Saviour

I'll kill her! I WILL KILL HER! The cape clad heroine repeated to herself as she and her four teammates trekked through the labyrinthine maze of tunnels that made up the lair of Slade, the evil mastermind behind the conquest of the city. She knew that her emotions welling up was a bad thing, her powers were governed by them to a point where if she lost control for even a second, it could spell disaster for many people, but even armed with that knowledge, she was struggling to hold herself back. Terra, the earth-aligned girl who had sided with Slade, had attacked her friends, attacked and tried to suffocate her in a pool of liquid mud, and had betrayed her right when she had finally gotten past her own arrogance and accepted the girl. The words of the blonde, from her near drowning, still echoed in her mind.

You always hated me. Hated what I could be. You were afraid that they'd all like me more, that they'd push you away. Creepy raven, always enveloped in darkness. That's why you hate me, and that's why I'm going to kill you.

The girl shuddered, and slowed slightly. Within hr mind, a dark, deep voice whispered about the truth of the statement, and the pale skinned woman shuddered again. She knew that there was some truth in the statement, she lived in constant fear that her friends, the four other Teen Titans, would one day reject her, leave her all alone, and it frightened her. Without friends, without a life, she was just...his...weapon.

"TITANS! Split up! We'll cover more ground that way!" Robin, the de facto leader of the group, shouted, rattling Raven from her thoughts. This statement was met with a cheer from Cyborg, the dark skinned former athlete turned robot man, who gave off his customary Boo-Ya! However, the moment was short lived. Starfire, the alien beauty, had a downcast look on her face, she had been the first to trust Terra, in her own naïve way, and was now suffering because of it. Robin, as stoic as ever, looked stern. Perhaps he gets that from Bruce... She mused silently, contemplating the boys former mentor, who also knew himself as Batman. Beast Boy, however, was the worst hit by this situation. He had fallen head over heels in love with the girl, and worst of all, she seemed to reciprocate his feelings, right before her turning.

The five super heroes split up, each taking a side tunnel, and they began to search for the two evildoers. As Raven pressed onwards, a slight shudder went down her spine, and she leaped to her side as a sharp shard of rock came flying at her.

"TERRA!" She yelled, and pushed onwards into the darkness, her hands illuminated by the iridescent purple glow that meant she was preparing a surge of mental energy. Staring into the gloom, she thought she saw a flash of metal, and she let loose her power.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" She uttered, and from her palms came two surges of purple energy, piercing the darkness with their brightness. The beams struck a far wall, but in the flash of light, she caught no glance of the former titan. She pressed onwards, knowing that the girl could be there, waiting to crush her under several tonnes of rock, but she didn't care. She wanted revenge for her and her friends. She came to a small cave within the tunnels, and immediately dropped to the floor, as a boulder the size of her head came flying at her, a pale yellow hue surrounding it, the telltale sign of Terras staggering ability. At the other mouth of the cave, outlines in a similar glow, stood the girl. She bore the uniform that Slade had given her, full of metal and bindings, some of which had come a little loose. Not wasting a second, Raven spoke her release words again, and shot another beam towards the girl, who dove forwards, rolling away from the attack.

"Uugh. How many times do I have to kill you? What is your problem, you freak?" The blonde snorted, glaring at the female in the gloom.

"I..am..not..a...FREAK!" Raven yelled, picking up the boulder that had been flung at her with her own power, using it as a blunt object, smashing it into the girl whilst still holding onto it with her power, however, Terras powers were rival to hers when it came to stone, and the girl managed to halt the attack before it reached her. The stone hovered in the air for a few seconds, before rupturing, showering both females with shards of rock. Raven quickly began picking up as many of them as she could with her powers, hurling them at Terra, hoping to overwhelm her ability, and strike her once or twice, but the girl managed to stop them all by lifting a wall of solid rock from the ground, and ducking behind it. Undeterred, Raven began assaulting the wall, hoping to knock it over, and catch her with the heavy object. The wall fell, and Terra dove away, landing awkwardly. Raven took the opportunity to leap on top of her, her eyes blowing brightly. I'll tear her mind apart!!! She thought, as she drove herself deeply into the girls thoughts.

The mindscape of Terra was, as Raven had expected, reminiscent of a canyon, orange dust underfoot and huge spires of rock piercing through, reaching for the sky. Upon one or two of the tall columns, balanced huge rocks, far too big to be held up by the rock alone, and yet, somehow still up there. Raven looked down at herself, and felt a little out of place. A dark shadow in a land of brightness. But there was something disconcerting about the realm, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Among the shadows cast by the eternal sunlight high above, only hers seemed real. The rest of the shadows, those cast by the spires and the edges of the huge canyon, were all at different angles, almost as though they were trying to cover as much of the ground as possible, to swallow up as much of the light as they could. Shaking her head, the girl pressed onwards, reaching out to try and find the physical representation of Terra within her mind, her will. Not knowing what else she would find in within, or at what point her mind would start fighting back, she kept her guard up, and moved cautiously. It was thanks to this cautiousness that she noticed the shadows following her, keeping their distance as though they were looking for an opening, keeping away so as to avoid detection or attack. Raven span on her heels, glaring at the shadows, which halted instantly.

"Terra...no...You'd just attack...what is this..." She muttered, advancing slowly on the encroaching shadows, before opening her eyes wide, and leaping back, as the thing seemed to become solid, and surged upwards in a sharp point. Raven flipped over, landing in a crouch, before turning and running from the bizarre entity, which almost washed after her, becoming like an amoebic blob, keeping up with her, but not catching up. As the psychic ran onwards, she heard a hoarse cry from her left, and her instincts kicked in, as she veered her course, ducking and leaping through the difficult terrain, before coming to an opening that was reminiscent of the room she had just left, albeit with no roof. At the far end, instead of another tunnel, there was a large slab of stone, and, at the base, hands bound to the stone by chains, knelt Terra, naked but for a single bandage, tied around her chest. She was bruised, and cut, and looked as though she hadn't washed in a month. Raven was so shocked by the sight that she forgot about the blob behind her, and halted, mouth agape. The shadow moved past her, and underneath her, before rising up beside the girl.

"So, Raven. What do you think of my little plaything? She's rather pathetic, wouldn't you say?" A familiar voice echoed around the enclosure, as the path she has just taken closed, thousands of thin spikes of rock knitting together tightly.

"Slade..." She whispered, as the blob began to stretch and contort, slowly taking on a more humanoid form. As she watched, colour and shapes began to appear, and within moments, the blob had become the tall, black and silver clad megalomaniac. He reached down, and pulled Terra upwards roughly by her hair, making the girl whimper with pain.

"R...Raven..." The girl whispered, forced to look up at the leotard wearing heroine, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"Yes my pet. She's here to destroy you. Then you and your powers will be all mine." The masked villain said, his voice full of sickly pleasure.

"N..No..." she uttered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. She looked across at Raven, who was looking from one to the other, confused by the sudden change in situation. She had suspected this at one point, but didn't think that it was possible. Slade had somehow wormed his way into Terras mind, and had beaten down her will so as to have almost total control, and yet somehow, the girls will was still intact, albeit so weak she couldn't do anything. Was Slade truly that sadistic, to allow the girl such minuscule control that she remained resistant enough to not be a thrall, and yet still kept an iron grip on her mind. She didn't get much more time to think about it, as Slade surged forwards, kicking the girl in the gut.

"Uuugh!" the girl wheezed, as she fell to her knees.

"Oh, Raven. You shouldn't have come here. You are not a match for my...talents. You will die here, at my hand." The man said, standing over her as she coughed and spluttered, completely caught off guard by the mans attack. He tugged her upwards, pushing aside her cowl to tug her hair, making the girl wince in pain. With ease, he tossed her forwards, smacking her into a sheer face of rock, scraping her face with the sharp rock, making her bleed. He then lifted her up with his foot, and kicked her into the rock face again, expelling what little air was left in her lungs. Pinning the girl to the wall, he then slammed his fist into her three times, further cutting and bruising her, before pulling her towards the broken form of Terra, lifting her up by her hair, and forcing the blonde girl to look at her.

"Look! LOOK! This is your fault. You made her come here, and you made her suffer! You created me, and you chose to do it all!" He cackled, his one visible eye widening with madness.

"N...No...I...You...made me..."Terra tried, her cheeks now completely sodden. Raven let out a cough, staining her lips with redness, shuddering at the alkaline taste in her mouth, before tilting her head upwards.

"A...Azerath Metrion Zinthos." She whispered, and with the feeble amount of power that her state afforded her, she snapped the chains binding the girl t the rock. "R...Run...Terra...run away..." She whispered, before her head sagged forwards, the strain of the battle too much for her. Slade tossed her aside, picking up Terra by her chin, looking into her eyes menacingly. He then pulled off his mask.

"How can you run from yourself?" the face revealed underneath the mask, her own face, spoke.

"N...NOOO!" Terra screamed, her eyes picking up a bright yellow light, and her hair floating up behind her. The ground began to shake beneath them, and the rock walls began to shatter and creak. The shards all began to fly towards Slade, whose mask snapped shut again as he dropped the girl, and began to defend himself against the shrapnel. Terra kept up the attack, knocking the man to his front with a trio of boulders, one behind the other. She then collapsed forwards, shaking, the glow behind her eyes almost gone.

"Pathetic. You are both useless! Terra, you are weak and useless. I'm done with you. I think I'll take her instead. She's FULL of potential." Slade said, picking himself up, and pacing towards the stirring form of Raven.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Terra yelled, slamming her hands into the rock beneath her, shattering a piece almost a quarter off the size of the floor free, and levitating it upwards. She sped towards Slade, knocking him away from Raven, before falling from the rock, metres from the girl, her last wisps of power now gone. The black haired girl watched as the girl whom she had thought was her enemy gave every last speck of her power to defend her from the marauding thought. The mind doesn't lie...Terra...she's a good person... She thought, as she pushed herself up to her knees.

"No more! You aren't welcome here any more, Slade!" She said, crossing her legs and sitting in a meditation position. She began to repeat her chant, a lighter purple than her norm emitting from her, which began to slowly engulf the tall man.

"NO! YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME! I AM SLADE!" He yelled, fighting back against the glow, but Raven pushed more of her power into the attack, retorting "YOU ARE SLADE, IN THE MIND OF TERRA. YOU DO NOT BELONG!" With that, she gave one final push, enveloping the male completely, and sinking him into nothingness. With her power now spent, she fell forwards onto her hands, exhausted. After a few moments, she rolled onto her back, and, shuddering with pain, began to stand.

"Raven...please...please don't kill me..." Terra whispered, looking up at the girl, physically shaking at the prospect of being destroyed. Raven looked down at her, sliding her hood back up over her head, before kneeling next to her, hands glowing very, very slightly.

"You're almost nothing...What has he done to you?" She said, her face once again hidden by her cowl. Terra closed her eyes, tears welling up in them once again.

"He...he caught me...a few weeks before I came back to the Tower. He did something to me, I couldn't fight back. I'm so sorry." She said, her voice tainted by her fear and her feelings. Raven looked down at her, unsure of how to proceed onwards.

"It wasn't your fault. He..." She began, before being interrupted by the stricken woman.

"NO! I...I wanted it! I...I wanted to...to get back...at you. I was jealous. You had close friends...and powers you could control. And yet you seemed so sour about it. You took it for granted. I wanted to take your place..." She said, tears once more staining her bruised and swollen cheeks. Raven stared down at her, shocked into silence.

"Th..theres more..Raven, I'm so sorry...I was angry, angry that I could feel such things...I...I..." Terra faltered, her whole body shaking. Raven moved forwards, pulling the girl into a kneeling position, and holding her arms by her sides.

"Tell me. Tell me or so help me...I'll...I...." She said, her own voice now breaking slightly, her anger pressing against her, crying to the girl to destroy the rock former.

"I...I can't...you won't believe me. You'll...You'll hate me even more." Terra replied. Ravens eyes darkened.

"TELL ME" She spoke, her voice loud, echoing even in the unenclosed area.

"No!"

"Terra."

"Please!"

"TELL ME RIGHT NOW!"

"I WAS ANGRY BECAUSE I LIKED YOU!" The girl shouted, forcing ravens hands away, and grabbing at her shoulders, staring deeply into her eyes. Raven opened her mouth to speak, but could find nothing to say. The girls words had pierced through her anger like a pin through wet paper, and were now all she could think about. I like you. I like you. I like you. What...what does she mean.. She thought, stunned by the girls confession.

"You..." She managed, looking back at the girl who was still looking back at her, sobbing slightly.

"Now you know. I...I like you. I wanted to be more like you, friends, strength, control. That slowly turned into...more than just admiration. I like you, Raven." Terra said, feeling she had to explain herself to the mysterious psychic.

"You...Like me?" Raven whispered, her own body beginning to shake. Emotions that she had worked so hard over so many years to bury were breaking free and supplying her with too much information to deal with. Terra nodded slightly, her cheeks flushing very slightly.

"I....I'm not...I don't..." The girl stuttered, fiddling with the edge of her shroud, avoiding the girls gaze.

"You don't have to...I mean...Look, don't worry about it...Just....just leave..." Terra said, looking down at her lap.

"Terra...."

"LEAVE!"

Raven stared down at the girl, pinning her to the floor, and yet, as she looked, the girl underneath her kicked up, propelling her up and away from her.

"GET OFF ME!" She yelled, leaping to her feet, and running off into the tunnels, leaving the dark haired girl on her back, watching her go. She stood, was about to chase after her, when her comm blasted into life, glowing brightly.

"RAVEN! We've found Slade! Get here immediately!" Robins voice echoed through the high tech link. She pressed the large button, which opened her voice channel.

"I encountered Terra. Robin...I think...somethings changed...Be careful." She said, before letting her hands glow again, pressing herself into shadow, merging with it, allowing herself to travel to Robins location. As she traveled through the darkness, Terras words played on her. I like you. I like you. The magical girl shook her head violently, trying to get the words out of her mind, but she failed. As she emerged from the shadows, she regarded Cyborg and Starfire battling with the bizarre cloned minions of the brutal villain, and Beast Boy running off chasing after what could only be Terra.

"RAVEN!" Robin cried out, struggling against three of the strange humanoids. Reacting quickly, she grabbed the hands of one of them with her mental energy, allowing the masked hero to deal with the two others, knocking one into the other, before slamming his boot into the bound one.

"Thanks! We need to help Beast Boy! TITANS! MOVE!" He said, dashing along after the green male, followed by the purple clad alien and the metal man. The girl, however, remained where she was, hovering slightly with the aid of her ability, fidgeting with her hands.

"Hey, come on, Raven!" The black skinned male shouted, snapping her back to reality. She nodded, and floated towards the tunnel.

SHE WAS LYING TO YOU! SHE IS JUST TRYING TO DECIEVE YOU, TO BREAK YOU. DESTROY HER...No...I think she was telling the truth...the mindscape cannot betray true intentions...LIES! YOU KNOW THAT ISN'T TRUE!...IT IS! The true inner mind cannot be altered. It's the purest form of ones soul...SO THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOURS IS BLACK AND TWISTED...SHUT UP! It's not like that!...SHE WAS LYING! NO-ONE COULD EVER FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT YOU!...No! It's not like that! She...I...JUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE. YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER, AND MY KEY! NOTHING MORE. NOT A HUMAN, NOT AN OBJECT OF DESIRE. NOTHING!!!...

As the deep, terrible voice of her father, Trigon, rang deeply within her mind, Raven floated on slowly, her eyes the only thing visible beneath her strange choice of clothing, eyes that, had anyone been in a position to look at them, would have given away how tumultuous her mind was, but she was alone in her slow movement. She was, however, too slow, as, when she emerged from the catacomb-like tunnels, She was too late to be any assistance, for the fight had, though she couldn't figure out how, activated the dormant magma flows beneath the city, and had started a volcanic reaction. As she watched, the thin blonde valiantly sacrificed herself to prevent the urban sprawl from being decimated by the eruption.