"Would you humor me and listen?"
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
"Would you humor me and listen?"
Life is a funny thing. You are born, you live your life to the best of your ability, and work with the cards you've been dealt, only to die somewhere along the line. The only way to die at peace is to be the type of person that you could look back on and say, 'Yeah, I'm happy with that,' and breathe your last.
But Wilbur could definitely say that if he died today, he would have more regrets than he could count on his fingertips.
However, if he could do this one thing..if he could just, for once in his selfish life, do the right thing for the right reason, then maybe he could forgive himself for all he had done. Wilbur had a decision to make. If he chose the wrong one, he could never come back from it. On the other hand, if he chose the right path, he would surely perish. He had made his bed, so he must lie in it. He was prepared for this outcome. He was willing to part with his shallow existence if it meant the people he cared about would have a chance.
'For once in my life.. Let me do the right thing. Let me be a hero.' he prayed countless times as he contemplated his life.
He had asked himself many times over, 'How did it come to this?', 'What am I doing here?', 'How could I let this happen?' But he knew the answer to all those questions. It was his fault, all of it. He was the reason this had come to what it became. All of it was his fault, and all of it could've been avoided if only he had known better; if he wasn't so arrogant and stupid. Things change, and change they have indeed.
A choice must be made.
A choice had to be made.
The question was: was he willing to sacrifice everything on the slim chance it wouldn't be in vain?
As he looked over the massive machine he had created with his own hands he placed his palm on the glass container and let it slide down the surface. With heavy eyes of amber, he glared at his own reflection and sharply spat at it. In the far-off corner of the reflection, he saw the distorted figure of the creature and sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry.."
With a heavy first step, Wilbur grimaced as the unyielding bangs and clammers from the mute creature echoed in the small room as it tried to escape it’s confines. Knowing full well that it couldn't thanks to Wilbur’s own technology repressing the creature’s powers of absorption. Wilbur tried his best to ignore the attempts. With each desperate bang of its fists against the cage came another tear that poured from the apprentice’s aching heart.
Meanwhile, Tara gasped for air. Confined to her cell with tight security watching her every move, the poor girl was just trying to survive. As punishment for trying to resist, her breathing mask was taken from her and she was reduced to writhing in agony on the floor. She was so terrified that the only thought on her mind was, 'When am I going to die?’
Death would've been a blessing.
She was powerless, away from the man she had fallen in love with, her dear friends, and her adoptive parents would never get to see her alive again; to make matters worse she never got to tell them goodbye. Tara was heartbroken. Her life was destined to fail, she supposed.
What good was she to the world? With all the mistakes she had made in the past, did she even deserve to live?
When those dark thoughts entered her mind, she thought about Beast Boy and his smile, the way he held her close, the way he told her he loved her despite her shortcomings. That was what made life worth living. So she had to fight, because no one would come to her rescue. She had to fight Slade and the apprentice and the creature all her own.
She vowed to try at the very least.
She couldn’t help but crack a weak smile at herself. Just a few short months ago, she wouldn't have been so brave. She would’ve just given up. She didn’t want to be anything more than what she already was, now things were different. Things sure had changed.
…
Beast Boy clenched tightly onto a silver comb in the shape of a butterfly. His silent vow to himself was to return it to the girl he loved when they rescued her. While he still felt responsible for her kidnapping, he pushed those feelings of guilt deep down and let it fuel his rage for when the time came to face Slade and that bastard that took her. Yet, he still couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he had seen that guy somewhere before.. As he stared off into space his thoughts were interrupted by an abrupt call.
“Beast Boy!” it was their fearless leader. He whispered his commanding voice just loud enough to pull him back into focus.
“Sorry,” he replied in a whisper, sheepishly rubbing his head.
His eyes focused on the target ahead. Terra’s cave. That’s right, he didn’t have time to become distracted right now. They were potentially about to go up against a whole fleet of Slade’s toy soldiers.
Skulking several yards away in the lines of trees and bushes, five sets of eyes loomed over the leaves waiting for their next move. It was the Titans.
“I can sense her..” Raven muttered faintly with her fingertips grazing her forehead. Her eyes glowed in a bright, white illumination as she nodded toward the cave. “She’s deep below ground..” she suddenly gasped, unable to breathe for a moment forcing her body to fall forward slightly.
Cyborg was there to catch her from falling completely as he helped her to stand, “Whoa! You alright?” he hurriedly asked.
She nodded woozily as the butterfly crystal in her hand pulsated with her magic, “We need to hurry. I don’t know how long she can last.” gravely, her eyes returned to normal once more with worry seeping through.
“Right..” Robin reached behind his back and pulled out his staff.
“So, what's the plan?” Cyborg asked as they peered over the bushes to look upon the hoard of soldiers surrounding the cave.
“..” Robin was silently scowling at their opponents and didn’t respond for several beats. The Titans all passed glances amongst themselves before his sudden words snapped their attention back onto him.
“I don't have one. We have no idea what we’re facing. Only Beast Boy has dealt with Slade’s new apprentice and we never have been able to subdue the creature or Slade himself. Also, we have no idea where Tara is down in their lair.”
“This situation does seem to have the odds against us.” Starfire glumly bowed her head.
“Even so, we can’t and won’t back down. Our friend is down there somewhere. I don’t care what we have to do, we’re going to get her back.” The leader's tone gave the others courage. They knew it wouldn’t be easy, all they knew for sure was that they would save her.
No matter what.
“Raven, are there any other ways in? Can you take us underground?” Robin asked the sorceress.
She bowed her head and once more her eyes illuminated white. “There’s a series of tunnels surrounding the cave.. Whether or not they are discrete entrances I couldn’t say.”
“That’s good enough for me. Take us to the closet entrance.”
“Azarath Metrion Zinthos!” a ball of darkness consumed the Titans and formed into the head of a raven before swallowing them into the earth, disappearing from sight
Terra was slipping in and out of consciousness. The lack of air caused her to hallucinate making her situation seem less frightening. She continuously saw the faces of her friends coming to rescue her, or that she wasn’t even in this awful place to begin with. She barely even registered the strange noises of the outside world as electric popping sounds and fighting was happening from somewhere.
She barely registered her body being lifted into another’s arms as her lips were covered with a strange object. This object clicked into place immediately pumping the perfect amount of oxygen into her lungs. Suddenly all the visions and illusions cleared and she was acutely aware of her surroundings, finally she could think clearly again. When her eyes focused, she saw a man with brimming red hair gazing down at her. His eyes and most of his face were shielded by some kind of obscurity as he took her pulse with his fingers against her neck.
“You’re alright. Can you hear me? Can you see me?” he asked softly.
Terra was too startled to speak, but then almost immediately she raised her hand to punch him again. He was ready this time and pinned her to the ground with her arms tightly twisted on her back while she lay on her stomach. She snarled and struggled but he promptly hushed her.
“Shut it!” he spat in a whisper, “You’ll get us both caught!”
“What?!” she cut herself off when her bluebell eyes landed on the open door and several robot bodies lay broken and decapitated on the floor. Suspicious, she slowly cast her eyes up at the man above her, “What are you doing..”
“Saving you,” he responded immediately as he lifted himself off her. “Can you stand, or shall I carry you?”
“Save your breath.” she snapped, standing to her feet immediately, smacking his hand away. “What do you mean you’re saving me? I thought you were working for Slade!”
“Things change.” he replied with a hurried breath, “We don’t have time to waste! Are you coming with me, or not?”
“How the hell do you expect me to trust you? You kidnapped me!”
“..I know.. And I know I can’t ever atone for such a thing, but if you don’t hurry, your life will be forfeit. I’m doing this for my own selfish reasons too!”
Tara’s snappy response lodged in her throat. His eyes, even behind the goggles she could tell, they were shaking. He was telling the truth. She knew that look of desperation. She had seen it on herself. He truly meant to help her out of here. Still doubtful, Tara’s hand lingered before committing fully and taking his outstretched hand.
“Okay.” she nodded.
Footsteps snapped their attention back to the open cell, enticing grunts from them both. Terra’s hands fluttered to a yellow hue, but she growled to herself knowing it was useless. Wilbur tossed a strange gun into her hands and she fumbled to catch it.
"Use it! It will force their system to crash." He instructed, grasping his kusarigama blade.
"R-Right!" Terra had never fired a gun before, be it a laser or regular gun, but if she wanted to survive, then she'd have to learn quickly.
…
Starfire, with her hand glowing bright green, illuminated the pitch-black surroundings of the cave. They hadn't been walking for very long before they encountered some foot soldiers on patrol. They took them out without much trouble, which was the plan. If they were going to save their friend they needed to be stealthy. If Slade found out they were on the assault, he might rush to kill Tara, or move her someplace else, and it would be game over.
“Damn, is it just me or is it getting more difficult to breathe?” Cyborg complained as he wiped sweat from his brow.
“The air does seem to have thinned,” Robin responded slightly breathless.
“Maybe that was why the apprentice guy had on that stupid mask.” Beast Boy mumbled to himself as he gripped at his jumpsuit fanning his chest.
“I do not need oxygen to breathe so I am unaffected,” Starfire chirped.
“That’s great, but the rest of us need to breathe.” Raven gripped hunching over slightly and dragging her feet, winded.
“Here, put this on.” tossing a round object to Raven, Robin took out another identical object, flicked his wrist, and it expanded into a breathing mask. He slipped it over his face.
“Hey, what about me?” Beast Boy gasped before being bonked on the head with a similar-looking mask.
Cyborg grinned, “Here, B.” he spoke through his own mask.
“Sweet!” the changeling slipped the hooks of the mask over his pointed ears and breathed a fresh pint of air in before sighing contentedly, “Thanks, Cy!”
“Always gotta come prepared!” he responded with a smirk. "So, when we do finally get out of this creeptastic place, what do we do?" Cyborg asked now a few paces behind Robin.
"Raven can lead us to Tara through her magic. We'll head straight to her without interruption. We aren't here for revenge."
Beast Boy stiffened as part of him thought Robin directed that bit at him specifically. He frowned, "But if we do encounter Slade, or his apprentice, heck, even the creature shouldn't we try to take them down?"
"The longer we take to get to her, the more likely she'll be harmed or taken somewhere else. We can't afford to get caught up somewhere." Raven replied, resting her hand on the smaller's shoulder. "I know how you feel. I want nothing more than to kill that bastard for this, but finding Terra takes priority."
Beast Boy relented reluctantly. He knew they were right. He was just so furious at himself. He couldn’t stop reliving that moment and overanalyzing what could have been done to prevent it. He knew such thoughts were poisoning him, but they were relentless, and he couldn’t bring himself to make peace with any of it. The sooner Tara was back in his arms, unharmed, the sooner he could let himself off the hook.
He had to see her.
He had to touch her.
He had to see her smile at him again.
And he also had to tell her that he loved her more than anything in the world.
“We’re getting closer.” Raven murmured, “I can sense three other life forms besides Tara. One of them is with her now, but there isn’t any change that I can tell in her vitals, so I think she’s safe.”
“Perhaps the apprentice is watching her and the other life is Slade, and his creature.” Starfire relayed as her hand slightly shined brighter at the very prospect of being closer to saving her friend.
“One of them is definitely Slade..” the ravenette grimaced causing the others to slightly halt, turning to face her quizzically. She slowly continued, “And he’s closing in on her location.” they all tensed in their shoulders.
“Let’s hurry the pace!” Robin commanded as simultaneously all five of the members' feet scraped against the rocky terrain in pursuit.
“Ah!” with a force that felt like punching an inflating airbag, Tara fired off the gun that the apprentice had lent her. Her arms trembled from it’s destructive wake as three pursuing robots fell to the ground spewing electrical waves around their twitching bodies.
“More are coming.” Wilbur gravely stated.
He lowered his body seamlessly and aimed his hand forward as four more soldiers bursted into the fray. With a cry, he leaped from his place, twirled perfectly in the air, and released his chain. The shackles wrapped around the group binding them, and once he landed, he pulled them in, twisted his body, and flung the lot of them into a wall. They struggled having been damaged by the blow, but were not down yet. That’s when Tara stepped in, aimed, and fired, falling back slightly, but managed to keep herself on her feet as the gratifying sounds of the robots falling dead on the ground helped her feel more confident.
“Nice shot!” the man exclaimed with a nod, “Let’s get moving.” leading the way, he flew by Tara with speed she wasn’t expecting from someone who looked like they never worked out a day in their life.
The blonde flusteredly followed behind with the gun aiming down, “Coming!” she gasped, hot-footing it a few paces behind.
With this mysterious man leading the way, Tara found herself not really needing to do much. He was skilled with his form of martial arts and handling his chosen weapon to the point that she felt more or less like backup. It wasn’t like she felt inferior. If she could have used her geoforce, this fool would have been out-matched for sure. For now, she was just thankful that he handled most of the dirty work until she could reach the ground again.
Coming to the four-way hall Terra had encountered the last time she tried to escape, she turned to the hall she went through previously since it ultimately led her out in the first place, but the apprentice caught her arm and pulled her away.
"What are you doing?" She gasped.
"You can't leave without her!"
Tara blinked and tilted her head in confusion, "..Her?"
"Like I said, I'm not just letting you go out of the goodness of my heart. I need you to take her with you so your friends can save her where I can not." His stern sharpness cut edges in his voice. Tara knew he wouldn't concede that point, and she wasn't about to leave another person down here for Slade to torture.
She tightened her fists, "Okay. Let's get this girl and get out of here. All three of us."
The apprentice's eyes faltered in their narrowed gaze. He wasn't expecting her to agree so quickly but he supposed he should've known better, she was a hero after all. He sighed deeply and bowed his head, "Thank you." He said, truly grateful. "If I had known you would say yes so easily, I would've brought her with us."
"Wait, she isn't trapped like I was?"
"..Well, not entirely." His vague reply left Terra feeling uncomfortable as he pulled her into the opposite-facing hallway.
The twisting narrow hall had open rooms. As she passed by them, she barely caught glimpses of each one. Most of them were dark, but she saw a couple with dormant soldiers ready for battle. The thought unnerved her, so she turned her eyes forward following closely behind her new ally.
When they finally came to a halt at the end of the hall, they entered a massive room that towered into the high ceiling. In the middle was a strange machine with glass containers on either side of it, big enough to fit two people inside each. When Terra laid eyes on it, her immediate reaction was to jerk to a stop and cower. The sight felt all too familiar. It was a similar feeling she got when she saw her silver comb for the first time. A nagging feeling of deja vu and a sense of repetition left the blonde uneasy. This machine reminded her of something diabolical that had happened in her past. A memory she hadn't quite recalled yet, but was sending alarms throughout her body. With her jaw slack, she barely breathed, unable to look away.
"Wait here." She was commanded.
"..No problem." She replied half sarcastically.
Her distrusting eyes followed his form as he came around the machine to a large cage behind it. She saw half of the cage from where she stood and could barely make out speaking. She took a steady breath and forced her shaky legs to move closer. What Tara witnessed next astounded her.
“Hey, love.” holding out his hand through the bars, the white creature residing inside clasped it's abnormally long fingers in his hands. Wilber gazed at the creature behind the bars of it’s cage. “I’m sorry it’s come to all this. I never wanted this to happen. None of it.” the creature blankly stared back at the red-haired doctor without blinking it’s strange eyes. “I know you don’t fully understand, hell, you don’t even remember anything before this all started.. But you need to know that I love you.. More than anything.”
The creature tilted it’s head as the apprentice squeezed their hands. ‘Love’? What did that mean? Was that another emotion it didn’t recognize? The apprentice loved them? What did that mean? Was that significant? Perhaps it means the opposite of hate? The creature did know what that meant, because they had heard Wilbur say he hated many things, and each time the apprentice’s voice and body language changed to a more negative light. But, the apprentice always referred to it as ‘love.’ ‘Hey, love.’ ‘Come here, love’. Perhaps then ‘love’ was the opposite of ‘hate’? Then that meant he cared deeply for them, right?
Yes, love. The word felt familiar, it felt right. Yes, the creature understood now. It too loved the apprentice. It clasped it’s fingers around his smaller hands and pulled its face closer to the bars.
Wilbur smiled through his mask and rested against the bars as well with a stifled sob. “I need you to run now..” he said, a broken edge in his tone. “I might not ever see you again.. But you must understand that the girl you brought to me, Tara, she’s going to be the one to take care of you now.. She and her friends are good.. Unlike Slade.. And … unlike me..” a tear fell into the brim of his orange-tinged goggles as his shoulders shook. “I hope that you can forgive me someday..” he pulled away and forced himself to remove his hands from the creature’s. The distress was unapparent on it’s stilted face as it reached for the apprentice who stood intentionally just out of reach with his back turned. “But I have to make things right..” That's when he caught sight of Terra lamely standing several feet away. He faltered slightly, glancing down in shame, then straightened his stance coming to face her.
".." Terra was staring at the white creature chained in the cage like an animal.
"I'm not going with you. I'm only going to protect you both until you escape. The rest will be up to you." Tara barely registered what he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I need your help to protect her for me."
"...Who is that creature?" Uttered the blonde.
"..She..-" before he could respond a blast erupted from behind, shooting Wilbur in the back. "GAH!" He fell forward and pushed Tara out of the way before a second blast nearly grazed her.
The both of them fell to the floor and before they could regain themselves they were surrounded by dozens of foot bots all armed with laser guns. Back to back, Wilbur and Terra faced their opponents and knew straight away that their odds of winning were near impossible. Spinning the ball and chain on his kusarigama, the apprentice's eyes narrowed. The only way was to release the creature for backup.
"Cover me!" He yelled, taking off into the hoard of robots.
"Right!" Tara's arms numbed as the continuous drawback of her gun rattled her body.
Wilbur continuously chopped, sliced, and stabbed his opponents left and right until reaching the cage. With shaky hands and heavy breaths, he unlocked the chain and unhooked the shackles around the creature's belly. Immediately it bounded from it’s prison and went straight for the heat of battle. Just as one of these robots was about to shoot Terra from her blind spot, it leaped onto the robot’s body and ripped off its head. Absorbing its metallic armor, the creature took on a bronze color and continued to massacre the robotic army several at a time. The lasers the robots shot off only reflected back at them or bounced off in a different direction. Tara and Wilbur found themselves standing by as the creature easily annihilated the entire room full of Slade’s robots. Before long they stood in a room littered with bodies.
The creature came to stand several feet taller than both of the humans, then leaned forward, invading Terra’s space. She nervously held her breath as its beady eyes focused onto her. "Uhh..Hi.." She said unsurely.
The apprentice softly placed his hand on it’s shoulder, "Love, it’s alright. She's going with us." It only continued to stare.
"Uhm.. Why is it doing that?"
"She's probably still angry about that punch you socked on me," he replied with an exasperated heave. "Come on now, this is no time for grudges. We need to get you two out of here." Finally, the creature relented and knelt down to be slightly shorter. It gazed up at the apprentice as he stroked it’s head affectionately. Terra swallowed thickly as she watched. The previous conversation from before the fight played back in her mind.
"So.. Are you going to explain .. It ..to me?" She gestured to the creature.
"..." A grave silence forced his eyes to close.
"She was once human." The foreign voice from above froze them all as a cold sweat dripped down their backs. "Wasn't she, dear doctor? That was until you came along." Slade nonchalantly spoke from one of the rafters above, leisurely making his way down the stairs to greet them. He looked rather pleased as he continued, "A betrayal, Wilbur? I thought we had an agreement."
"The deals off! You said Terra wouldn't be harmed!"
"Ah.. Well, as Terra knows all too well.. things change."
Terra bit down on her lip, her knees buckling beneath her in terror. "My friends will save me, and when they do, you'll go to prison where you belong!" Her weak threat amused the villain as he came to the ground level. His arms rested behind his back as he sauntered closer. Wilbur grasped hold of the creature's arm to hold it back from attacking and stepped in front of Terra protectively.
"Do you honestly believe that, child?" He replied coldly, "Your so-called 'friends' would have no interest in saving the likes of you after everything you've done to this city and to them. Why not come back and join me?"
"Not a chance! And they will find me!" Terra spat.
"If they do, it'll be your corpse they'll find here and I will have already won."
Unable to contain the creature any longer, Wilbur cried out as it bounced straight for Slade without hesitation. "No, don't!!" But it was too late. Just as it reached Slade at arm's length, the creature was halted as it’s body twitched helplessly. It tried to fight through the seathing pain, but ultimately fell on the metallic floor writhing. It’s body slowly turned red and yellow as waves of electricity pulsated through it’s veins.
Terra gasped in horror, "Stop it!!" She screamed.
"You'll kill her!!" Wilbur snarled as he charged for the man holding the trigger for this pain.
"I'll only kill her if you lay a single finger on me." And just like that Wilbur halted in his tracks with anguished growls dripping from his gritted teeth. His fist was just mere inches from Slade's smug expression through his single eye. His body shook with rage before he relented and fell to his knees, defeated. He punched the ground with a scream. "Good boy. But now you can’t be trusted as my apprentice. A shame, honestly. I enjoyed you." He walked by slowly as if to rub in the fact that he had won and Wilbur was helpless to fight back.
By now, he had released the handheld trigger and the creature was recovering from the ordeal. Terra was kneeling just beside it, unsurely waving her hands over it’s trembling body without a clue on how to help. Before she could do anything about it, Slade punted the creature in it’s side and grabbed Terra by the locks of her hair forcing her to her feet. She squealed, grasping desperately at his fist.
"If you won't join me, then I suppose I will kill you to settle that old score between us." He snickered before smashing the side of her head into the floor.
…
Slowly, blue eyes peeled themselves open. The ringing in her ears persisted until her vision cleared. Above her, she saw the concerned expression of the now ex-apprentice. He released a breath of relief. "Thank heavens.." He said.
"..What?.." Unable to fathom anything at the moment, Terra blinked her confused eyes.
"..We're in deep trouble now.. I'm so sorry.. I wanted to save you but I ended up dooming us all."
"..." Terra remembered now. She rubbed her head and slowly sat up from laying in his lap. "The creature..?" She hazily said.
"..Standing guard," he motioned to the creature just outside of the bars.
When Terra glanced around she saw that they had been placed into the creature’s cage as it stood watch. Their weapons were gone and it seemed as though all hope was lost. The sinking feeling of knowing she was going to die caused Terra to freeze, but then she began to laugh helplessly. The apprentice eyed her curiously.
"Haha.. Of course it ends like this.." She glanced up with a sad smile, "My life was never meant to be a happy one. I was meant to suffer.. Right until the end.." with heavy eyes, the young woman pulled her legs to her chest as tears sprang to her eyes with regret. “..But damn it, I wanted to live!” she cried out, “I had a chance to make everything right! I was given a second chance at life with them, but I--.. I failed..” she sobbed into her knees, shivering. “And now, I’ll die without telling him how I feel..”
“..So.. you were able to patch things up then..” the apprentice leaned against the corner of the cage and haplessly gazed out into the nothingness with a gentle glint in his eyes, “I’m glad..”
“What are you talking about?” Terra rubbed her eyes with a choked sob.
“When I talked to you at the coffee shop, I was almost certain that you wouldn’t give him a chance. Glad to know you actually followed my advice, even if it ultimately led to your downfall.” dropping the faked accent, Wilbur kept his sad eyes down at his feet.
The young Titan forced her tears to blink away as she stared deeply at the other. She was silent for several moments before she began to crawl over to where he resided. When she came to face him, he idly projected his gentle gaze onto her more curious one. With knitted brows, Terra sat on her knees and reached out to him. His eyelids slightly raised as the gesture reminded him of someone long ago and it made his orbs soften for a split moment before he allowed them to close, relenting himself to her. Cautiously, Terra grabbed hold of his concealing mask, and gently tugged it up and over his head, along with his orange goggles. Red hair trickled back over his face, then settled in a slightly messy fuzz just over his aurborne eyes as he opened them again. To say Tara wasn’t shocked even a little would be a lie.
“...” it took her several beats and one awkward staring contest later for her to gather her thoughts. “Dr. Peterson?...” she uttered in disbelief.
She heard him faintly chuckle behind his breathing mask as he nodded, taking out his black glasses from his pocket, and slipping them over the bridge of his nose. “That’s me… one and only..”
“Bu..But how? Why?”
“..Yes, how and why indeed..” he weakly stated as if in a trance whilst he watched the white creature that had been staring very intently at them both. “...It’s a long story.. I suppose.” he smiled shamefully before turning back to face the frazzled girl, “Would you humor me and listen?”
With unsure darts of her eyes, Tara ended up smiling despite herself as she sat criss-cross on the floor. “Well, it isn’t as though I have anywhere else to be,” she said.
“Hmm.” he chuckled, then lowered his eyes somberly. “Right..”
I suppose it all started around five years ago…
I was a new graduate from a university from the heart of London England and had just landed a new job working for the government’s science research facility. At the time, I only had myself and my younger sister, Evelyn, who was just ten. Our mother had died of illness a few years prior, and our father wasn’t around, so I took care of Evelyn. While I loved my sister dearly.. I admit wasn’t I always the best caretaker. She was a lonely child, always begging to play, and pulling childish pranks to get my attention. I was barely aware I even had a younger sister as my research consumed me and I clawed my way to the top of the ranks as fast as I could until I became one of the lead scientists in my field.
When I was promoted, the head of our facility took me to a secret bunker I had only heard rumors of. It was a strange and admittedly frightening place, something like out of a SyFy movie. Alien aircraft being tested and assembled as if it were an everyday occurrence, strange and new technologies that had only been thought up in the media and nearly impossible to achieve in actuality littered the area, and one specimen, in particular, that was about to change everything for me.
As I paddled over the hundreds and hundreds of square footage of technology, my attention was grabbed by the most interesting and baffling of them all. There, in the heart of the facility, surrounded by a glass box small enough to fit a hat into, a group of men with white lab coats were gathered, chattering over each other in hurried and excited whispers. Naturally curious, I decided to check it out for myself before a large and barley hand clasped around my shoulder, halting me.
This man towered over me in both weight and height. Two of me could have fit inside him as he was a naturally buff man, sizing to be over six feet tall. He had a bushy, cream mustache with similar-looking hair that was beginning to thin with age. That said, he was an unusually hairy man with white, curly hairs peppering his hands and arms and legs, all of which were covered by his coat and uniform. When I looked at this man, who was also the head of the facility, and more importantly my boss, he leaned down to me as if to whisper a secret.
“Wilbur,” he began, “This is why I promoted you to this level. We need your mind for this rather baffling case.”
“..I surely will do my best, sir.” I fumbled.
He pushed me to walk, clearing the hoard of other scientists to part for me to get a front-row seat at the new prospect. “This is an extraterrestrial lifeform that we have been unable to determine where it came from and why. As you know, we already have aliens among us, be it superheroes or villains. We have no qualms with alien life, as long as it does not seek to harm the human race, but this creature is not a life form we can communicate with, nor understand.” his low voice resounded in my chest as he spoke right over my ear.
Indeed, this life form was a peculiar sight to behold. It sat in this glass box fully white with large, bulbous red eyes that seemed to radiate light. It was continuously moving in strange patterns with watery-like skin that dripped in and out over itself remarkably from one side of it’s confines to the other like a wave. Only when it stopped and pressed itself against the glass to peer at me did it take its full shape. A tiny, humanoid person was what it resembled, with an even tinier waist and unusually long arms and legs for its body. As it stared at me, I felt a discomforting feeling overcome me.
“Don’t be too alarmed, Peterson,” I heard my boss say, “It can’t harm anyone in there.” he laughed mockingly at me and I adjusted my glasses from embarrassment.
“Of course.” I shakily replied. “So.. how do you need my help?”
“We want you to develop a way of communication with this creature. Find out what it’s doing here, and why it’s the only one.”
“..Right..”
I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I accepted this task, perhaps in fear of what would happen to me should I refuse, and more so out of my own ego. The very idea of succeeding in place of the other men and women of my facility that had been scientists for many more years than myself was invigorating. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to outshine all who stood in my way. I wanted that glory..But that always comes at a price..
As I became it’s only source of company, it began to imprint upon me. Eventually, it’s preferred, liquid-like form became fully human-like and solid, aside from it’s irregularities that made it truly alien. Looking back, it might have felt that would make me the most comfortable. It would copy my every move. It was like a child, learning as we went along. While this alien didn’t eat or sleep or drink, when I would do so, it followed me from its container and would sit as I sat, and mimic my hands as I ate, and lay down when I slept only rising again when I did. The first time I noticed this phenomenon was as I wrote down my progress for the day. The creature also did the same on an invisible notepad and pen.
“Ta, ta, taaa.. The creature seems to have taken a more solid shape… It’s been responding well to-.. hmm?” I had just happened to glance up and noticed the white creature with it’s left hand positioned to hold something like a pen and the other out as if holding a book. As I stopped moving my hand, so did it. I pretended to write again and it copied, then I stopped, and it did too. “..Incredible!” I exclaimed, leaning down to get a better look at the creature, and it copied my every motion as I looked with an intrigued smile. “Fascinating, you’re doing exactly as I am!”
Over the many all-nighters and soundless hours of testing and planning and testing again, I had finally begun to form a link of communication. While this specimen couldn’t speak, it could understand my intentions, my emotions, and every time I did anything it copied me. Eventually, I found it was safe to let the creature out of the confines of it’s glass box under the watchful eye of my boss who had heard of my progress.
“Are you sure, Dr. Peterson?” he asked with a stern frown, “We have no idea if this thing is safe.”
“Trust me, sir! As soon as you open it’s cage, you’ll see it’s practically harmless!” I was smiling so widely I was surprised my jaw hadn't snapped off.
After contemplating, the man sighed and nodded to the other scientists. “Alright, we’ll open the cage, but only under the highest security.” He shook his finger at me as I held the creature’s box in my hands.
They led me to a containment unit for studying zero gravity. The compartment was air-tight so there was no way the creature, nor I, could escape without help from the outside. Once I stepped inside, I sat the creature’s box in the middle of the room as the other scientists gathered around the twelve-foot window with immense anticipation. Through the speakers in the room, I could hear the commander's bulky voice.
“Ready when you are, Peterson.”
“A moment, please,” I said before kneeling and speaking gently to the creature. “Alright now, little one. I’m going to let you out.. Please just keep doing what you’ve been doing.” the little creature blinked it’s strange eyes at me curiously as I stepped away a few feet off. “Alright, sir. You can unlock the door.”
“Open it.”
The command had been given. My heart was pounding from my chest as the box’s walls popped off and fell on their sides with a pop of air. The alien glanced around and seemed wary before I spoke to it. “Come here.” I beckoned it. It blinked it’s eyes and tilted its head. “Come here, please.”
“Does it understand?” one of the scientists observing whispered.
“No clue, it doesn't seem to know any language.” another answered.
“Hmm.” I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew I had to prove the creature was docile and that there was a way to communicate with it. “Come here,” I said, taking a step.
The silent creature immediately stepped forward, copying me. This incited excited gasps from outside the room. I repeated myself, “Come here.” and took another step, and like clockwork so did it. “Stop,” I commanded halting in my tracks without warning. This made the creature freeze as it was about to take another step with me, but left it’s three-toed foot in the air, then slowly let it rest. I could tell it was thinking about something and I thought perhaps what I was doing was working. “Now,” I leaned to the floor and the creature did too, but I held out my hand, “No, stop.” and as I knelt to the ground, the creature remained stagnant. It hesitantly stood like it was before, waiting. “Okay, come here.” I beckoned once more.
It darted it’s neckless head from me and to my hand unsure, but eventually started to slowly poke it’s foot out and took a step. I smirked knowing it had learned. “Yes! That’s it!” I said excitedly, “Good! Come on, keep going, come here to me.” with each step it took, the creature became more confident and by the time it reached me, it was skipping steps excitedly, like a child.
“My god..” the commander exhaled with his eyes wide. “It can understand!”
"How did he get it to understand him? The man is a genius!"
Yes, that was what I had wanted all along. The praise, the worship, the very concept made me happier than anything before. It wasn't about bettering the world anymore, it was about bettering my own name. I was becoming more arrogant as I continuously bragged about the progress I had made in just one short month whereas it had taken my colleagues a year to study it and get nowhere with it.
To say I felt on top of the world would be an understatement. Because of my accomplishments, I got to rub shoulders with the royal family and earn many rewards for my services to the country. My name became one of the most influential in all the country. My life was going perfectly, it was everything I could’ve dreamed of..
And then, everything went to hell on a dime.
"...What?.. What did you say?"
'You might want to come to the school, sir.. '
Receiving a phone call from the school my sister attended was cause for concern enough as it was, but what the principal had told me on said phone call rattled me so much that I dropped the phone to the ground.
When I had finally made it to the school and entered the office, I was greeted by the grave expressions of Evelyn's teachers and the principal. I felt myself swallow thickly until my eyes laid on my sister sitting in a chair with her body hunched over, sniffling. I went and knelt in front of her and reached out to her, but she jerked away in terror.
"Don't! I might hurt you too!!" She cried out.
It was the first time I'd seen her so unconsolable since our mother’s passing. I frowned, standing to my feet before the principal addressed me. "Perhaps we should talk in my office."..
…."Superpowers?" I asked baffled with crossed arms and legs as I sat in the bouncy, plush chair across from the principal's grand, oak desk.
He nodded, adjusting a perfectly stacked slab of papers seemingly to give his hands something to do. "Yes.. While it's not unheard of for children to gain superhuman ability, I must be wary of the possibility that they could be harmful to the other children."
"I don't see how she could have gotten super ability; after all, I never got them, and my mother never had any. Hell, My whole family isn't even super!" I was raising my voice, the very prospect of my own sister causing trouble like this was all I was thinking about, not if she was alright or what I could do to help her.
"Mister Peterson, please.." The man strained, motioning to my sister sinking in her seat shamefully beside me. It put me in my place before I sat down with a huff.
"Okay, tell me what happened again," I pinched my nose, "because I can't seem to wrap my head around it."
"Of course. Miss. Smith will tell you what she saw." The lady in question stood to her feet and softly cleared her throat. She was Evelyn's main teacher and had witnessed the whole event. She was a small lady, much smaller than I and about my age.
"It was .. rather fighting." Her voice was trembling as she once again cleared her throat, "She was playing with the other children. Some boys were picking on her for her hair, I was about to tell them to stop, but she grabbed one of them who was pointing at her and… and.." her lip trembled as she covered her cheek with her palm, "She just.. just crushed his wrist like a grape! It happened so fast and the boy was screaming and she was frozen there as the other children ran in terror."
"..." I couldn't believe my ears. "..You’re telling me she has super strength?" I said perking a brow. I turned to stare at my sister who hung her head. "Is this all true, Evelyn? Did you hurt that boy?"
"...Mmm.." She nodded shakily.
"Absurd." I clicked my tongue.
My thoughts were racing. What if the public catches word? All my effort, my status, my reputation, it could all have been forfeit if this news spread that my own sister had this.. disease.
As I anxiously tapped my leg deep in thought the principal spoke once again, "Naturally, I won't expel her for this. She had no idea she was capable of this, however.. I'm not sure what the boy's parents will do."
I stood abruptly, "I'm taking her out of this academy."
"Wh-What?" My sister gasped.
"Sir--"
"My sister is sick. I have to do what I can to cure her of this.. Aliment."
All I did was think of myself. I couldn't even look at her the same anymore. Later on, I had come to find out our father wasn't even from earth. He was an alien that had escaped prison and fell in love with my mother. The reason he wasn't in our lives was because he was recaptured by the Galactic Police Force and taken back into custody, but he had superhuman strength. One mystery was solved, however now I had a bigger issue.
I had gone back to my lab leaving Evelyn at our apartment, however, my mind was too focused on her to think about work. With my head laying on my messy desk, I felt a tiny hand on my finger. When I lifted my heavy head, I saw the creature holding my pen that it had dragged to give to me. I smiled half-heartedly and leaned back in my chair.
"I don't know what to do.." I sighed. The anxiety made my body uneasy and I hated feeling so helpless. "There was to be a way. Maybe if I.. Make something to take her powers away.. Absorb it ...somehow.." As I spoke, the creature had been taking my pen apart and putting it back together as that was one of it’s favorite past times. But as I said 'absorb it' the alien perked up. It glanced between me and the ink cartridge it was holding.
The way it learned was by command and it had learned many words that way. Absorb was another word it had picked up on from watching other scientists around the lab as I took it everywhere with me. It knew what that meant and thinking I had given it a command, it did as I asked while I rattled onto myself. By the time I turned around, the creature had taken on a black, liquid form. It startled me and I jumped to my feet.
"Creature??" I sputtered. It seemed startled and hurriedly released it’s transformation back to it’s human form. I blinked my eyes several beats before I knelt down with focused eyes adjusting my glasses.. "How did.. How did you do that?" The alien cocked its head and I knew it didn't understand, so I rephrased it, "Again." A command. It knew what that meant and slowly it picked up the cartridge and, to my shock, absorbed the ink to turn into a black goop with red eyes. "..Fascinating! You can change your shape by absorbing things?" As I wrapped my mind around it, I pulled out my wallet and took a ten pence, then handed it to the little creature. "Can you absorb this too?" It excitedly took the coin and formed into a solid shape of the same bronze color and became humanoid once more. "My god! Incredible!" My excitement then turned into realization, "I wonder …"...
Shamefully, the man in front of Terra hung his head, unable to speak any longer. Terra felt her breath lodge in her throat as the pieces started falling into place in her mind, but she didn't want to believe it was true. She lowered her brows as anxiety filled her heart. "Doctor.. You didn't.. Did you?"
"..I did.." He forced his eyes shut as he heard Tara's soft gasp as she covered her mask where her mouth would be. With a shaky tone, he continued, "I tried to use the alien creature to take away her powers. I thought I could do it. I was 'a genius' after all.. I thought I could do anything .. How wrong I was.." He ran his hand over his shimmering eyes as he glanced to the right of the cage. "I built a machine similar to that one." He pointed at the machine that gave Tara chills before. "I was so desperate to keep my image that I failed to see what truly mattered: my sister. I didn't even test it. I didn't care. I wanted to be rid of it. I wanted nothing to slow me down."
Tara felt sick to her stomach, "What happened?"
With heavy eyes, he breathed deeply. "..The machine malfunctioned. I couldn't stop it in time." He suddenly clenched his eyes as he could hear his sister's screams echoing in his mind like a loop. "..When it was over, the creature had ended up absorbing Evelyn inside itself, so that it could save her life. It grew in size and gained her ability of super strength, but it's mind was warped from the stress of carrying two personas. It eventually lost itself, and became an entirely new being." When he reached through the bars, the creature's hand gently clasped around it. "It still has an attachment to me, that's the only reason it's docile."
"...I understand most of it now," Tara replied slowly as she casted her eyes to glance at the creature then back to him, "but why ally yourself with Slade? What could he possibly offer you?"
"..After the incident, I went to America to escape the wrath of the government and took on a new identity. With the money I had left, I bribed my way into the hospital where we first met, and did work as a doctor during the day, then used their laboratory at night to try and reverse what I'd done to no luck. That's when Slade approached me on the streets of my rundown apartment building. He told me he had a plan that could work in both our favors.. But in exchange, he needed me to obey his every command."
"The first of his orders was to free your petrified body from the obsidian. Using the creature's abilities, I asked it to free you. Slade had taught me how to detach the neural interface attached to your nervous system, and when I brought you to the hospital, I removed it. You probably don't remember this, but when you first woke up I was in the room with you. I tried to ask you for your name and birthday. You looked at me and told me you didn't know before passing out. You had amnesia and that set us back. Slade waited until you started to show signs of your memories starting to awaken. That was my second task. Slade figured that the best way to get your memories back was to force you and Beast Boy together again. He sent me to groom you into doing what he needed you to do, but you seemed more than disinterested in interacting with any of the Titans, especially Beast Boy, but without the knowledge of your full capabilities the transfer wouldn't work."
"Transfer? You mean, he wanted to take my powers, like he did to Beast Boy, right?"
"Correct. That time with Beast Boy was the first experiment. With Slade's guidance, I invented a special drug that the creature could absorb, and, for a limited time, could grant it the ability to take other’s superpowers from them. If the drug was a success for the two of you, then a modified version could separate the creature and my sister back into different beings. So, I gave a small dosage to try out on your friend, and it did work.. I had no idea why it had to be tested on him until recently.."
"Wait, you couldn't have tested it on anyone else first? Why?"
"Because, it had to be on a person that had their powers given to them artificially. Cyborg would have been an ideal second choice had it not been for the fact that he's part robot. It had to be biological."
"But, my powers aren't artificial--" the look in his eyes told her she was wrong and she felt her heart stop in her chest. "...Wait.. They are?.." She trembled slightly.
"..I don't know the details. All I know for certain is that Slade tricked me into concocting it for him. This separation of body and power would have ended up killing you, and Beast Boy as well, had he gone through with it. I didn't know that.. I didn't want to hurt anyone else, I only agreed because I was desperate and believed he was telling the truth.. More like I wanted to believe it.. When he confessed the truth, that's when I betrayed him. I wanted to save you and perhaps you could have found a better solution for Evelyn."
Tara breathed unsteadily as a headache pulsated through her mind. She leaned forward with a moan and held her head. Wilbur worriedly reached out before he heard her cry out and arch her back. Memories flooded her mind; the final pieces of the puzzle. She saw images of her homeworld, her mother, the death of her home, the time she spent suffering at the palace, her big brother..
"Brion?" Terra fiddled with the rip in her cream-colored nightdress as her big brother fluffed her old pillow. As was tradition now, her brother would read her fascinating tales of Earth and their many different animals, but her favorite was the butterfly, so he always saved that for last.
"What is it?" he responded sweetly as he sat in the rickety old chair at her bedside.
"Do you think I'll ever be accepted by father?.."
"..I hope so." He responded softly as he stroked her hair. "Truly."
"...Hmm.." She sighed and climbed into bed as he tucked her in.
"I won't be able to stay for long this time so I'll tell you about butterflies."
‘Brion ..’ it was like Tara was a ghost watching this scene unfold. There she watched herself as a child excitedly listening to her older brother telling her wonderous stories and exciting facts, but she felt sick to her stomach. ‘How could I have forgotten this?..’
“Terra..” Brion had suddenly trailed off as he stared off into space with a more sullen expression. Her smile faded into a worried crease.
“Hmm?”
He blinked his eyes and forced a small grin, “You know how I promised to make you a princess one day? Well, as I said, it might take a long while, and if I want to be king faster, I need to start training harder.. This will be the last night I’ll be able to come to your room for goodnights.”
“Wh-what?”
Tara watched as tears formed in her past self’s eyes and her bottom lip trembled. It was like she was experiencing this sadness all over again and Tara almost had to tear herself away as Brion swiftly hugged her with tears forcing themselves through his strong facade. “I know.. I know.. It will be very hard for both of us. I’ll miss you dearly. However, don’t think I won't make time for you.” he pulled away with a more happy smile, “Besides, I’m going to give you something to keep when you’re feeling lonely.”
“Wh..What is it?” she whipped her tears with her sleeve before Brion gingerly took out his handkerchief and whipped them himself.
With a knowing smile he rubbed his nose on hers inciting giggles from the seven-year-old, “Close your eyes, Terra.” he whispered. The blonde nodded vigorously. “Hold out your hands.” she did as she was told and Tara watched with bated breath as her brother pulled out a silver, butterfly-shaped comb and placed it into her palms. “Okay, now open them.”
When her blue orbs fluttered to life, she gasped at the accessory her brother bestowed upon her, “A butterfly!” she exclaimed. “It’s so pretty!”
Brion giggled and gently plucked it into her hair. “Not as pretty as you, my lady.” he took out a small, pocket mirror and let Terra hold it as she admired the comb in her blond locks. His features fell slightly as she happily ran her fingers over the brim. “Terra, this is yours now. I'm giving it to you because, even though you can't see it now, you will bloom into a beautiful butterfly, just like this one. And also like it, you'll shine brighter than any of us... I know you will do great things..”
Terra sharply inhaled in revelation. So, it was her brother that had given her such a message, and the comb itself. She could hardly believe it, but it was definitely true.Suddenly she felt a hard pinch on her shoulder and she flinched, before jerking to face who had approached her. The environment turned on a dime as she was suddenly much smaller and standing menacingly high above her was none other than the king of Marcovia, her estranged father. Terra quivered as an overwhelming terror grappled her as this memory played.
“Terra, dear..” his voice was threatening, yet his face didn’t give away to his dastardly plan, except through Tara’s more experienced eyes she could definitely tell that the king’s own eyes were sinister.
“...Y-You’re highness!” young Terra squawked with wide eyes. Her pupils trembled as her little heart leaped into her throat.
“Now, now…. There’s no need for you to be so frightened. I have a proposition for you, dear..” too terrified to speak, Terra watched the man that had, up until this point, beaten and tortured her, smile as if none of it had ever happened, “Would you like to earn the privilege to be a princess and become my daughter?”
“...Pardon?” she uttered breathlessly.
“Yes, you can have everything you’ve ever wanted.. I’ll make it yours.. IF you do something for me..” it was then another, slimier man sauntered into the frame with a flowing cloak made of white material, bulbous goggles tinted black with elbow-length gloves to match.
“..I-I want to have that.. More than anything, father!” Tara knew her younger self didn’t see it, but she scowled as she knew now that man she wanted so desperately to become her father cringed at the very word frothing from her mouth so much so that he forced his voice to overtop her's as she spoke.
“Excellent! The doctor will take it from here…”
The scene changed once again with a brisk, chilling wind.
Terra was wearing a plain, black swimsuit as she was led into a dark room with limited lighting coming from various machines. The main machine was a large object with glass containers on either side. It was slightly filled with a strange liquid that was bubbling uncontrollably. Tara gulped, but she was helpless to stop herself as the king pushed her forward toward the shady doctor who wrung his hands with a crooked grin.
‘.. They told me I could become a princess if I underwent a treatment of experiments. They wanted to give the first prince superpowers so he could rule the country with an iron fist and crush the people that we were at war with. I was the perfect guinea pig because I was related to him by blood and, more importantly, expendable. The king wouldn’t have even batted an eye if I had died from it ..’
They pushed Terra into the container with the liquid bubbling over her feet. “W-Wait, father, I’m scared!” she screamed as a mask with a breathing tube was forced over her face by the doctor. She fought as hard as she could and screamed for help, but no one came and her father only stood there with a satisfied glint in his small eyes.
“Do it now!”
As the container was shut, Terra banged against it desperately, erratically whaling, and fumbling in the rising water until the water from within completely covered her body and she could no longer hold her consciousness. Eventually, she blacked out as the bubbles of her last breath frothed over her face.
Tara was unable to hold back as tears fell from the corners of her eyes. She fell to her knees, her dreamscape shattering into darkness and fog as she sobbed. She remembered everything now.. The experiment was a success. She gained the ability of geokineticisim and so did her older brother. The king tried to hide what he had done to Terra, but when Brion had learned of this treachery he challenged their father to a duel to the death, not knowing that he had also undergone treatment. It took several weeks for Brion’s injuries to fully heal, but because Terra had been given these powers that were dangerously unstable, the king had ordered her to be locked away in a tower made entirely of metal. Brion was able to stage a rescue several years after that once he had gained more devoted followers, staged a coup against the king, then gave her transportation to earth and her beloved butterfly comb.
“You have to go!!” He pushed her into the shuttle pod stationed in the castle launch base as screaming and shouting could be heard over the whales of the sirens and chaotic fighting from outside.
“I can’t! I don’t want to leave you behind! Let me stay and fight with you!-” her protests were cut off by him shoving her to the ground of the pod. Her eyes shined a bright color of yellow as her unstable powers shot the earth from below them to directly aim at her brother. He was able to easily stop them with his much stronger abilities and punched right through it. Terra was dazed as she realized she could have killed him. He breathed heavily then tucked his smoking fist closer to his chest with reserved, closed eyes.
He softly breathed and then released through his nose, “Terra, if you can't take me on, how do you expect to fight our father?”
“..I..”
“Let me do what I promised you all that time ago.” he helped her to her feet. He had gotten so much taller, of course, he was now fifteen and she was just twelve, but he looked like such a grown-up as he took her to an undamaged craft and placed her inside. “I’ll restore the kingdom, I’ll become a king you can be proud of, and when I’m done fixing our father’s errors, I’ll come to find you and bring you home.”
That was the last time she had seen her brother. She had crashed onto Earth not long after and wanted to be ready for her brother’s rescue, so she tried to become what the Earthling people called a ‘hero’ to prove to him she could have helped, however, her dangerous and out of control powers forced her to quickly flee every town she came across until she was fourteen and met the Teen Titans...
And the rest was history.
…
‘Tara!.... Tara?....’
“Tara!!”
The girl gasped deeply as her eyes briskly flew to open once again. She darted her eyes around taking in her surroundings and her eyes finally landed on the man calling out to her. It was Wilbur. He made a relieved sound and released her.
“What the hell happened? You blacked out! Is your mask on right?” he reached to check but she curtly turned away.
“No, no.. I’m okay..” her eyes tossed from left to right as she faintly touched her forehead processing what she just saw. “..I’m okay now..” there was a stuffy silence between them before Terra said, “I should thank you, Wilbur.”
“Thank me?” he stuttered with bewilderment.
“If it weren't for you, I’d still be a statue, and even if it was for a short time.. I got to be with people that loved me… people that were my friends till the very end.. And even though I may never see them again, at least I’ll know that I wasn’t useless after all,” the image of Garfield's smiling face entered her mind, “..That there was someone out there that still loved me, that needed me..”
‘Because it’s been almost three years now since Brion made that promise to me and he’s never come back to find me.. So he’s probably forgotten all about me.. Or our father killed him.. I don’t even know which one is worse..’
To the shock of the man in front of her, Terra wept with a fragile smile on her lips. He reached out to her but thought better of it. He had no right to try and comfort her.
“..You’ll make it out..” he whispered softly.
“What?”
“..They’re coming for you as we speak. While you were unconscious I heard explosions and scuffling from somewhere in the building. Slade left to check it out..”
I imagine they’ve already infiltrated the main entrance and are on their way here as we speak…
"Beast Boy! Go find Tara! ERRAH!!" Robin strained against his robotic opponent, then he pushed it back with his staff, and holding it like a bat took it's head clean off.
"What?? What about you guys??" Beast Boy, now landing on all fours after barreling through a group of soldiers as a rhino belted confused.
"Like I said, we can't afford to get caught up anywhere! There's too many to continue with us all together. We'll catch up with you!"
Hesitation kept his feet from moving, but he soon got the push he needed when Raven swallowed him up in her darkness long enough to teleport him a few feet off before she was attacked again, "Go! Find Tara! Bring her back to us!" She commanded as he landed on the floor.
With a clenched jaw and fists, Beast Boy relented and twirled on his heels in pursuit of Tara. "I will!!"