Terra Markov

Two months have passed since Starfire took a trip to a dark future. Since her trip, the Titans have tried their hardest not to argue or fight to prevent this dark future from becoming their future. Now, we turn our sights to someone different. A blonde girl opens her eyes and sees the hot sun bearing down its rays on her. She rubs her eyes and gets up.

"Morning already? The night goes away fast in the desert," said the blonde.

The blonde walks away from her resting spot and safely maneuvers down a wall of large rocks. She walks around, looking for food, but hears something. She turns around, expecting someone or something to be behind her, but she sees nothing.

"Who was that?" asked the blonde.

The blonde doesn't get an answer from the empty desert. Ignoring the weird noise, she continues to walk until she hears another noise and another and another. After the constant noises, the blonde starts to run and something starts to chase her. The blonde turns her head and sees a giant scorpion chasing her. The giant scorpion tries to sting her with its tail, but Terra rolls out of the way. In the process of rolling away, the blonde loses her hairpin. She tries to grab it, but it's crushed by the giant scorpion. She quickly gets back up and starts to run again. She continues to run until she hears a voice.

"Titans, go," said Jordan.

Before the Titans can help, the girl uses her powers to drop a large rock on the giant scorpion, crushing it.

"She was not in trouble," said Starfire.

"She was leading it into a deadly trap," said Cyborg.

"Smart, I guess," said Jordan.

"Who is she?" asked Beast Boy.

"Let's find out," said Cyborg.

The blonde uses her powers to hover up to the Titans with the use of a large rock.

"Why are you giving me that look? Have you guys ever seen a superhero?" asked the blonde.

"I'm Dark Phoenix and we're the-," said Jordan.

"The Teen Titans. Everyone knows you guys. You guys rule," said the blonde.

"I didn't know we had fans. What's your name?" said Jordan.

"Terra," said Terra.

"Interesting name. There was a princess named Terra Markov from Markovia, but she vanished. I guess it's a coincidence that we found another Terra out here in the desert," said Jordan.

"Yeah, just a weird coincidence. Life is weird sometimes," said Terra.

"Why are you out here?" asked Jordan.

"I just liked to travel the world," said Terra.

"Or you could be escaping your responsibilities by running away to a desert," said Jordan under his breath.

"Huh?" asked Terra.

"Nothing. If you're a fan, you should meet the team. Here's-," said Jordan.

"That's Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy," said Terra.

"It's Boy Beast. No, it's Beas Boo. No, it's Changeling. No, it's-," said Beast Boy.

"Just Beast Boy. He's not the brightest of the bunch," said Jordan.

"But, he is really funny. He has to become a comedian if he ever retires from being a hero," said Terra.

"You think I'm funny?" asked Beast Boy.

"Why wouldn't I? I have a sense of humor," said Terra.

"You're an angel gifted to me by God," said Beast Boy.

"What?" asked Terra.

"Just ignore him. He's lovestruck," said Jordan.

"No, I'm not!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"That's what they all say," said Jordan.

"I'm the curious. Where do you come from? What's your favorite color? Do you wish to be my friend?" said Starfire.

"Umm. Earth, red, and sure," said Terra.

"Hello, new friend," said Starfire.

"Hi," said Terra.

"So, you're out here in the desert. Do you have a permanent home?" said Jordan.

"Yeah, but I would rather just go with the flow. I've been crashing in a cave over there," said Terra.

"That's unacceptable. I can't allow my new friend to crash in a dirty cave. You will stay with us," said Starfire.

"You don't have to let me in your home. I'm fine out here," said Terra.

"Don't worry about it. We have plenty of room," said Cyborg.

"I can make you laugh some more," said Beast Boy.

"I guess that I can stay for a night," said Terra.

"We'll impress you so much that you will want to stay forever," said Beast Boy.

As Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy drag Terra to the tower, Jordan grabs some of the ground while he watches the blonde.

"Hopefully she won't. I don't trust her," thought Jordan.

"What's wrong?" asked Raven.

"Huh?" asked Jordan.

"You have a weird look on your face," said Raven.

"For some reason, I don't trust her. She could be a plant by Slade. He could be plotting something. He escaped a few months ago," said Jordan.

"Even if he is, we can take him," said Raven.

"Maybe. We don't know how strong this Terra girl is," said Jordan.

"Let's just keep an eye on her. We'll find out if she's an enemy if we keep her on 24/7 surveillance," said Raven.

"If she is a Slade plant, she will know how we work, so that plan will be useless," said Jordan.

"Then, what do you suggest?" asked Raven.

"We just play it normal for now. If she does something suspicious, we'll deal with her quickly and easily," said Jordan.

"Yeah. Quickly and easily," said Raven.

As the two Titans walk towards the rest of their friends, an old enemy watches them from a cave.

"She may not work for me now, but she will in a little while," said Slade.

An hour passes. The Titans enter their living room and Terra runs up to the large window.

"Woah! What a view! I can see everything from here. This place is nice. I can't believe you guys could build something like this," said Terra.

"We have skills and resources. Money can get you many things in this world," said Jordan.

"Su casa es mi casa. Do you want the grand tour or something more special?" said Beast Boy.

"Do you have any food? I haven't had any since yesterday," said Terra.

"It's in the fridge," said Beast Boy.

Terra rushes to the fridge and quickly opens it. She then proceeds to practically chomp down on all of the food in the fridge.

"She has a giant appetite," said Jordan.

"What was the last time that she had food?" asked Beast Boy.

"Probably a long time," said Raven.

"She doesn't just need a place to crash. She needs a home," said Cyborg.

"She can just stay in our home," said Beast Boy.

"Great idea," said Starfire.

"No," said Jordan.

"No? What are you talking about?" asked Beast Boy.

"We know nothing about her. She could be a spy for all we know," said Jordan.

"You have major trust issues. I can just tell that she's a cool girl," said Beast Boy.

"You're only saying this because you like her. It's immature to allow personal feelings to interfere in what you're doing as a hero," said Jordan.

"I may like her, but that's because she is a nice girl. She seems cool and has strong powers. She can be a great addition," said Beast Boy.

"That's up to me. Plus, she only took down one giant scorpion. I could have done it with ease," said Jordan.

"This isn't about you. It's about her," said Beast Boy.

"I'm not saying it's about me. It's about the safety and security of this town. We can't just let anybody in here," said Jordan.

"You may be our leader, but you're not our fathers. You can't control us," said Beast Boy.

"I'm not trying to control you guys. You just don't understand the possibility of her being one of us. I don't want to give any eulogies anytime soon," said Jordan.

"Where's the tub?" asked Terra.

"The what?" asked Jordan.

"The tub. I need to clean myself. I stink," said Terra.

"Down the hall to the right," said Cyborg.

"Thanks," said Terra.

"Will you at least give her a chance?" asked Beast Boy.

"Fine, but if she is a spy, I told you so," said Jordan.

"She isn't. I know it," said Beast Boy.

Twenty-two hours pass. Cyborg runs through the beach as giant metal hands try to punch him from under the ground. Jordan presses some buttons on a panel and some laser turrets fire at Cyborg. The metal man easily dodges the blasts as well. Jordan presses some more buttons and doors pop out of the ground. As Cyborg runs under them, they quickly close. Cyborg gets through the first two but is caught by the third one. Cyborg uses his strength to lift the door and get through it.

"He's faster than last time. He's improving," said Raven.

"I don't think that we can slow him down, but we have to try to give him a challenge. What about this?" said Jordan.

Jordan presses a few more buttons and turrets that shoot out explosive disks rise from the ground. The turrets shoot out the explosive disks at Cyborg, but he easily destroys them with his sonic cannon. He reaches the end of the course and wipes his head. He looks at his time and finds out that he has set a course record.

"Booyah! New course record," said Cyborg.

"Maybe Terra can break that record. Terra, you're up next. Prove to us that you deserve to be here," said Jordan.

"Alright. I'm ready," said Terra.

"You can do it. Even if you mess up, it's practice. No one's going to make fun of you if you fail even though you won't. You will get through this," said Beast Boy.

"You suck at motivating someone," said Terra.

"We can't all be good at everything," said Beast Boy.

"The countdown is starting. Get ready," said Jordan.

"You can do it!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Go, girl!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Onward to victory!" exclaimed Starfire.

"Come on, Terra. You got this. Don't disappoint your new friends," said Terra.

Terra places her goggles on her face and shakes her hands. A few more seconds pass before turrets rise from the ground and fire at the blonde. She creates a rock pillar and rises over the turret's fire. She then throws two large rocks at the turrets and uses another to rocket forward. She barely dodges the giant metal arms as they pop up from under the ground. As she continues across the course, she is nearly knocked to the ground by one of the giant metal arms, but she manipulates more rocks to keep her from hitting the ground. She then reaches the doors and smashes her way through them.

"It seems that we will need a new obstacle course," said Raven.

"She won't be trying to destroy this one," said Jordan.

Jordan presses a few buttons and a giant pit forms under Terra. Terra manipulates a rock and avoids the pit. She then uses her rocks to block the explosive disks and throws them at the turrets to destroy them. She reaches the end of the course and crash lands in front of her new friends.

"Viola!" exclaimed Terra.

"Yay!" exclaimed Starfire.

"You rock, girl," said Beast Boy.

"She completed the course in a minute and fifty-six seconds. I guess that we have a new course record," said Raven.

"I must have softened it up for her," said Cyborg.

"You're incredible," said Beast Boy.

The blonde unexpectedly hugs the shapeshifter as he finishes his statement.

"You told me that I could do it and I did. Thanks a lot," said Terra.

"That's just what I do," said Beast Boy.

"You're rough under the edges, but after a little training, you could become a little deadly," said Jordan.

"I could?" asked Terra.

"Yeah. You rock," said Cyborg.

"We can train her later. We have things to do," said Jordan.

"What do you mean?" asked Beast Boy.

"Slade's back," said Jordan.

"He is?" asked Cyborg.

"He came back quicker than expected. Why would he come now?" said Raven.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if he came for her," said Jordan.

"First of all, who's Slade? Second, why would he want me?" asked Terra.

"Slade is a really bad dude. He may want you so he could make you his apprentice. Just like he tried to make Jordan," said Beast Boy.

"I have a fix on his location. The mines outside of town. Titans, go," said Jordan.

As the rest of the Titans run into the tower, Terra just looks at them. Beast Boy notices that and turns around.

"You coming?" asked Beast Boy.

"I'm not a Titan though," said Terra.

"You don't have to be a Titan to be a hero. You have the power to do it, so just do it, so are you coming?" said Beast Boy.

"Of course," said Terra.

"Then, let's go," said Beast Boy.

In the mine, Slade Bots fire their laser blasters at the miners as they try to find cover.

"Stop them from taking the diamond," said a miner.

"Fuck that. They can have the rock. I'm getting out of here," said another miner.

"Yeah. Let's go," said yet another miner.

As the miners run out of the mine, the Slade Bots walk throughout the mine, looking for the diamond. They continue to look until one of them is hit by a Claw.

"If you want to get a diamond, just lay with a rich man. He will surely get you one," said Jordan.

The Slade Bots don't respond and jump into the air.

"Titans, go," said Jordan.

Jordan defeats some of the Slade Bots with some casual kicks and punches. He then looks up and sees Terra floating in the sky and being grabbed by a few Slade Bots. He grapples to the rock and destroys the bots with a couple kicks.

"You ok?" asked Jordan.

"I'm fine," said Terra.

"Keep your head in the game. You can't do what we do if you're distracted," said Jordan.

"I got it," said Terra.

"Show me that you got it," said Jordan.

"Fine," said Terra.

Jordan hops off the rock and lands in front of a large number of Slade Bots. He pulls out his katanas and starts to cut up all of the bots in his path. A couple Slade Bots try to hit him with laser blasts, but Starfire destroys them with a couple Starbolts. Cyborg tries to enter the fight, but he is blasted away before he can attack any of the Slade Bots. He sees some steel beams hanging in the air and blasts them, forcing them to fall on the heads of the bots. Before he can turn around, a drill hits him. He uses his strength to try to stop the drill, but it isn't going well. Raven sees this and uses her magic to throw a large rock at the Slade Bot operating the drill. Other Slade Bots try to attack the cloaked sorceress, but Beast Boy transforms into a Stegosaurus and crushes the bots.

"This is way harder than it should be," said Beast Boy.

"Yeah. It's like they're fighting for something more than a diamond," said Cyborg.

"Where's Terra?" asked Beast Boy.

"I haven't seen her," said Cyborg.

"What if Slade got to her? We got to find her," said Beast Boy.

"Relax. She's strong enough to defend herself," said Cyborg.

On the other side of the mine, Terra hides behind a pillar. She looks over her shoulder and sees no one.

"Why can't I do this? Beast Boy told me that I could, but I can't. Why is that?" said Terra.

"I'm glad that I found you. Now, we can talk," said Slade.

"Slade," said Terra.

"You know of me already? I'm not surprised. Jordan probably talks about me a lot," said Slade.

"Why are you here?" asked Terra.

"I just want to talk. That's all," said Slade.

"Mind if I talk with my hands?" asked Terra.

Terra tries to hit Slade with two boulders, but Slade easily jumps over them.

"Good, Terra, but not good enough," said Slade.

Slade tries to kick Terra, but she barely dodges the attack. He then tries to punch Terra, but she blocks the attack with a rock. Terra tries to throw a rock at Slade, but he dodges the rock.

"Impressive aim, unless you were trying to hit me," said Slade.

"Ahhhhhhh!" exclaimed Terra.

Terra throws many rocks at Slade, but he easily destroys them all and punches Terra into the wall.

"Back off. I'm with the Titans. They will be coming to save me," said Terra.

"You don't belong with the Titans," said Slade.

"You know nothing about me," said Terra.

"On the contrary, I know everything about you. I have been watching you for a very long time. I know your little secret, Princess Markov," said Slade.

"No!" exclaimed Terra.

Terra charges at the mercenary and tries to punch him, but Slade catches the punch and pins her against the wall.

"Earthquakes. Mudslides. Avalanches. Everywhere you go, you try to do good, but you fail every time, so everyone turns against you. You lose control and become one of the strongest beings that I have ever seen, but it doesn't have to be this way. I can help you, princess," said Slade.

"You can?" asked Terra.

"You are rough around the edges. You need a teacher. A mentor. Come with me and I'll teach you how to shine," said Slade.

"Why would I want you to be my mentor? My friends told me how evil you were," said Terra.

"Do you believe that they are your friends, Terra?" asked Slade.

"They took me in and gave me a home," said Terra.

"Jordan doesn't trust you one bit. He doesn't even try to hide it. If he or the rest of the Titans find out about your secret, they will reject you. Heck, they may even kill you," said Slade.

"No, they wouldn't. Jordan-," said Terra.

"Will throw you in jail the first chance that he gets," said Slade.

"Beast Boy-," said Terra.

"Will tell everyone because of his big mouth. You can't trust any of them," interrupted Slade.

"He promised," said Terra.

"He lied," said Slade.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Terra.

As Terra screams, she loses control, and the parts of the mine circle around her like a twister.

"You can't lose control right now," said Terra.

"How can you lose something that you never had before?" asked Slade.

Back on the other side of the mine, Jordan kicks a Slade Bot into a construction vehicle, breaking it.

"Slade is trying to bring the entire mine down on us," said Cyborg.

"It's not Slade. Terra is bringing this mine down," said Jordan.

"Why would she do that?" asked Cyborg.

"She doesn't have control of her powers. We have to get out of here before this mine becomes our tomb," said Jordan.

Back with Slade and Terra, Terra still hasn't regained control as the twister grows larger and larger.

"No one understands you except for me. No one can help you except for me. Come to me when you're ready. I'll be waiting," said Slade.

As Slade quickly exits the mine, Beast Boy pops out of the ground and runs into the twister.

"Terra! Terra!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Terra doesn't respond and Beast Boy jumps into the air. He grabs the girl and Terra finally somewhat gains control.

"It's ok, Terra. I got you," said Beast Boy.

The blonde hugs the green shapeshifter as the twister disappears. They both slowly descend to the ground.

"Will you tell them about this?" asked Terra.

"No, I won't. I promise," said Beast Boy.

An hour passes. Terra grabs her bag and prepares to leave the tower until Cyborg blocks the door.

"What are you doing?" asked Terra.

"You're not leaving," said Cyborg.

"Huh?" asked Terra.

"We talked it over and we would like you to join our team. You would make a great addition and we can train you to gain control of your powers," said Jordan.

"You told him. You promised me that you wouldn't. You lied," said Terra.

"I didn't tell him anything. I promise. He probably just figured it out," said Beast Boy.

"Slade was right. You lied!" said Terra.

Terra turns around and runs out of the living room.

"Terra!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Beast Boy tries to run after Terra, but Jordan grabs him.

"What are you doing? We need to go after her," said Beast Boy.

"There's no point. If she believes that her powers are a threat to everyone, let her leave. She will come back if she wants to. Even if you did get to her, she wouldn't listen," said Jordan.

"What if Slade gets to her?" asked Beast Boy.

"If he does, that's on her. He won't just snatch her up. If she goes to him, that's her choice. You may like her, but be realistic. She doesn't seem very smart," said Jordan.

Beast Boy rips his hand out of Jordan's grasp and runs after Terra.

"Terra!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Don't go after her. You idiot," said Jordan softly.