Princess Tutu Fan Fiction ❯ Princess Tutu and the Madrigal: Terra Rising (The Secret Six III) ❯ Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

Rue and Mytho joined Raven on the roof, who took down her hood to talk to the two of them more face to face. She then said, “Mytho, you know that I am also empathic, and a healer like you. I may not be as strong as you as an empath, but today I sensed what you had to have been sensing. Let me ask you: did you have a guess that night as to where the signals emanated?”

“Yes,” he said, “It was strongest from a girl in the front row.”

“What did she look like?” pressed Raven.

“She was a petite blonde with long blonde hair,” recollected Mytho, “She was a bit of what you Americans call a `Plain Jane,' but she did have a beauty to her nonetheless. It was a beauty that any boy would be foolish to pass up.”

Raven put some thought to it, concentrated, and up the stairwell floated a picture. It was all black because of Raven's abilities, but it went away when she grabbed it. She then showed it to Mytho, asking, “Is she who you saw?”

He held a picture of a smiling blonde young lady with long hair, a pair of goggles set on her forehead, a khaki bush jacket, khaki shorts and leather gloves that covered her wrists and flared out, a black tee shirt with a silver letter “T” in a circle, and tan hiking boots. She had her arm around Beast Boy's shoulders, and both were giving the “thumbs-up” symbol as Beast Boy was winking. It looked from the picture that they had been on a mission and successfully completed it. Mytho was sure the instant he saw it, and said, “That's her.”

Raven just nodded her head up and down, saying, “And if what Beast Boy told me was correct from a couple of years ago, he may well have found her.”

“What happened?” asked Rue.

“Prepare for a tale,” answered Raven.

 

The couple took a seat on the tarmac as Raven began to spin her tale: “The name of the girl in the picture was Terra Markov.”

“Was Terra,” asked Mytho quizzically.

“Please, let me explain,” responded Raven, “About four years ago, we stumbled across her in a cave as the Teen Titans of that time had to cope with a villain. She aided us, but she almost got everyone killed in the process. However, after some reassurance, we convinced her to hang around and learn to use her powers. We never knew what the source of her powers was, and she said that she had always had them. Thus we had to assume she was born like that, that it was in here genes. She had the power to control and manipulate anything made of raw soil, rocks, ores, or any item that was still close to being in the raw. If it were already processed metals, she could not control it. However, she could do this, and use it to make projectiles, walls, shelters, you name it. She could even travel around by causing a large boulder to come underneath her, and maneuver on top of it. However, on our first meeting, she still was not sure about her abilities. When we met Deathstroke at that time, she was still not certain, and almost put us into jeopardy. Deathstroke saw that, and figured that he had something to work with in the unconfident girl. Because many considered her a `Plain Jane,' though for what reason I could not figure out, she already felt like an outcast. This didn't help. She fled back to the Arizona desert from which she hailed. That wasn't the end of the story, however.

 

“In about six months, she thought things through and came back. At that point she joined the team and moved into the tower. Sadly, it was her home permanently, because she was an orphan child, and had to make her way on her own. What we did not realize was that she still had not learned to control her abilities, and confessed this to Beast Boy, with whom she built a relationship. However, Robin figured out things on his own, and confronted Terra about it. Terra thought Beast Boy had betrayed her, and secretly had liaisons with her, trying to woo her into being her apprentice. She managed to cause an incident which got the Titans out of the tower, after which she allowed Deathstroke into the tower, and then to start to wreak havoc over the city. Once Beast Boy learned of her betrayal, he turned on her, driving her to be closer to Slade. The two of them took complete control of the city, and we had to go underground. She gave herself over to him soul, spirit…and body! She then had her wear a suit of armor, but what she did not know was that the armor was a failsafe for Deathstroke. If she decided to disobey him, he could take control of her to do what he wanted. For a bit, she served him well, but when she found out that he really was a monster, and that we were actually trying to rescue her from herself, feeling that she was just not in her right mind, she turned. She must have thought about the good times, even though she tried to kill us one by one. She just could not bring herself to finish us off, and that's when Slade took control of her. Because of all of that, she turned on him. We were in an underground lair, and considering where this city is located, it was seismically active in that spot. The fight was epic. Slade got himself in over his head that time. Her actions were causing lava to break to the surface, and it threatened to open a new volcano right there and threaten the city. She used that to defeat Slade, but the amount of power it took to tame the fury of a volcano must have been too much for her. She became one with what she controlled, and it petrified her in a position of battle action. Below it we placed a plaque: Terra: a Teen Titan, a true friend. Yet, it does not end there. I must show you now what we found a couple of years ago.”

With that, Raven used her abilities to transport them to the spot.

 

Raven produced a flashlight from her gear and shined it on the spot. The plaque was still there, but the statue was gone. “We were shocked when we saw this. We knew that Deathstroke had somehow escaped death, but we were certain she had been finished. The statue is gone, and we don't know why or how. Yet, Beast Boy ran into that girl, and nearly broke his neck to try to either get the girl to remember, or just convince her that she was Terra. All his efforts failed, and she just faded from view. Well, she did, until now.”

The couple stared in stunned silence. The story was heart rending, but they now wondered if Mytho had sparked something. Raven then said, “We have to watch for all kinds of crimes and troubles, but we have to keep an ear open, and find her if we can.”

Raven then went up to the now barren pedestal and felt it. “Indeed,” she said, “Something supernatural happened here. It seems that, whatever caused that girl to spring up out of nowhere awakened the essence of what the original Terra was. Scary to think it, but it is possible that she was trapped inside that statue, and it somehow transferred the whole kit and caboodle into the girl. She called out to me today.”

“You heard it as well?” said Mytho in surprise.

“Yes,” answered Raven, “If she is there, she needs to come around before trouble comes.”

“What kind of trouble could that be?” asked Rue.

“She may awaken to her powers,” said Raven with great concern, “Or it could be that Slade is watching her from somewhere. If so, he would love nothing more than to find her in this state. If she has no clue to her past, or her powers, he could bend her much easier and that…”

“…and that could spell death and destruction,” finished Mytho, anticipating the answer.

“But why did you bring us here alone?” quizzed Rue, “Why did you not tell the others?”

“If Beast Boy had not been there, I might have,” she responded, “Yet, if he were to find out like that, he would have torn the city apart trying to find her. Recall that Beast Boy is quite powerful, despite the way he acts sometimes. We will tell him, but it has to be the right time.”

With that, they returned to the tower, hoping to isolate the others and tell them what was going on, but not let Beast Boy in on it, lest he go and do something stupid.

 

The next morning, the six, with Nana, awoke for exercises, and to go over the numbers for the next show in a few days. In the meantime, a hero rotation would be established, having certain groupings on duty at all times to call the others into action when needed. It was then that Beast Boy and Cyborg intercepted Ahiru and Billy as they were going to go out and see the sights. When the other two learned of their plans, they insisted that they allow the couple to guide them around. They had wanted some time alone, but the figured that there would be other chances, and did not balk on the hospitality of the two. With that, they got into Cyborg's car, which transformed itself into a hovercraft to get them out of the bay and into dry land. Cyborg then began to not only show them the normal sights, but also showed them things that their teenage minds would probably find more interesting and entertaining for their free time, and how to get there quickly. They had gone so long that they had missed lunch, and it was now two in the afternoon. Cyborg's hunger pangs made it clear that they needed food, and right away before he went ballistic. Beast Boy then said, “You know what that means!”

“Andrea's Pizza?” asked Cyborg rhetorically, “BOOYAH!”

They pulled up to a pizzeria that was situated where two streets merged into one, and the restaurant sat right in the wedge, with both a dine-in and au fresco area. Since it was a nice summer day, it was an easy choice to choose to eat outside. Ahiru said, as they took their seats, “But won't that attract flies?”

“Nah, that won't be a problem,” said Beast Boy, as he changed into a frog and gave a good croak. That got a big laugh from everyone there. Cyborg then said, as Beast Boy changed back, “I thought you were a vegetarian?”

“Hey, I don't have to eat them,” said Beast Boy, “I'll just put them in the trash can over there.”

Everyone made “gross” sounds, but still smiled. Cyborg then looked at Billy and said, “I bet you could still put away Andrea's mighty meat!”

“Whoa, that gave me massive gas the last time!” Billy laughed, but Cyborg then said, “Hey, you know you want it!”

“But I don't like anything that heavy,” said Ahiru, to which Billy said, “Well, the thing's and 18-incher, we could go halves, Baby Duck.”

“I like the six cheese she has,” said Beast Boy, “And why do they call you `Duck' anyway?”

“That's what my name means in Japanese,” she answered, but as she did, Beast Boy turned into a duck, and it looked like the very duck that Edel had transformed her into for one adventure. Ahiru, to be funny, picked him up and cuddled him, saying, “Aw, what a cute little ducky!”

Even in this form, Beast Boy was able to talk, and he was saying, “Hey! Okay, okay, I get the point.”

Everyone was busting up again, but now Beast Boy was not so amused anymore. They decided on the half and half, and Beast Boy went up to order. While he was doing that, a trio of girls took a table next to them, and one of them, a fairly decent looking blonde. “Well, they say it's the best pizza in the neighborhood,” said one of the girls, “Look, Gaia, even superheroes like the place,” pointing to Cyborg. However Gaia wasn't so sure about it, as she said, “Yeah, and a few bad memories.”

Just as she said that, Beast Boy was returning from putting in the order and plopped down before he noticed who was next to them. Just as he looked up, Gaia's eyes and his met. There were a couple of awkward moments, and Beast Boy finally said, “Um…it's been a while.”

“Yeah, it has been,” Gaia said in return, and very monotone-like.

After a few more awkward moments, Beast Boy finally said, “Look…I've thought about it for a time, and I really want to say that I'm sorry for…”

“Hey, no biggie,” returned Gaia, “Look, it must have been not long after you lost her that you met me. You were hurting. I understand.”

They fell silent again as her friends were trying to interest her in their order again. Gaia knew that this would make the meal uneasy, but Beast Boy was one step ahead, and said, “Um…can we kinda move tables, you know, to give them some privacy. I mean, autograph hounds and things like that may make it hard for them…”

However, one of the girls recognized Ahiru and Billy, saying, “Hey, you two are from the Pas De Six! Cool!”

Ahiru smiled and said, “Shh: we've been lucky all day today!”

The other girl said, “Oh, sorry!” but Billy, the ever cordial one, said, “Hey, why don't you three sit here. There's plenty of room, and it's on me!” unaware of the awkward situation between two of the people there. Yet, the two aside Gaia squealed and were over at that table in an instant, dragging Gaia with them. However, they ended up situated as to where Beast Boy and Gaia were face to face. The conversation ensued, but Beast Boy and Gaia were unusually quiet. Ahiru picked up on this, and said, “So, do you two know each other?”

“Yeah,” said Beast Boy, but uncertainly.

“In a sense,” said Gaia immediately after.

“Well, how long have you two known each other?” asked Ahiru.

Beast Boy sat silent, not sure how to answer, but Gaia said, “We met a couple of years ago, but we just decided to be friends. It's been a bit. I suppose superhero business keeps him busy.”

She then looked at him, hoping he would play off it, and he said, “Yeah, it's been awhile.”

“It's always nice to meet friends of my friends,” said Ahiru, oblivious to things, but Beast Boy was amazed that she would even say the word “friend” in this whole thing. “Acquaintance” would have been fine for him, but that amazed him. A few moments later, he felt a piece of paper brush his knee and he subtly grabbed it and looked at it. It was a note from Gaia that said, “Don't look so surprised. I said I wasn't your girlfriend; that did not mean I hated you.”

He looked up at Gaia, who looked at him, and then gestured over to a spot. They excused themselves, and no one paid it any mind, figuring that two old friends were about to get reacquainted.

 

When they sat, Gaia said, “Look, I kind of owe you an apology. I was kinda harsh the last time we met. I just wanted to get the point across that I wasn't who you were looking for.”

He was looking at the table, not sure what to do. She reached over and lifted his chin with her right forefinger so he could look at him eye to eye, and she said, with a slight smile, “Hey, let me tell you: if things had been different…well…to be honest, I can maybe see what this Terra saw in you. You do have good traits, Garfield. If you could give me a bit of space, I'll get a hold of you somehow. Maybe we could start again, but as Garfield and Gaia, okay? What do you say?”

He smiled shyly, and said, “It sounds like a gentleman's agreement.”

“That's good enough for me,” said Gaia as she stuck out her hand. He straightened out and shook her hand with the look on his face as if he had just finished a business deal. “Now, let's get that food. I'm starving. Besides, I had to do this, or else I don't think either of us would have been able to eat.”

 

They returned to the others, and the mood was then easier, even though Beast Boy and Gaia really didn't say much to each other. As they were finishing the last morsels, a bank alarm bell sounded. A blast came through the front of it, and out stepped Gizmo, Shimmer, Psimon, and Mammoth of the H.I.V.E. Five, Mammoth holding most of the money. Immediately, Beast Boy and Cyborg were up and ready to fight, knowing who they faced. Everyone hit the deck, but Billy and Ahiru slipped off to take action of their own. The Titan's communicators went off, and Cyborg said, “Hey, we're right in front of it, and are they ever going to be sorry for interrupting lunch!”

With that, the two of them stepped in front of the foursome, to which Gizmo said, “If it isn't the Teen Turds! There are only two of you? This should be fun! Mammoth, get them.”

With a grunt, he dropped the bags and started to advance. That was just as a loud thunderclap was heard, and a moment after that, Captain Marvel stood before them, saying, “Okay, Mammoth, try me!”

He growled and punched Marvel in the stomach. Marvel had to admit that he actually felt that one, but Mammoth squealed in pain as he held his now sore hand. Gizmo, realizing that there was no way to match the Red Cheese, started to amble off. Cyborg swiftly intercepted him, and said, “Hey, where do you think you're going, little man?”

Immediately, six spider-like legs came out of his jet pack and started to scurry him into a position to fight. Shimmer started to move away when she ran smack into a green grizzly bear, growling loudly, with his teeth bared. “You idiots!” exclaimed Psimon, “Don't run, fight!”

As he said, that, he turned around to see a very determined Princess Tutu facing him, saying, “Your malevolence shall not serve you well this day.”

“Fool!” he snapped, “You have no idea what faces you!”

With that, he tried to make a psionic attack, but Tutu, being a psionic fighter herself, detected his intent and took the position of refusal. That deflected the attack straight back at Psimon, who was then knocked on his butt. He was up quickly and now understanding why the others had wanted to flee. “Very good,” he said, as he stood up, “Let's see you deal with this!”

Two tables near her rose up and moved at her with the intent of sandwiching her. However, she easily pirouetted out of the way, and at the same moment, causing vines to grow out and entangle the tables. They were then swung at Psimon and slammed him into the wall. The ivy on the bank then engulfed him and wrapped up his mouth as well. Yet, she learned that was a useless gesture as he spoke right into his mind, saying, “You think you can stop us that easily?”

She did a short jette up to him and did a fouette before him, saying, “It seems to be working so far, and, besides, I can do more with my mind than you think.”

Then she stroked his chin, making contact, and saying back into his head, “I think it's time for you to take a nap.”

He then went unconscious, and then she turned her attention to the people around. She went over and started to surround the au fresco area with a protective layer of vines, but not before someone slipped out. For some reason, Gaia was concerned about Beast Boy, and wanted to see him in action. She was to get more than she wanted.

 

In the meantime, Marvel and Mammoth tangled. Mammoth was not as strong as Marvel, but he was strong enough to be a problem, and he was just as invulnerable. The two of them slugged it out and wrestled, but Mammoth, though strong, was not mentally equipped to handle his much smarter foe, which, with his super speed, slipped behind Mammoth, and put him in a rear naked choke, knowing that this may be the only way to subdue his foe. As Mammoth was going out, it was then that Cyborg and Gizmo clashed. Gizmo used several different kinds of gadgets, mostly electric based, to try to tap into Cyborg's circuits and fry them. However, Cyborg was up to the task, crushing most of the devices before they could hurt him, and he responded by shifting his hand mechanics into his plasma gun, shooting off the mechanical legs one by one. Gizmo then tried to activate his pack, but he then suddenly found himself ensnarled in vines as Tutu came up to help. Gizmo was struggling and cursing up a storm, trying to get free, acting like a naughty, hyperactive child. That's when Tutu came up and put him out, saying that she did not care for such coarse language, and stating that he needed a “time out” to think about it. That left Beast Boy and Shimmer.

 

Shimmer stood their in her finest Goth look, saying, “You have the audacity to fight me?”

Beast Boy lunged forward, but the ground underneath him became soft, and yielded to his every step. He sank up to the ankles, started to try to get his paws out, and found himself even deeper. “How do you like quicksand on a city street?” mocked Shimmer, but Beast Boy was not to be outdone. He changed into a diplodocus, and used the wide feet to negotiate the quagmire. He was about to lunge forward when a rain of small rocks, about the size of golf balls, peppered Shimmer. Beast Boy used that moment of distraction to whip his tail around, slamming her hard into a wall, knocking her unconscious. He stepped off the muck and onto solid ground. He turned back to himself, trying to figure out where the rocks had come from. He finally turned about to see Gaia standing there as pale as a sheet. “Was that…” Beast Boy started to ask, but then he began to mutter, “But that couldn't have been you. I mean, you're not…but only you were standing…but it can't…”

As he muttered, it looked like Gaia was trying to find some words to say but could not, and she was looking all around her, as if the words hung in midair for her to pluck down and use. Just then, Cyborg called out, “Hey, Beast Boy, we need you to give a statement to the police here!”

In that moment when Beast Boy turned around to acknowledge Cyborg, Gaia had fled. Beast Boy looked back around to find she had gone and melted into the gathering crowd. He could not say anything at that point and just smacked one fist into the other hand, and went to give his statement. “It had to have been her,” he thought, “Tutu can't do that. No one was near enough, and Shimmer wouldn't have pelted herself. Oh man, why do things have to be complicated all the time?”

He went over to give a statement, but kept looking over his shoulder, wondering about the girl that seemed to open up to her, and now seemingly closed herself up again.

 

 

 

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