The Return of Terra

[Audrey]

Time just seem to sit completely still as the girl who could only call herself Tara Markov stared at the 'For Lease' sign nailed to the penthouse door in front of her in disbelief. After the weeks it had taken her to travel across the Midwest, all the difficulty of surviving in the wilderness while simultaneously avoiding society, the person she had come to Jump City for was gone. Likely he'd gone back to Markovia after his two leads to his sister's whereabouts ended in a terrified girl who ran away to Seattle and a rude wanderlustful without emotions who ran off to Kansas. Terra'd be pretty convinced fate was telling her to give up if she had been in Geo-Force's shoes. She sighed and shoved her hands into the puffy pockets of her flight jacket and turned away. Well there went her hope. Forget Geo-Force's shoes, her odds seemed to really be pushing that fate wanted HER to give up. Give up what exactly was anyone's guess.

She descended the steps of the apartment complex and stepped out into the daylight. There wasn't rain at all, but the entire sky was covered in clouds leading to an awful sort of humid feeling in the air. About how Terra felt inside herself at the moment. Given the heat, she figured it well enough to remove her coat and sling it over her shoulder, exposing her pale arms to the world around her. Her button up shirt was long-sleeved, but the sleeves were rolled up to halfway over her upper arm in a messy roll. The left side was slightly lower than the right. It never seemed to work out perfectly. One sleeve just had to go completely off-course.

As she stepped along the street, side-stepping civilians, the small silver necklace around her neck jumped in and out of her collar, leaving it partially visible. It was half stone, half glass in the shape of the yin-yang symbol. Just a small trinket she picked up in Smallville from some farmer's market. You could find the neatest stuff at those things. Stuff you'd never see anywhere else... Maybe for a good reason. Why was everything going so slow? Terra couldn't stand it. She felt like it had taken an hour to walk down a single city block. At this rate, she'd feel like a complete wreck by the time she got home to her humble abode down below the streets.

She began to whistle a tune she'd heard once that matched her feelings. She probably should've been thinking of a plan of what to do now that her only possible relative in the country had moved away, but she didn't want to think about it. It was just going to make her feel even worse than she already did. "Up on melancholy hill, there's a plastic tree... Are you here with me?..." she mumbled in key, vocals arising from her whistling. She didn't know the song's name or even how the rest of it went. Just that one little beat: "Doot doop. Doo doop doot doop doot," it played in her head over and over.

She stopped and stared out across the street at the people going about their lives. How it must feel to simply have control of everything. Control of your emotions, your will, your memory. A hand from behind suddenly pushed her aside. "Hey, watch it buddy!" she vocally jabbed, rubbing the back of her head as she watched a plain man in a tweed coat walk past her.
"Don't stand in the way then," he responded apathetically, not really caring at all for Terra's discomfort or frustration. Before she could get another word in, he was already gone with the crowd again. Another meaningless face among an ocean of the same. She scratched her head again and looked about. Noticing an empty bench, she took a seat and pulled her green canvas backpack up next to her.
"Think I'll just stick around her awhile I guess," she thought, proceeding to open up her backpack and go through her things making sure no one had pickpocketed it when she wasn't paying attention.

[Silv]

Robin was the sort of person it was hard to surprise. So, it was a rarity when he logged onto his computer that morning and found a message from a source he did not recognize. The mask furrowed as he opened the message and clicked the attachment. Pictures of a young blond woman flooded across his screen. She seemed oddly familiar, and the boy's mouth gaped open in surprise as recognition hit him like a sucker punch.

These were pictures of his dead teammate.

These were pictures of Terra.

It would be cruel if it weren't for the time stamp in the corner of each of the surveillance photos, along with the locations. She was in Jump. Recently. The boy closed out of the windows and went back to the original message. There was nothing. He scanned the downloads again, finding no information. The young leader frowned in confusion and got up from his chair.

This was going to require more investigation. His first stop was going to be to the locations it mentioned in the email. He let the images download to his communicator before he headed out the door with an impatient flick of his cape. This wasn't just another mystery to solve. This was bringing back a friend. And if he was being led on a wild goose chase, someone was going to pay.

It didn't take the young man long to get downtown. He was known for going ridiculous speeds on his motorcycle, zipping down the streets in a red, black, and yellow blur. The young man stopped at the first location. It was a foot place, across from an ATM camera that had caught the girl going in for a bite to eat. Robin elicited the stares of the patrons as he poked his head in and glanced around. Not a blond head of hair in sight. He moved on to the next location.

It was an apartment complex. He wasn't about to knock on every single door so he decided to wait outside to see if perhaps she would come out. It was fate that caused a car to screech and directed the boy's attention towards a minor car crash. He wheeled his bike over to see if they required any assistance.

That was when he saw her: Beast Boy had told them before that he had seen a girl that looked like Terra. But Raven had been right. They'd tried everything to free Terra from her stone prison. It was probably some vandal that had stolen her off her pedestal. There was no way that Terra was still here. If she was, she would have contacted them. She would have contacted her friends.

But the girl on the bench looked so much like her. The slump of her shoulders gave away a similar confidence level. The way she brushed her pale blond hair out of her face without too much thought. He hadn't gotten a clear look at her face yet. She was bent over her backpack like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He had a feeling, though, that when he glanced into that face it would be as hauntingly familiar as the rest of her was. No wonder Beast Boy had thought Terra was freed from her stone prison and wandering around Jump. This girl could have been her twin.

Or, perhaps, she really was Terra.

Robin moved forward, remembering the message he had gotten earlier that morning in his email inbox, his private email inbox, coming to mind. His mouth instantly felt dry and he ran his tongue over his lower lip nervously. The car crash had been minor. Everyone was alright, if perhaps a little awestruck that a Titan had come to see to their needs. Since he wasn't needed he moved away, parking his motorcycle on the side of the road, pulling off his helmet and getting to his feet.

The walk over towards her was awkward. He felt like he was approaching something wild. Afraid that if he made any sudden gestures she might run like a startled deer. "Excuse me," he said softly stopping a few feet away. He cleared his throat, fighting against the hope rising in it, "Terra?"

[Audrey]

Dang. Her water bottle was gone. She'd have to replace that... Somehow. Who would steal a water bottle, seriously? They're only 3 or 4 dollars at any department store and half of people don't even drink water. They're all just drinking energy drinks and sodas these days, or as Father Parker would say, pop. That was so odd how it was called something completely different based on whatever region you were in. She settled over her minimal lost and began sealing up the bag. Conveniently just as she did, someone called for her attention.

At the sound of both a hello and her nickname, Terra looked up and saw a cavalcade of colors strapped skintight to a young teenager with jet black hair. The sight almost made her wince a little, but she controlled herself and maintained her composure. Based on the fact that he was wearing a domino mask that perfectly conformed to his face, Terra could assume he was only one of two things. One of those Titans Geo-Force had told her about or a really really serious loony. She was going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was a Titan. The honored looks of the public also sold her on that assumption. People didn't typically look amazed at a sociopath.

"Do I know you?" she asked, looking right into where she assumed the boy's eyes were. Her blue eyes read with honesty, but also confusion. She blinked a couple times before processing what she just said to the teen. "That's an actual question. Not sarcasm. I really honestly don't know," she clarified, going back to her backpack and retrieving her ID that she had had since the beginning of this whole charade. She flashed it to Robin, the Tara Markov name in black printing right next to the California headline. "A man who goes by Geo-Force told me some 'Titans' fought someone who looked exactly like me. I assume you are one of those Titans. I woke up in the middle of the Mojave Desert about three years ago with no memory, but this girl you fought is apparently most assuredly dead. I really REALLY hope you know what's going on. Cause I sure as hell don't. I'm willing to believe I'm a clone or something at this point," she explained; out of straws and willing to trust ANYONE who could tell her anything. At the very least, maybe he could net her a trip to Markovia so she could meet up with Geo-Force again.

[Silv]

Robin couldn't help the sharp inhale when the girl tilted her face to look up at him. He composed himself readily enough but the initial look of shock on his masked face was probably telling. His usual mask (heh, puns) settled across his face in a stony expression as she asked if she knew him. THe boy's mouth slipped into a slight frown. "Perhaps," he replied softly. Robin wasn't one to believe this was Terra without proof. But he wanted to believe. He so badly wanted to believe it.

He moved a few tentative steps closer as she pulled out an ID and flashed it at him. The information matched up with the girl he had known. Then she was talking about Geo-Force. He listened quietly to what she was saying, a pensive expression puckering his face as he studied her. He couldn't detect any lies. Batman had taught him how to detect them and her story rang through enough. He drew in a sharp breath and let in out in a slow sigh, "I am one of the Titans," he explained. "My name is Robin," he held out a green gloved hand in greeting. "And the Terra I knew wasn't my enemy. She was my friend," he said  before gesturing to the bench besides her quizzically.

Without waiting for a definitive answer, the boy sat, and turned towards her. "You don't remember anything from before those three years?" he asked her, his mouth turning down in disappointment. "Terra died saving us, you know," he added quietly. "She saved the entire city."  A strange expression ghosted across his face: sorrow, regret. She hadn't escaped alive from Slade's clutches like he had. She had only managed to bring him down with her for a short time. "You look just like her. Your ID…" he trailed off.

"It's possible you could be a clone." the young man replied thoughtfully. "Would you mind if we tested you?"

[Audrey]

Terra analyzed the grimace of the boy wonder and just wondered what was up with him. By the way he was grunting out half of what he said and how uneraseable that scowl on his face was, you'd think he was having as bad of a day as she was. What, did he let a major villain get away or something today? It seemed to be something about her face, like he hadn't expected it. She just maintained her credulous glare at him. He wasn't important, a means to an end right now. Terra had no intention of making any friends. No more potential victims waiting to happen.

He offered his name and she decided to make some humor of it to lighten the situation "Hello Robin, people call me Terra, but you already knew that," she responded, shaking his hand with a bit of a smarmy grin, maintaining her pensive stare through it all. "But I really prefer Tara," she added, with a slight increase in her grin knowing it sounded phonetically unchanged. He went on about justifying the former Terra's actions as an action of self-sacrifice. Geo-Force had done the same with a little more detail on the battle between her and the Titans prior, but she had figured he was being sympathetic given his relation to Terra and all. Hearing it out of someone else, she was a bit more willing to see the honor involved, but she still felt she was missing a lot of the story.

No one had yet addressed the other man mentioned in the article, a man by the name of simply just Slade; no last name, who was the only other casualty in the event and she felt a lot of this missing information pertained to him. "I'm not here to discuss the benevolence of... whoever that was's actions. I really honestly don't care about it at all, so you don't need to defend her to me. As it is, I've no connection to that whole thing at all. It's just a story to me at this point," she answered bluntly, really wishing people would stop going on about the emotional stuff and just get to the facts. People were so self-involved sometimes.

Robin silently asked if he could sit on the bench, and before Terra could give him an affirmative, he sat down anyway. She shrugged it off and continued to listen to him. "I was joking about being a clone if you really want to know, but I dunno sure. I'll get tested. You just have to promise me if for some reason I'm not a clone, you're not going to try and go on some great quest to get me to remember my past so you can have a happy reunion with your friend. I'm not the Terra you knew, even if we physically are the same person. I've seen things in the last three years. Done things I wish I hadn't. I'm not going to be a hero because my former self was. I just want to know the truth and be done with it all," she explained, really pushing it to Robin that she was her own entity and would not live with a reputation she couldn't remember. It was a bit cruel in a sense to deny this kid his long lost friend, but she wasn't Terra. Not anymore.

[Silv]

Her reaction had been colder then the boy had expected. He glanced at her, slightly taken aback. But then, it sort of made sense. If he was constantly mistaken for someone else he would probably get annoyed. Especially if he also had a bad case of amnesia to go with it. For now he could be patient. He swallowed back the scowl at her tone and instead kept the neutral mask on his face.

"The Terra I knew is gone," Robin informed her almost a little too bluntly. He didn't necessarily believe this was Terra. Sure, he could be hopeful, but he wouldn't believe without the facts. "I came to terms with that a long time ago." the young leader got to his feet, glancing back at the blond on the bench. "But my job is to help people. If you want answers, I will help you find them."

"Our lab is back at the tower. If you want to know about the other Terra…well, the answers are there too," Robin told her. "You're welcome there anytime," then his masked gaze slid from his bike parked a few yards away and back to the girl. "Ever ridden on a motorcycle before?"

[Audrey]

Terra listened on taking it all in. As Robin finished up his continued drawl about Terra's counterpart, she gave a firm nod and crossed her arms "Well you're certainly a hero, going to the distress of the 'damsel' despite every antagonism she's tossed at you. Next thing you know, you'll start sassing me and get a tunic for those tights of yours," she quipped, finding the whole hero charade almost halfway entertaining. The folks in Smallville talked about Superman the same way though. They were just like that. Really, Terra didn't mean anything negative out of her teasing of Robin, it was just fun to poke at the stereotype.

Settling out of their conversation, intent to move on, he invited her onto the little bike he called a motorcycle. She had hoped to go home after all this, but she could stand a detour. Not exactly much else to do beyond wander the sewers. "Yeah, I've ridden a motorcycle before. If you're referring to that ostentatious bike though, then no, I've never ridden in one of those before. I wasn't aware anyone actually bought those things outside of wannabe speed demons and guys trying to impress japanese girls. But whatever floats your boat," she criticized as an extension of her superhero taunting. She supposed it did serve a double-purpose. It was obvious Robin didn't enjoy being poked fun of. Constantly reminding him of his shortcomings was a great way to keep him from thinking the two of them were friends.

As Terra settled onto the backseat, affixing the passenger helmet to her head, she decided to finally vocalize the fact that had been eating at her since she read about her counterparts whole scenario. "... Who's Slade? He was mentioned as the other casualty of the volcano eruption, but I get the impression his role goes beyond a bystander caught in the crossfire. The few pictures of him around the records only show him in a creepy mask and the suit Terra died in has his insignia on it. What exactly was his relationship to what happened?" she asked, remembering the clippings of the one-eyed mask from the records building. The sight left her with shivers. Whether from it's inherent creepiness or repressed memories, she didn't know for sure.

[Silv]

Robin didn't enjoy being made fun of. He scowled at her as she made fun of his bike, and his super hero outfit, but he made no comment on either remark. It wasn't worth getting into an argument over, and anyway it wasn't like he hadn't heard those complaints before. The young leader turned to his bike, handing her the extra helmet before shoving his own on top of his gelled spikes with a rough enough gesture to make it obvious he wasn't pleased.

He got on the bike and she settled behind him. The boy was about to leave when she asked a question that had been plaguing him for years. Who is Slade? Robin stiffened in the seat, and took a few moments to respond. "Not here," he replied in a low voice, his gaze not on her, but beyond them. "When we get there," it was a firm order and enforced by the sudden growl of the motorcycle engine as Robin shot off onto the street without warning. He gave Terra enough time to grab on tightly before he took out his frustrations on the road.

Driving with any member of the Batfamily was an experience. Batman himself was a well known maniac on the road and he had been the one to teach Robin to drive. He sped down the roads at blazing speeds, leaving the city quickly and driving along near the shoreline of the bay. He rapidly approached a tiny shed, aiming straight for the side wall, and didn't slow down as he approached. Robin was so used to the entrance that he often forgot how terrifying it could be for his passengers.

The bike went straight through the shed, the visage melting away as the hologram covering what was now an open door vanished on contact. He blazed through the opening, and along the tunnel that led to their garage. The bike came to a screeching halt once they were inside. He parked, knocked down the kickstand with his foot, and stood from the vehicle. "What was that about wannabe speed demons?" he asked snidely as he pulled his helmet off his head and threw it into the back compartment so she knew to d the same.

Then he gestured for her to follow him towards the elevator. "Slade is a criminal mastermind," Robin explained as he waited for the elevator to come. "He's been terrorizing Jump City almost as long as we've been saving it. He and Terra…well…" the boy fumbled for a way to explain this. "Terra was insecure about her powers. Slade is the sort of person who…preys on weaknesses," the elevator came, the doors opening with a ding, and Robin stepped inside holding it open for her before punching in the floor they were going to.

"Slade convinced her that he could help her, that he could give her the control she needed to stop hurting people, if she agreed to be his apprentice," Robin's face turned from Terra as he talked about the apprenticeship. The fact that he hadn't saved Terra from a fate that was almost him bothered him immensely. "So she did. She betrayed us. She used our friendship to get access to our security, and when the orders were given, she tried to kill us."

The door opened onto the floor Robin had punched in. This was the area with most of their research facilities. It held the library, and the laboratory. Any of the Titans could be wandering around here. Hopefully they wouldn't run into Beast Boy or Starfire. He wasn't sure how the more colorful teammates would take meeting this Terra. "I'm going to take the DNA sample now and let the computer run the tests," Robin informed her as he led the way to the lab. "I can show you her files, if you want to read them, and the one on Slade while you wait."

[Audrey]

Terra rolled her eyes as Robin insisted on speaking about Slade in other places. She quickly grabbed onto him as they zipped forward and unamusingly enjoyed the ride. The speed and recklessness really didn't bother her. When you'd ridden rocks at over 100 mph with her level of control, there were few car rides that could phase you. Even the rather overdramatic entrance into the tower was a little passé, though Terra would be lying if she said it didn't get ANYTHING out of her. She expected a secret door of some sort, but the hologram was something else. She nodded a bit in acknowledgement to the cleverness and dismounted somewhat satisfied as her helmet came off.

"Alright, so maybe you're just a speed demon then. I've seen faster though," she countered, smiling a bit enjoying the banter. She hated to admit it, but she was enjoying going back and forth with Robin. That'd have to stop. Thankfully, Robin went right into business. Listening to the history behind Terra and Slade, she felt a bit connected to it all. She was insecure with her powers and desired control just as Robin said her former self had desired. She was afraid to use them at all half the time. Never if anyone else was nearby. As he finished, it all clicked together. The debate of whether the former Terra was hero or villain and why Robin had jumped so quick to defend her. She was a tragic hero. Prayed upon by a true villain much like Othello was prayed upon by Iago.

Robin gave her her instructions and she nodded in understanding. "I'd like to see both files, thank you," she responded as she looked around the Titans headquarters, admiring it's intricate design. The place was a marvel really. Terra was almost jealous of how comfy it looked compared to the little squats she made every evening in the underbelly of town. It even put her home in Smallville to shame. As she scanned the place over, she noticed a picture on the wall and took it down from it's hanger. Robin would probably tell her to put it back, but she was going to pick it up anyway.

In the picture was herself decked out in similar goggles to those she had now and a black half-shirt with a gold T on the chest. She was smiling and giving a peace sign as her arm was wrapped around a shorter boy with green skin and messy hair who looked just as happy as she was to be together. It was dysphoric in a way, seeing yourself in a photo you don't remember taking. Like your body got up one day and had a field day without your conscious. She wondered idly if it had been fun to have friends. She had had family in the Parkers, but she'd never really had friends of any sort. None that stuck around anyway. The closest there was was a prairie dog that followed her around for sometime. She just began zoning out looking at the frame before long.

[Silv]

Robin wandered around the medical facility, grabbing a DNA kit out of the cupboard, and moving to prepare all of the necessary parts. He stopped when he realized that Terra hadn't followed him inside, and was instead standing out in the hallway clutching one of the photographs they had hung on the wall. It took him a moment to realize what was probably wrong. The boy set down the testing equipment and wandered back out into the hallway where Terra was. He peered over her shoulder, instantly recognizing the photograph. He had thought they'd removed all the photos, especially after Beast Boy had taken it so hard, but apparently they hadn't.

The Boy Wonder gently put a hand on Terra's shoulder. "You okay?" he asked her softly, his masked gaze searching what little he could see of her face from behind her hair. He glanced at the photo, a smile curving softly across his lips. "I remember the day we took that. We'd just stopped Mumbo from robbing a bank and decided to celebrate by going to the arcade," his voice was thick with memory, but he quickly shook it off. "I'm going to need to take those samples," he informed her, taking a few steps back. "Do you mind…?" he trailed off, gesturing inside the laboratory. He had to take a prick of blood, a cheek swab, and a single hair for the computer to analyze with the files already in there.

[Audrey]

Terra jumped a little as Robin's hand touched her shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts. She quickly issued her response in the form of "I'm fine, it's nothing," shaking her head, and making it come off like she didn't care at all. "It's just weird to see myself in a picture I didn't take, that's all," she added, intentionally leaving out her thoughts about having friends. She finally saw a smile out of Robin as he got nostalgic. She couldn't help but smile too. It sounded pretty cool she had to admit. Stopping a crazed magician with your super powers and spending the day at a good old fashioned arcade. She shook off the thought as fast as Robin did though, returning to her grimace.

She nodded in response to Robin's request and entered the lab silently. She knew a lot of this stuff from her 'uncle's' lab. He doubled as Smallville's local practitioner and it's only real research professor. Assuming blood would be involved with DNA, Terra settled down in a seat near the red and clear plastic tub she knew signified hazardous materials i.e. bloodied ph tablets. Settled and down, she removed her glove, showing off her caloused hands and even dropping quite a bit of desert sand onto the counter. She really couldn't take her gloves off without it getting everywhere.

As she waited for Robin to get prepped, she began to look at all the stuff hanging up in the lab. Spare parts, some trinkets from one or another of Jump's many supervillains, and even some personal possessions of the Titans. It was like a club sort of. Five teenagers sharing a history together, growing up together. She hated feeling jealous of them. Every bit of her heart said she wanted to make up for her former self's actions, but every bit of her mind knew they'd just become victims of her life. She sighed and just turned her attention to the pain about to prick her finger.

[Silv]

Robin left Terra to her thoughts and busied himself with working the DNA testing equipment. She pulled off her glove without instruction, as Robin pulled off his own gloves and washed his hands in the dink thoroughly. The blue medical gloves were a slightly jarring addition to his usual costume, but they were necessary. He turned his attention then to her finger, showing her the pricking device before he wiped down the finger he would get the sample from with antiseptic. This was nothing diabetics didn't do every day.

He didn't give her time to think about the prick. The device snapped with a sharp clicking noise, and then he was quickly placing a small tube over the wound. Once he had collected the sample he handed her a small bandage. Starfire must have been the one to buy it when they'd run low. It was electric orange with glitter on it. He let Terra deal with that as he put the tube into the machine that would be analyzing it once he activated it.

His next course of action was the cheek swab. The boy unwrapped the swab and handed it to Terra. "Swipe the inside of your cheek," he told her, waiting to take it back from her. "And then I will need a single strand of hair."

Once the required samples had been taken Terra was free to pass time. Robin started up the machinery before gesturing for her to follow him. "Any of the files I show you are private Titan files. Please do not share their content with anyone unaffiliated with the Titans." the boy informed her seriously as he led the way down the hallway. It didn't take them long to get to the library. It simply made sense to have the two spaces next to each other.

When they came inside Robin went to one of the tables and grabbed one of the tablets sitting there and powered it on. He punched a few buttons, entered a few key commands, and handed the entire device to Terra. "These are the requested files," he said, showing a file on Terra, and one on Slade. The files on Terra were whole and complete. The information on Slade had gaping holes where Robin had left the information he had gathered while he was the man's apprentice (or even that entire event's happening).

Once she was settled he would head back to the labs to check progress. 

[Audrey]

Terra was generally prepared for the prick. She winced though when the punch pierced her skin. She quickly wiped any sign of pain from her face as fast a possible though. She watched in idle curiosity as Robin filled the tube with her blood and dropped the contaminated goods in the trash. When he brought out the band-aid for her small puncture, she couldn't help but laugh. "Oh man, that's awesome! I wish I had band-aids as cool as your guys," she spoke with genuine delight, wrapping the glittery band-aid on her finger. She smiled wiggling her finger and watching the sparkles shift, unashamed if Robin were to think her childish. She was 16, she was still allowed to be childish.

She kind of gave a bit of a mocking face as Robin just handed her the swab. "The least you could do is act like a human being. Seems like I have to fiddle with your stuff to get any reaction out of you that isn't 'Bruh, bruh, I'm a super serious guy in tight colorful spandex, look at me work' she mocked, grunting her voice to mock Robin trying to be funny. Her tone turned a bit serious afterwards though. "It's like you're not even real. You could be finding out your lost friend's alive... sort of, and you're just 'well whatever, I guess it's work'. Lighten up, are you always like this?" she asked seriously, really wondering why he wasn't more excited. The whole thing had almost made her question Robin and Terra's relationship. Was he just this way all the time, or was he bitter about something.

She hung her head afterwards though, realizing she was intruding a bit. She kept forgetting they were strangers. It was so easy to just want to bond with Robin, explore his feelings. Maybe it was being so cozy for once in her life, this tower was innocuous. It was like her house in Kansas. That was probably it, she felt like home. Robin like her older brother Jim. She hoped she didn't pry too hard into Robin. He was doing a lot for her despite nothing in return. She solemnly ran the swab against her cheek and plucked a hair from the back of her head, leaving them where the Boy Wonder had gestured before following him to the File Library.

She nodded to his faux-reading of policy, and gave a firm "I understand," in response to it. She didn't exactly have anyone to share this information with, but she was still aware of the sensitivity of the information. Father Parker was the same way about the church, and she knew that confidential information was not something to joke around about. It meant reputations and in some cases, it meant lives. Sternly, she accepted the device as they stepped into the library and she found herself a comfortable seat to sit down in.

She glanced a bit as Robin left. She almost was saddened to see him leave her alone, even though he would be just down the hall. Emotions can be so stupid sometimes. She turned to the files and began reading. Her own file had a lot of what Geo-Force told her. They were siblings, she had earth powers, they lived in Markovia initially. What Geo-Force didn't mention was the whole Princess thing. That was an incredible loop. She could very well be an amnesiac princess with rock powers. Talk about a fairy tale. The other unmentioned info was mostly patrol information, vitals, and statistics. Like Geo-Force, no explanation for the source of her powers. Just a line to her Markovian royalty.

Slade's file was more interesting. Not because it had anything particularly noteworthy, but more the lack thereof. His file looked like Swiss cheese with all the N/As and Unknowns all over it. They'd been fighting this guy for years and they didn't even know his last name. The specifics on his interactions with her were in the file too. Manipulation, extortion, brainwashing, even a machine that bent their wills into a single entity. This guy was something else. She wouldn't be surprised if under the mask he had red skin and horns with all the crimes and ideas he'd had up. The only thing worse it seemed was the Trigon guy mentioned in passing a couple times when referring to Slade's rebirth. Apparently so bad, it prompted Slade to help the Titans temporarily. She tried to jump a look at Trigon, but it seemed Robin locked her to only her page and Slades. Made sense, but it was worth a shot.

Satisfied, she powered off the tablet and began meandering back towards the lab to rejoin Robin. She put her jacket back on and shoved her hands in the pocket, only for the left pocket's bottom seam to burst. She cursed right then and there in the hallway as she felt around and confirmed the pocket really had broken. Stupid old thing. She didn't even know what war it was from. Could've been WWII for all she knew. She fiddled with the hole until realizing it wasn't the bottom seam, but an extra seam sealing the lower portion of the pocket. She reached all the way in and managed to pull out some rusty old pocketwatch. She put aside how absolutely cliche this was to find a hidden trinket in a sealed pocket, and tried to pry it open to no avail. She groaned and figured Robin probably had some WD-40 lying around as she entered the lab.

[Silv]

Robin frowned when Terra made fun of him. The frown didn't last for very long, however, because he realized that she was right. He was distancing himself from the situation so that he wouldn't get hurt. That didn't mean it was fair to her, though. A smile curled the edges of the boy's lips. "You'll just have to find out," he replied the grin breaking larger as he turned to put the devices in the machine and start it up.

She seemed to understand the importance of being discreet. Excellent. The boy had no problems leaving her in the library with the two files as he went back to the lab. There were a few minutes of waiting as the computer analyzed the new samples. Robin took a seat in one of the lab chairs and swiveled slowly in a circle as he waited. After wasting two whole minutes waiting the young leader grabbed one of the pads in the lab and began to flip through files again. Terra's return brought up dark memories of a masked man. Robin studied the file, the full file with a frown. Slade had to be planning something. The man wouldn't be underground for so long without something big in mind. He pulled up a file on the recent crimes in the area and tried to see if there was an epicenter, or more telling a section of the city crime avoided.

He was startled from his thinking by the sound of Terra in the doorway. Robin quickly set the pad aside and rose to his feet. The girl seemed to have something in her hands, and she was fiddling with it. Robin raised a brow in curiosity. "The computer isn't finished with the scanning yet," he informed her. "Did you finish reading? Do you have questions or something?"

[Audrey]

Terra gave a credulous look as she heard his come back to her teasing. 'OH HE'S GOOD. HE'S REAL GOOD,' she thought wildly, actually incredibly impressed with Robin's ability to come up with a response that both justified himself and pushed her into his desired path. Ooh, how much she wanted to push him even further and get that smile into a laugh. She couldn't though. Not under these circumstances. Strangers. She had to keep remembering that. Strangers.

He wasn't as witty when she came back and surprised him. "Oh. Sorry, I'm a fast reader. I finished. Uh..." she answered a bit startled herself from his own startling. She focused once again and looked at the pocketwatch in her hand. "You wouldn't uhm... happen to have some WD-40 or other rust remover would you? I found this thing hidden in my jacket. Probably just an old trinket belonging to whoever owned this before I did, but it's worth a look," she added, presenting the rust-covered pocketwatch to the young vigilante.

The poor thing was practically engulfed in rust, not to mention a lot of good old Mojave sand from Terra's little dirt nap there. She had to have been carrying that sand since she woke up three years ago. The watch was definitely old, outdating both Terra and Robin and maybe even Batman. It was definitely designed after the invention of watches though. It was stylistic over practical. The design was very 60's recreation. Looking at the bullet scrape in the upper corner, it probably belonged to either a soldier or a criminal... Or both. There was no way the crank would ever turn again. I was almost amazing it hadn't rusted off actually. Could be pretty neat if not for it's awful condition.