand'r always had a way with words, Raven mused. It was enough to force out a light chuckle, though not enough to pull her from her meditation. "Come on!" Cyborg called out to the girl, while pulling his left arm behind his back, and waving his right. "I'll play you with one hand behind my back." "I can't," Raven admitted truthfully. "I have to meditate." Shrugs all around, after which Cyborg pulled his left arm back out. The team quickly resumed play, with a gorilla Beast Boy smashing the ball right back into play. After over-pounding it again, the changeling reverts back to his human form, shouting out to the sorceress yet again. "Heads up, again!" The ball seemed like a magnet to Raven's head, traveling at great speed as before. This time, however, the girl chose not to stop it and instead, floated to one side, letting it continue toward the edge. The rest of the team all shouted out simultaneously. "Oh, no!" The ball soared over the tower's roof, and plummeted toward the rocks of the shore, bouncing from rock to rock until it came to a stop inside a crevice, preventing it from reaching the waters. "I'll get it," Beast Boy volunteered while the others groaned. The changeling trudged toward the edge, attempting to peer over but is suddenly stopped by the reappearance of the ball, sailing its way back from below to roll across the concrete and stop right at his feet. Blinking in confusion, he searched around with a puzzled look, while something begins to rumble from down below. His eyes shifted upward to a slender silhouette, rising into view with long hair blowing in the breeze, and hands upon hips, standing upon a floating object. "So," the female voice rose from the shadowed figure, moving the object that now could easily be seen as a rock toward the team. With a half-smile perched upon her lips. "Which team am I on?" Clad in a pair of denim shorts, and her traditional hiking boots, rising up to a new black crop-top turtleneck, with long sleeves and a yellow-orange Titan insignia on the chest, the same leather gloves, a matching belt, and a new pair of goggles around her neck, the girl tossed her hair back, viewing the team she had left. "Terra!" Raven turned to view the shout that erupted from both Starfire and Beast Boy, witnessing them run like children toward the girl. Like a war, the two fought to reach her fist. In the end, it was the Tamaranian's Starbolts that stopped the changeling dead in his tracks, resulting in a devastating, and bone-crushing hug for the blonde haired elementalist. She quickly buried her emotions, reverting back to her old self. What, did she just expect to come back, and everything would be okay, like nothing ever happened? A light conversation followed that Raven herself found no interest in, until Beast Boy shouted in her direction. "Raven, wake up! Terra's back! Isn't that awesome?" "Super," Raven's voice became suddenly sarcastic. "Just help yourself to the fridge, and don't forget to lock the door when you leave." She hadn't meant for her voice to sound so cold and distant, but she suddenly couldn't help her emotions from showing. Had she truly been that hurt from her departure to treat the girl in such a cold way? True, she herself was never one to be the happy or welcoming type, but she did feel slightly better knowing the girl was back, and well. Raven hoped that the rest of the day would hopefully leave her to meditate more, and express less of her emotions. How quickly her hopes would be dropped. xXxXxXxXx "No!" Raven quickly cried out, as she threw her arms, preventing the rock that Terra had summoned to smash the very console computer that could have stopped the tower from sinking into the ground. Later that day, Slade had appeared and attempted to destroy Titan's Tower by literally pulling out the rock from underneath it. Snake-like machines coursed through the bottom of the city, and made tunnels directly underneath Titan's Tower, with a giant drill attempting to dig its way above ground. The result of which would aid in the falling of the tower, unless Raven stopped the very console that could stop it from being smashed. "We don't know how this thing words. Destroy the controls, and we might never be able to stop it," Raven quickly shouted to the girl, keeping her hold over the rock Terra attempted to bring down. "Or we might stop it sooner and save our home," Terra sighed, putting more effort into trying to move the weight on one end. Raven increases her own resistance and small fragments being to fall around them as a result of the strain. "Why can't you just trust me?" "Because you don't deserve it!" Raven spat out, her emotions suddenly rising as a result of lack of meditation. "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!" "How?" Terra asked, her eyes softening lightly. "How do I earn it?" "You can start by trusting me," she stated firmly, bolding the last part to the fullest. Terra debated nearly nine to ten times within the span of a second, before relaxing her hold over the stone. Raven did likewise, and allowed it crash upon the walkway. A sudden violent shake would have the cutting laser slice through a large portion of rock from the ceiling, forcing the girls to look up, and then back toward the beeping console, which blinked out an alarm. A second later, the gigantic piece of stone fell from above, and crushed the console upon impact. Sparks fly out from everywhere while the girls were thrown backward. The consequence of the console's destruction resulted in an even wider beam from the drill, cutting even more rock from beneath the tower. Both girls rose to their feet, with Terra smiling nervously. "Okay, maybe smashing the computer was a bad idea," she agreed, while another large portion of rock began to fall. An even larger mass of rock began to fall, right where the drill was located, which was the very foundation of the tower. "We have to go," Raven quickly shouted, turning toward the nearest exit. "There's nothing we can do now!" "Yes there is," Terra argued, while her eyes glowed brightly. "Trust me!" Down it came. With her hands clenched tightly, Terra threw her hands upward, and with a shout, brought twin beams from her hands to shoo upward, toward the falling rock, halting in its tracks. The girl struggled against the weight, and soon it became too much, beginning to drop once again. Her knees began to buckle, just as Raven stepped up next to her with both her hands loaded for bear. "Az'rath, Metrion, Xinthos!" A black beam of energy followed Terra's yellow light, forcing the rock to stop once again from falling. Terra finally straightened herself, feeling the pressure equally divided between them. Terra spared a glance to the sorceress of Azarath, whom merely looked up to her target, driven by determination. Her serious look made the girl smile as she turned her focus back onto the rock. With another cry, the two let loose their powers, forcing the rock as well as their home right back into place. xXxXxXxXx "So," Terra said, while her eyes remained upon the carpet. Terra had spent the night on the couch again, and when it came time to sleep for the next day, Raven had suggested the two go for a walk so they could converse. They had kept relatively quiet since their little argument the day before, but for some reason, Terra felt rather comfortable around the silent sorceress. She felt that the sorceress herself also enjoyed the silence, since she herself rarely spoke. "Friends?" "Close enough," Raven relayed with rye humor, to which Terra was well accustomed. The girl let out a hesitant smile, throwing a hand behind her head. "Sorry we got off to a rocky start," she apologized, not intending in the pun. She noted the girl's light snicker, and her smile grew slightly. "Actually, I thought things went pretty well," Raven admitted honestly, the two having walked nearly the length of the tower to the other end of the hallway, passed all the rooms of the towers occupants, toward a part of the tower which Terra had never been. "It took me a year to stop hating Beast Boy." The two shared a laugh, another feeling of comfort filling over them. Raven's light chuckle, and Terra's giggle seemed to mesh well with one another. Raven came to a stop in front of a door, forcing Terra to do like wise. While her cloak parted, the sorceress' hand was placed upon the a side panel console, a green light beeping twice before the door opened, revealing a dark and shadowed room. "Um," Terra was slightly confused to where Raven had begun to take her, but followed nonetheless, only assuming that she had wanted to talk with her. The actual lack of conversation proved that there was something else the sorceress had planned for her, and she couldn't help but be curious to what it was. "Where are we?" "Your room," Raven said flatly, while flipping the light-switch on. Terra's eyes widened in amazement to the mountain landscape under a starry night sky painted all across the walls of the room. A big green bed at the far end of the wall, a cactus next to it, bookshelves, a large couch, and a coffee table facing the window. Inside held the rest of the Titans Team, Raven feeling the need to be the one to lead the girl to her new home. "Surprise!" The Titan's team quickly shouted. Terra finally found her voice, taking a cautious step forward. "You guys did all this ... for me?" She couldn't believe it. She had expected maybe a simple room if and when they decided to take her it, but this ... this was just too much. "Yea," Beast Boy nodded while sliding to her, blushing lightly and cocking his eyebrows. "Since you helped save our home and all, we thought you deserved your own room." "You also deserve one of these," Robin's voice came up as, for the second time, he opened his closed glove, which held the Titans Communicator Terra had dropped in their first attempts to get her to join. Hesitant at first, Terra took the communicator, and this time held onto it tightly while looking wonderingly down at it in her palm. "So, I'm ..." Terra started, as she turned up to view the face of her new friends. "A Teen Titan," Robin confirmed, holding out his hand in commemoration to the girl. "Glad to have you on the team." Terra smiled wearily, and shook the team leader's hand with a firm hold. "Aw yeah! Very nice!" Cyborg shouted, raising his hand in triumph. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me," Beast Boy blushed, with hearts erupting from his eyes. "Welcome, new Titan!" Starfire exclaimed, clapping her hands to the joyous occasion. "Congratulations, Terra," Raven half smirked, arching a brow to the rather ... selfish changeling. She let a smile play out on her lips while turning to the girl. "You've earned it." Their newest teammate gave her a gratified smile, one to which Raven enjoyed, and looked forward to seeing more of. "All right," Cyborg quickly shouted, gathering the team's attention. "There's only one way to commemorate such a momentous occasion ... Waffles!" "Mmm," Robin grinned while rubbing his growling stomach at the mention of food, the team quickly following the half-metal teen toward the kitchen. "Perfect," Starfire's voice could be heard from the hallway, which Beast Boy's own followed suit. "Can they be non-dairy waffles?" Terra half smiled at the changeling's constant antics toward anything containing meat or dairy. "Sounds good," Terra announced with her back to the group, viewing the art before her. "I'll catch up in a minute, okay?" "Everything alright?" Came the voice of the sorceress behind her, who had yet to leave for their late breakfast. "Yea, everything's fine," Terra was quick to answer, which Raven half caught as a lie, or simply due to her amazement of the room. "Who painted it?" Terra turned when the sorceress hadn't answered, parting the cloak that she had kept closed the entire time. Yellow, brown, white, and orange clashed at her once black leotard; her hands must having been cleaned since the incident. "I'll have you know I ruined a nice set of clothes just for you," Raven relayed with the same humor once again, to which Terra couldn't help but smile over. The girl retracted her hands, allowing her cloak to shadow over the mess underneath. "Thank you," Terra nodded her head to the girl. "It's beautiful. I can't believe you, of all people, painted this." "What is it you're getting at?" The sorceress quirked a brow in slight amusement, while Terra threw her hands out in her own defense, fearing the wrath of Raven. "No-no-no!" She quickly shouted, shaking her head quickly. "I only meant I didn't really expect you to be the one to put so much effort into your work ... wait, no. I didn't mean it to sound like you don't put effort into anything, I just meant I didn't think you'd-" "I know what you mean," Raven quickly raised a hand, interrupting the girl's stumbling of words. "And you're welcome. I just so happen to enjoy art." With that, Raven turned toward the kitchen, where already a fight seemed to ensue. Terra remained focused upon the wall, still baffled by the sheer brilliance of art and likeness to her favorite scenery. "I don't believe it," Terra gapped after a few moments, letting her view drop slightly with a look of guilt expressed upon her features. "They actually trust me." xXxXxXxXx "Az'rath, Metrion, Xinthos ... Az'rath, Metrion, Xinth-" "Does that really help you control your powers?" Terra's voice interrupted the sorceress in mid chant. From the living room she hovered, facing the ocean, and the starlit sky. Robin had asked Starfire out on a date for the first time, which slightly irritated the sorceress. She had planned to spend the day with Koriand'r, learning of her heritage, after their meditation session. Now it seemed out of her excitement, the Princess simply forgot of their plans and agreed to Robin's proposal, which left her feeling alone in the process. With Beast Boy and Cyborg checking out a new arcade, it left Terra and Raven alone in the tower, the blonde's constant child-like attitude to lead toward boredom when nothing of interest was placed upon the television. "Yes, it does," Raven relayed dryly while her eyes remained closed, keeping her monotone-like appearance. Silence followed, and before Raven could attempt to continue, Terra's voice woke her once again. "Think you could teach me to meditate?" This broke Raven from her half-dead trance, arching one eye to half-lid, eyeing the girl's bright sapphire eyes, which held the boredom that melded in her tone of voice. A half smirk rose upon her lips, and Raven turned her cross-legged stance toward her, nodding her head. "Sure," Raven replied. Perhaps this wasn't going to be such a bad night after all. xXxXxXxXx "This is how I clear my head," Terra stated later that night, while the two were laid upon the top of Titan's tower, viewing the brightly lit sky. They were perpendicular to each other, heads lying inches from each other while their bodies stretched in opposing directions. The stars were bright, and clashed well against their midnight blue background. Lying next to one another, both holding their heads in their palms, each focused their view upward, while sharing a moment of silent conversation. "I could get used to this," Raven admitted with new trademark half-smirk, one of which Terra noticed had begun to rise more upon occasion. Content and comfortable sighs were released by the women, with another moment of silence falling over them. "Raven?" Another clash against the silence, but Raven didn't mind in the least. She was beginning to learn that too much silence could be a bad thing. She let out a light 'hmm' before Terra continued her question. "What do you think of Beast Boy?" She let out a light chuckle, which later ensued an eruption of laughter. She didn't know why she had felt the question humorous but quite frankly, she couldn't help herself from laughing. It sounded as if she were asking if she had feelings toward the boy. "He's good for a laugh," Raven admitted, meaning more toward his klutz-like antics than his actual humor. "Bad at jokes, but a good friend all around." "I see," Terra seemed to take in the answer for only a second before asking another. "And what about you and Starfire?" "Koriand'r?" Raven had to pause in order to answer, for she herself never really thought about it. Sure, the girl was her closest companion among all the Titan members, and sure, she was more than simply distraught over the fact that she had simply abandoned her at the tower to go on a date with their leader. She frowned at the thought. It seemed once again she ran second to her leader upon the Tamaranian's list. "Raven?" Realization hit her, which she had yet to respond to the girl. "She's a close friend," Raven felt herself relay without hesitation, more out of reflex than anything else. "Just a close friend?" Terra noted the change in tone over the girl's voice, knowing she wasn't getting the full truth from the sorceress. "What's with the questions?" Raven's head tilted toward the girl, irritation set upon her features. In fear of ruining their once friendly outing, Terra shrugged her shoulders, shifting her eyes back toward the sky. "I think Beast Boy likes me," Terra confessed. "I mean ... really likes me." "Is it that obvious?" Raven's sarcasm seemed to return, though Terra still heard the tone in which she had held slight offense to earlier. "I hadn't noticed." "Everything alright with you, Raven?" Terra now turned to her side to view the girl fully, resting her head upon a propped arm, while her other hand was placed onto her side. Raven regretted turning to her, her eyes focusing upon the full sapphire hues, almost in a trance-like state that forced her to shake her head fully in order to awaken her back to her senses. "Peachy," another answer that seemed to sprout without her own consent. Abnormal reply from the sorceress resulted in a furrowed brow of the elementalist, who simply stared down the girl before her. Raven reached back and pulled up the hood to her cloak, which shadowed over her eyes. She heard the girl sigh and suddenly felt a tug at the rim of her cloak. Blinking, she viewed the blonde's bright hues hovering upside-down over her while she pulled the hood to her cloak back fully. "You shouldn't hide your face," Terra admitted while smiling. "Your eyes are very beautiful." "As are yours," Raven's own words seemed to come from nowhere. It was as if someone else had said them, and placed them into a synthesizer to make it sound like it had been her own. Her eyes widened in shock, while Terra's own fa‡ade seemed to warm. Raven instantly sat up, pulling away from the grasp of the elementalist, pulling her hood back on quickly to overshadow her eyes, noticing her heart rate instantly racing. Why the hell did she say that? "I knew there was something about you," she heard the voice behind her call out to her back. Terra smiled lightly while her head tilted to the side. She had noticed for far too long the new distaste she held for Beast Boy and Robin whenever they attempted to flirt with herself and Starfire. Jealousy was one thing Terra had never thought of, but now ... her smile began to fill her face. "There's nothing about me," Raven was quick in her attempt to vacate the accusations Terra had come to assume, though even she herself started to doubt her own words. "Oh, there's something alright," she heard as she felt a hand upon her shoulder slowly forcing her to turn, staring intently into the slightly taller blonde's eyes. "And I wanna find out what." xXxXxXxXx "I'm out..." Terra's voice sounded over the small speaker a few days later, which was implanted into the mask of the mercenary. Slade stood calmly in front of the screen that flashed before her, while she attempted to appear cool, calm, and collected. Slade's eyes lowered, a frown evident behind the orange and black mask. "I ... I don't want to be apart of your plans anymore." "Is that so," the man's voice was overly calm, which sent shivers down the girl's spine. Ever since her training with the martial artist to control her powers, his attitude toward life simply scared her. True, he was a man of his word, but ruthless nonetheless. "I don't think I can go through with this," Terra attempted toward persuasion, feeling that she truly couldn't turn on her friends. "I don't want to hurt them." "Listen to me, Terra," Slade's calm voice came back over the speaker in her ear, which was hidden by her long blonde mane. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do." "You ... you wont?" Terra couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Of course not, my child," Slade stated, while keeping his eyes focused upon the picture before him. "However, I do expect something in return. I did train you, after all." "Something in return?" Terra's stomach turned. He did help her ... he had helped her out quite a bit. She had become so much stronger since she had last seen the Titans, and it was only fair to return the favor. "I want you to turn off the security system in Titans Tower tonight," Slade said, his voice more demanding than asking. Terra hesitated to answer, her brows lowering in worry. "If you don't, I'm not certain I can keep the secret of your true identity any longer." "What? No, you can't!" Terra shouted, but quickly attempted to keep her voice down, hearing the sounds of footsteps just down the hallway from her room. "Terra, everything okay in there?" It was Beast Boy. Damn, he always had bad timing. "Yea, everything's fine, I just uh ... bumped my leg on um ... something," she quickly shouted to the closed door. Silence lasted for a moment before the teen's voice called back. "Alright, well ... the rest of us are gonna watch a movie, you wanna join us?" She hadn't though her voice was that convincing, but apparently the changeling liked her enough not to notice ... or he was simply dumbfounded. "Not right now, I'm right in the middle of something," she quickly shouted back, noting the mercenary rolling his eyes on the other side of the viewing screen of the hand held communicator. "Okay, maybe later?" Damn it, Beast Boy, do you have to do this right now? "Sure, later sounds good," Terra quickly replied. Footsteps walking passed her door and out of sounds reach relieved her, and she quickly turned back to the small monitor in the center of her palm. "Please, you can't tell anyone!" "Calm down, my child," Slade's voice was calm and cool, similar to what Terra had attempted to sound like when she initiated the call. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. All I'm asking of you is to turn off the security system after the Titans go to bed." "What ... what are you planning to do?" Terra's voice was shaky, completely shattering her earlier attempts of keeping herself brave. She feared for her friends' safety. "I'm only going to hack into their system to delete any information they have on me. I don't plan on staying in this city too much longer," Slade admitted to the screen before him, his hands clasped behind his back as they always were. "You're ... you're leaving?" Once again, Terra's ears tried to deceive her. She watched as the man nodded on the other side. "I have grown tired of fighting with the Titans," Slade continued on. "I fear this will simply become an endless battle, one of which I feel I am to old to continue with. I guess you could say I've grown quite tired of Jump City." Terra couldn't believe it. Slade ... leave Jump City? For good? She was at a loss for words, while viewing the cold eyes of the mercenary, which hadn't changed in expression since she had made the call. Maybe she truly could get the second chance she desired so much. "Wow, thank you, Slade ..." "Oh, and Terra," Slade's voice came up just before she closed the lid, relaying something that would later scare the blonde half to death. "Keep in touch..." xXxXxXxXx Raven's eyes flashed open immediately, waking quickly from her silent slumber. The girl's lavender strands parted to the side while she quickly shot upward, determined to find out just what it was that awoke her. She quickly scanned her room while holding the gray tone sheet to her chest, brows furrowed in slight annoyance. Her eyes were well adjusted to the shadows of the room, but she noticed nothing out of place, or anything that would have woken her from her dreams. Tap! A sound at her window. Lilac eyes quickly shifted to her left toward the window, removing the sheeted blanket from her torso, revealing the black skin-layered leotard she chose to sleep in. To the window she walked, wondering what exactly it was that could have hit her window. She opened it to view the blonde haired elementalist sitting cross-legged on a rock, with a serious look upon her features. It soon diminished when she noticed the girl had finally awoke, replacing it with the half smirk-like smile she was well known for. "You sleep in that too?" Terra joked, while lifting the rock up to the sorceress' window. Raven regarded the girl with a light frown, to which simply added in the girl's smirk. "What are you doing out here this late?" Raven asked, rubbing her eyes slightly, then crossed her arms over her chest and straightening her back. "I wanted to see if Raven could come out to play," Terra teased. Raven arched a brow, never really understanding the girl's antics. "It's late," Raven replied as her hands moved toward the window in an attempt to close it. Terra's face pouted lightly, but returned to the smirk, quickly relaying a message before the window closed. "I can keep throwing rocks at your window all night, you know," the sorceress heard, just as she shut the window. She frowned at the girl, quickly closing the curtains; another tap sounding at her window, just as she had shut it. The sorceress shook her head at the girl's immaturity, letting out a sigh while she dragged her body back toward her bed. Another tap, followed by several others before she could even make it to her mattress. Another sigh followed before Raven altered her course, and walked toward her closet to retract her cloak. End Part II
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