Shadows of the Wretched

Hey it's me, the author here, just wanted to clear up a few things. I do not own the Teen Titans, Terra or any other DC comic character, you know the drill. The only characters I own are the Unholy Three. This story takes place after Season 5 more specifically after "Things change". I felt the episode was kind of pointless because nothing was resolved or explained regarding Terra and so I made this story to give some closure. I'm also NOT a Terra hater or flamer so please don't assume I dislike her because of what happens in the story. Its just part of the plot concept, that's all, enjoy!

Chapter 1: Forgotten

My name is Terra, and I have done horrible things……

Slade was right; you don’t have any friends……

I have betrayed and attacked everyone who was once my friend……

We TRUSTED you……

One by one, I have destroyed the Teen Titans……

You’ve always had a choice……

My name is Terra, I have done horrible things……and I have absolutely no regrets.

RING!

The gasping voice of a blond haired girl suddenly awoke from a soundless slumber, the girl’s horrified, baby blue eyes readjusted to the world of light she had been sleeping away from and rubbed her cranium. The girl was in a school, students and a single teacher surrounded her, and she was wearing a white shirt with a black tie and blue skirt, the uniform of the school. That ringing sound came from a bell, class was over. A red headed girl with small freckles on her cheeks blinked curiously at the blond girl.

The freckled girl asked “Hey Ashley, are you coming?”

The blond girl slowly nodded “Yeah, sorry about that, sort of spaced out there.”

Ashley and the freckled girl exited the class and started to head to the lunchroom. Ashley remained silent, not uttering a cough, a whisper, or even the slightest, smallest sound. The freckled girl watched Ashley with concern and worry, curiously looking under her friend’s stringy blond locks to look at her blue eyes.

The freckled girl frowned “Are you sad or something?”

Ashley blinked at her friend “Sad? What, come on Francine, I’m not sad. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

Fran looked down and sighed “You’ve had a lot on your mind for a while now. I mean, that wasn’t the first time you spaced out in class you know.”

Ashley chuckled “Oh come on, History is the number one space out class on campus everyone knows that.”

Fran sighed once more, “This has something to do with that weird green kid that bugged you doesn’t it?”

Ashley suddenly stopped in her tracks and gasped, the white socks pulled up to her knees stood perfectly still on two petrified legs. The blond girl had flashes of memories, memories of that strange green kid named Beast boy who came to her school a while back. The boy was calling her by a different name, telling her about this whole other life she had, and that she had super powers too. Ashley clutched her schoolbooks to her chest.

“It’s been two weeks since that green kid came and talked to you, ever since then you’ve changed Ashley. You’ve become more distant, you day dream more, and you keep acting like you’re in a whole different world but your body is still here” Fran said nervously.

Ashley weakly laughed “I really don’t know what you’re talking about, your sounding almost as crazy as that green kid Fran.”

Fran raised a curious red eyebrow “Is that so huh, now you’re lumping me in with him?”

Suddenly Ashley became very nervous and concerned at her friend’s sudden negative response, but Fran’s freckled face curved into a playful smile as she burst into laughter. Ashley sighed and joined her friend with a hearty laugh as well. The two girls locked arm and arm and headed off to lunch. Strangely enough, no one seemed to have noticed a pair of meddling emerald green eyes spying on the two girls from outside the school windows, they vanished the instant Ashley and Fran left for the school cafeteria.

At the cafeteria, Ashley and Fran were sitting down at their usual table, half-cringing at the disgusting slop of what was supposed to be roast beef that rotted in their lunch trays. Fran remembered nearly dying of laughter when Ashley made a barf gag face at the lunch woman once the food was slopped into her dish. Ashley didn’t seem to be very hungry; she twirled her spoon into her mashed potatoes and just stared at them blankly.

Fran scratched her freckled cheeks as she hummed “So tell me, what did that creepy green kid say to you anyway? He sure seemed eager to talk to you.”

Ashley rolled her ice blue eyes “What difference does it make, can’t we just forget about the green kid? That’s all you ever ask about. Not my homework, not what boy I’m drooling at, it’s always about the stinking green kid.”

Fran smirked “Because he’s weird and weird is the norm in this city, in case you haven’t noticed. I mean I know you haven’t lived here long but I’m sure you’re well aware this city is famous for being attacked by ninja robots, blob monsters, and giant moths and stuff like that. You can’t really talk about anything without it being a little weird, after all, weird is interesting.”

Ashley crossed her bare arms cross her chest and frowned “Are you going to drop the subject or not?”

Fran thought about it for a minute and replied with a smug, smirking grin “Nope.”

Ashley groaned and slapped her face in defeat “Fine you win.”

Fran chuckled to her friend’s submission “That’s more like it. So come on then spill, what did freak boy have to talk to you about?”

Ashley replied “Actually it’s Beast boy, or at least, that’s what he said his name was. He told me I was this friend of his named Terra, some girl he knew and that he was part of a super hero team. I uh, uh don’t know what their name was. Anyway, Beast boy confused me with this Terra person and thought I was her. He wanted me to come with him and join his team so I could fight crime and stuff. It was all really confusing and weird.”

Fran leaned in closer and asked “Fight crime, you? How were you supposed to do that?”

Ashley sighed with boredom, clearly not wanting to talk about this as she rested her chin on her hands. A quick glare of Fran’s, nagging green eyes forced Ashley to reconsider.

Ashley regretfully replied “He said I had some kind of super powers, that I could move rocks and Earth and stuff like that. I don’t really know exactly anyway, I turned out most of it anyway.”

The red headed girl shrugged as she munched on her fries “Well its sounds kind of cool, even if it is wrong. It’d make a great book actually.”

Ashley shook her head “No, no, you’re missing the point. It doesn’t matter if his story was cool or not, the fact is he seriously believed I was this Terra person. He was sure of it and no matter what I said, nothing would change his mind. This whole other life Beast boy talked about, it was like another lifetime or another world. I don’t know why he thinks I’m Terra or why he kept hounding me but either way it’s not true.”

Fran looked at Ashley, noticing her deep concern over this issue “Since we all know it’s not true then why are you letting it get to you so much Ashley?”

Ashley sadly replied “Because I can’t have some kid trying to drag me down into a fantasy life when I’ve got a perfectly good, normal, average life right here. All that capes and costumes stuff is for boys not for girls and certainly not for me.”

Fran half grinned and nodded “Yeah I guess you’re right, I just couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be a REAL super hero. You know. Have powers, gadgets, secret head quarters, and all that stuff. It sounds so wonderful.”

Uninterested in continuing the conversation about super heroes, Ashley stood up, took her tray to the garbage, and dumped her food out. Ashley continued to walk away without talking or looking back to her freckled friend. As Ashley headed to her next class, she clutched her schoolbooks to her chest tightly once more and simply close her saddened ice blue eyes again, thinking about what Fran just said.

“I just couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be a REAL super hero. You know. Have powers, gadgets, secret head quarters, and all that stuff. It sounds so wonderful.”

Ashley silently repeated the last word to herself “Wonderful……yeah right.”

Outside the school windows, those emerald green eyes were staring into the school like a spying vulture, stalking its wounded prey and awaiting its inevitable death. However, that was not the case here as the watcher was making sure its subject was in perfect health. The watcher was Beast boy, staring endlessly at the girl he once believed to be Terra with a look of deep pain in his green eyes and faded smile.

“Oh Terra, why did you leave, why did you leave everyone, why did you leave me?” Beast boy silently asked.

BZZT!

The green-skinned superhero gasped as his communicator suddenly sparked to life, Beast boy ducked into the bushes and vanished from the school window. Ashley curiously looked to the source of that faint buzzing sound she heard just a second ago. The blond girl blinked as she looked closer at the windows but still she saw nothing. Ashley eventually shrugged it off and walked away, Beast boy sighed with relief behind the bush.

Beast boy spoke into his communicator “Dude, next time give me a little warning before you do that. I was on a mission and you almost made me crap my boxer shorts.”

Robin’s voice replied from the communicator “Mission? Beast boy what mission are you talking about? I thought you were supposed to be patrolling the alleyways at 5th and Jefferson Street.”

Beast boy’s green face suddenly went ice blue “Oh y-y-yeah, well you s-s-see a the m-m-mission I was t-t-talking about was r-r-really um I uh well I uh. It’s a f-f-funny story actually.”

Robin groaned over the communicator “Ugh never mind there’s no time for that now, we’ve got a problem. Le Blanc has escaped from prison and he’s heading towards the downtown area. We need you to help track him down.”

Beast boy nodded “Yeah okay, I’ll be there in like 5 minutes.”

Robin answered “Good, see you then. Robin out.”

The green Titan clicked off his communication device and sighed sadly once again, being painfully reminded how futile this obsession was. Even though it had been two long weeks Beast boy has remained vigilant in his constant watching over “Terra”, even though he knows she doesn’t know who he is, who the Titans are, and who she used to be.

“Although, considering all the messed up stuff that happened to her with Slade and the volcano blowing up, maybe its best she doesn’t remember who she used to be. Even if that means I won’t ever see Terra again” Beast boy said to himself.

Beast Boy changed into an eagle and flew away, soaring into the sky as he headed off to join up with Robin and the others to find Le Blanc. As the day eventually came to an end, Ashley went to her room and decided it would be best if she got a good night sleep. Since this was a private school, she had managed to secure a room on campus and it served as a school and a home for her. Ashley slipped into her pajamas and under her bed covers; she turned off the lights and closed her ice blue eyes to try to get some much-needed sleep.

Despite all the day dreaming Ashley had been doing, she has been inexplicably tired a lot more recently. Ashley was getting enough hours of sleep but it was the nightmares in fact that were keeping her up. Every time Ashley closed her eyes, she got another glimpse of those frightening images and those horrible sounds, and that creepy mysterious voice. Not even the warmth and security of her schoolroom offered Ashley any kind of comfort. Ashley clutched her blankets tightly and almost trembled as she tried to get some sleep.

Ashley whispered to herself “I don’t know what’s going on, or who this voice is that’s in my head, but you need to know something, I am NOT who you think I am. I’m not this Terra person, my name is Ashley and I’m a student here. I don’t know anything about Terra and I don’t want to know either. I’m not the same girl, do you hear me? I’m not the same girl……I’m not.”