Terra #5 (of 5)

[arcalian]

Story by Jay McIntyre
Art by JK of CuttingEdgeKomix

Liberty:One of Imagination's most precious possessions. 
~Ambrose Bierce

My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular. 
~Adlai Stevenson

[arcalian]

-1-

Stockholm, Sweden, Four years, one month, and one week ago.....

She was in a holding cell with several other girls Two were in costume, the rest were not. She wasn't the only frustrated girl who had been on the run, it seemed. And not the only one whose luck had run out.

Some of them had powers, some not. But all of them were, like her, serious. Gun runners, brawlers, at least one femme fatale assassin.

She was only here until Geo-Force could get her a deal, he had said. But she was wondering if Interpol would even let him. She was trying not to think about it.

In the end, she sat next to the girl who seemed most like herself; proud and defiant but not hateful, and unashamed of her own sexuality. She was about the same age, but her hair was a longer, dirty shade of brown, and she wore simple black clothes with black and white striped stockings that Tara rather admired. If she ever got out of here, she'd look into buying some for herself.

At first, the girl shied away. Tara put her hands up. “Hey, no threat here. Like your stockings.”

“Please don't hit on me,” she said soft, tired voice. “I don't swing that way.”

Tara blinked, then laughed. “Me either, honey. I just like the stockings. And you seem one of the less crazy ones around here.”

“Thanks. You're probably crazy, though.”

Tara felt a surge of annoyance, then tamped down on it. “Well, would you put up with my crazy?”

The girl shrugged.

Tara sat down next to her. The girl flinched. Geez, she's twitchy, Tara thought. “So, what are you in for?” she said.

“Arson,” the girl said simply.

Tara winced. “Owch. I'm in for armed robbery.”

“You seem more of the costume type,” she said.

“I am, but they took it off me. Probably just as well right now.”

The girl shook her head. “Waste of time.”

“Why you say that?”

“I was raped by a costumed jerk.”

Tara didn't have anything to say to that, at first. Finally, she came up with, “Sorry they ruined your first time.”

The girl shrugged. “Too late to go back now.”

“So um....is that why you set fires?”

“I only set one fire. Trying to kill the guy who raped me.”

So she's crazy herself. Can't blame her, though. “Why...how....”

“Oh...I thought I wanted to, but when I changed my mind, he forced me.”

Tara winced again, honestly touched this time. Then an unnerving thought came to her. “The costume, he wasn't called Geomancer by any chance was he? Earth powers?”

“No.”

Tara was quietly thankful for that. Finally she said, “Sorry, again.”

The girl shrugged. “Not your fault.”

“So what do you think they'll do to us?”

The girl looked her square in the eye, and those eyes were cold, empty and sad. “Something we don't deserve. And the bastards who do deserve it, get away. That's life.”

Part of Tara wanted to hug the girl, but got the idea she wouldn't appreciate it. She also thought one more 'sorry' might really piss the girl off. So finally, she said, “I hope you get off easy.”

“I won't.” the girl said.

Well, thought Tara, this conversation's going downhill fast. “I never caught your name; mine's Tara.”

“You don't have the right to know my name, and you shouldn't have told me yours.” The girl turned away.

At a loss, Tara finally got up and left her alone. It saddened her that the girl had been so scarred. But then, not everybody walked the path she had.

Twenty minutes later Brion came for her. She was never so relieved.

[arcalian]

-2-

Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, now....

Terra went backwards as the uncostumed Geomancer lunged for her, and got one hand around her throat. He landed on top of her.

“You can't win,” he sneered into her face. His grip was tight around her throat, and she knew he had enough strength to break her neck.

The thought occurred to her briefly to pretend to like him still, and show sexual interest. But in truth, she didn't want to even feign that for him now. Besides, she doubted he would fall for it anyway.

She sensed a tingling in the air; he was ready to use his powers to block hers.

“If you think,” she began, and while he was listening, stabbed a thumb into his right eye.

He yelped and squeezed her throat tighter, blurring her vision; but his concentration was broken. She summoned a rock that smashed through the wall, and struck him hard enough to not only break his hold, but also to send him tumbling away from her.

Coughing, she rolled in the other direction, and called more rocks to strike at him.

He got his wits back just in time, and blocked her; the rocks froze in air just before him. She didn't strain against him; sensing this, he threw them back. Expecting that, Terra threw herself flat and they soared over her.

As she got back up, he lunged for her again. Grabbing her around the waist, he lifted her up; she kicked back and up, where it would do most good. He groaned and let go, stumbling diagonally backwards, coughing.

By now, of course, the remaining guards had been alerted due to the ruckus. Three of them came charging in through the wrecked wall; with a dismissive sweep of her hand, Terra trapped them in rock.

She glanced back at Geomancer; he was still down. So, almost gaily, she skipped out of the house, past the trapped guards, and turned. Raising both fists on high and clenching them tight, she used her powers to bring the entire house down on top of her former lover and mentor, literally.

Two more guards opened fire; she blocked their shots with a defensive rock wall, then opened holes beneath their feet that they fell into. One last guard had a rocket launcher ready. He fired; she threw herself flat again. The rocket flew out to sea. She knocked that one out with a heavy stone to the head before he could reload.

She turned back to the house, exhilarated but also nervous; surely it couldn't be that easy?

Her answer came seconds later, when Geomancer came blasting out of the ruins of his house, shouting in rage, lifting himself on high.

[arcalian]

-3-

Over the Atlantic, Four years, three weeks and three days ago....

Wearing her Terra costume again, sitting across from Brion (as Geo-Force).

He was taking her to the US (admittedly, someplace she had always wanted to go, at least as a tourist. Geomancer had been reluctant to take the team to what was home for him and Smolder, and risk the attention of both Checkmate and so many heroes). Brion had worked out a deal for her to be put under the probation of one of the existing super powered groups in the States; what was not yet clear was which one. His contacts, he said, had promised him that they would work something out. But they had been vague on which group would take her.

“<The superhero thing seems to have worked out well for you,>” She said, trying not to make it sound snippy.

He sighed. “<It is my hope that it will eventually work out well for you too, sister.>”

She had no answer to that. It was one thing to consent to this....parole, or work release or whatever it was, but to be a superhero? For real? She had a hard time imagining that. She had a hard time believing anyone was really a superhero, rather than in it for themselves. But then again, there was the example of her brother himself, sitting across from her.

For a brief moment she visualized it. Actually being one. All the glamor and praise...it was a nice fantasy, sure. But she doubted she could ever truly be part of it, even as a facade.

As they flew, the events of the larger world caught up with them; apparently the Justice League had gone rogue. Their charter flight was very swank, and had cable tv feeds. They were watching the chaos surrounding the Justice League unfold on one of the many American news channels, as their plane took them ever closer to that land of opportunity. The news was still full of talking heads babbling about the Flash's surrender.

After some time, Terra spoke. "<You want me to get involved with this? When even the a-list heroes are going bad?>"

"<I want you to make a difference, and to make up for your own past mistakes,>" Geo-Force replied. "<The guilt of the Justice League has yet to be proven to my satisfaction.>"

Terra snorted.

"<If they are innocent,>" He went on, "<Then someone will have to stand by them. If they have indeed fallen, then we must stand against them, much as it would hurt my heart to do so.>"

"<Not to mention me getting my butt kicked by them,>" she pointed out. "<I'm not exactly Justice League material, brother.>"

He laughed softly. "<Nor am I, sister. Nor am I. But there are many other options.>"

She smiled back, and for a moment there was real affection in her eyes. For you I'll try, brother, she thought. For you.

The flight continued on in thoughtful silence.

[arcalian]

-4-

Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, now....

Geomancer was enraged now; Terra could tell that much. His civilian clothes torn, bleeding from the mouth, his cool exterior had finally fractured and he was consumed with fury.

Terra realized he wouldn't bother trying to block her powers now, unless she did it to him; instead he would go on the offensive, and try to kill her outright.

“I should have never recruited you!” he was screaming. “I should've broke your neck!”

“Guess you're not as smart as you thought you were,” she answered, lifting herself on her own rock to meet him. She lifted herself to his altitude, but not too close.

“Nor you, pretending to be the goody two shoes!” he roared. “You can't possibly believe in their lies!”

She shook her head. “You know, it wasn't too long ago that I would've agreed with you. But things change.”

He wasted no more breath on words; he simply hurled the wreckage of the house at her.

She didn't stop it, instead she merely caused it to pass harmlessly around her, then threw it back at him. He responded by crushing it to powder, then throwing it back.

She concentrated it into a ball of dust, and threw it back again. While he was focused on defending himself from it, she brought a rock up from below, and slammed it into the one he was standing on.

He fell, but quickly called another rock to save himself, and clinging to it, shot right at her, trying to get hold of her and apply his superior strength.

She responded by flying higher.

“I taught you everything you know!” he screamed up at her.

She shook her head. “Not everything.”

Higher and higher they flew.

[arcalian]

-5-

New York, Four years, three weeks and one day ago...

They had arrived in the States as the supposed corruption of the Justice League had exploded into a full blown invasion by the alien entity known as Starro, coupled with the insurrection of the very Checkmate agency that was supposed to be giving Terra in protection and probation here in the States; something that had concerned both Terra and Geo-Force greatly. Though Geo-Force was relieved the charges against the League had been false.

They had seen some action themselves, hurling rocks and lava at tentacles of the great star beast, using their rock powers to create safe passageways for people to get away from the threat. But as she would reflect later, she hadn't seen any real proper action.

The dust had now settled, and the chastened and hastily reorganized Checkmate, under 'new management' as the saying went, had responded to Brion's pleas.

They were in a pair of luxurious hotel suites now. Tara had seen no guards, but Brion had assured her that even in these hectic times, local members of Interpol were still watchful. Interpol and Checkmate both had been convinced to accept this deal. Even after the chaos of the Starro invasion, Tara was finally getting an idea of exactly how many favors Brion had called in to save her hide. She was more grateful now than before, though she still had no understanding of why Brion cared for her so much. But she was glad he did.

Brion was pacing around the room arguing with someone on the other end of a cell phone. He normally spoke English just about as fluently as she did, but his accent was becoming more pronounced under the strain.

“I was promised a superhero team would watch over her!” he said, trying not to shout. “I was told she would be allowed to work off her debt under the watchful eye of someone worthy!” He paused, pacing back and forth. “Yes, I know she needs supervision but....” He stopped still, listening, and finally exploded. “The Suicide Squad!? That's a group of criminals, operating out of a prison!” He listened, clearly unhappy. “Yes, I understand there are superheroes in advisory positions but....” He sat next to her, giving her an unhappy, sympathetic look. “Yes, I understand it would be quicker, but I would simply turn her out into the countryside after.....no, taking her back to Markovia is not my first choice.”

Tara vigorously shook her head, and he made calming gestures. “All right, all right. We'll start there. Thank you for your...assistance.” He closed the phone. “<That did not go as well as I expected.>”

“<Something about a Suicide Squad?>” Tara said. “<Doesn't sound appealing.>”

“<No,>” he agreed.

“<But I am grateful for what you've done,>” she hastily added.

Brion smiled a little. “<Yes, I know. In theory, you could do one mission with this...Suicide Squad...and then be free of your debt to society. But I wouldn't have you turned loose after simply that. No offense.>”

“<None taken,>” she said. She would gladly go free after that, but understood that wasn't something he could countenance, nor could she return to her old life. And going back to Markovia is something she would rather avoid. “<But...that means....that I would have to stay with them until something better came along?>”

“<Unless you wanted to return home, yes.>”

Tara blew out a sigh. “<These are super criminals? They operate out of a prison?>”

“<You would not be kept in a cell, but your accommodations would be in a prison, yes. A couple proper heroes keep an eye on the team.>”

Tara sighed again. “<Wouldn't be that different, I guess. Okay, I'll try it..>”

Brion took her hands. “<Be brave, my sister>.”

“<I will.>”

[arcalian]

-6-

Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, now....

It must have occurred to Geomancer eventually that Terra would just keep climbing. He didn't fancy his chances up where the air was thin, apparently.

So he stopped following and called up long dagger like slivers of rock instead, throwing them at her.

She deflected all but one; that last one slammed into the rock she was riding. She stumbled and almost fell, clinging to her rock, she deliberately plummeted towards the Earth, wanting Geomancer to think she was stunned.

He didn't quite take the bait. He followed, but warily; whatever else might be said of him, he was far from stupid.

So she opened a hole in the ground and fell into it, slowing her speed at the last possible second.

Geomancer slammed shut the surface above her, and used his powers to try to bury and crush her, to suffocate and kill her.

But Terra simply went deeper. He could not detect her unless she tried to block her powers. If h followed her below, he would be blind to her location, as she was currently to his. But fear or caution kept him on the surface. His pursuit of her had given his rage time to cool; while still angry, he was also back in tactical mode, trying to outsmart her.

He hardened the surface all around himself, trying to entomb and crush her. But she stayed down and went towards the coast, until the ground itself began to get wet as she burrowed through it.

Finally, she opened a hole to the surface and gasped for air. Poking her head out, she saw he was still there, near the ruins of the house, trying to crush her below.

So she pulled a huge rock out of the sea bed, but kept it under water at first, then slowly and smoothly brought it out of the water so he would not hear it, then arced it around behind him.

Geomancer continued crushing the ground around himself, confident that he was killing her. For all his tactical cunning, he really was narrow minded.

Terra had all the time she needed to position the rock perfectly, then throw it at him hard.

At the very last second he began to turn, but the rock slammed home, knocking him off his feet. Not letting up for a second, Terra transformed the rock into a fist and pounded him with it, three times. She wanted to knock him out, to be sure he was defeated, yet not kill him. It was the sort of difficult balancing act she usually made with her opponents, but here the case was more urgent than most.

He did not rise.

Coming up out of the ground and floating over to him, she checked his pulse; alive but unconscious, bleeding from the nose. Good. She entombed him in rock, leaving only his head free, and carried him quickly to the center of town.

“Call Interpol, quick,” she said to a nervous mayor and local police, who looked ready to shoot. “They'll know what to do with this one.”

She floated away, but stayed, watching, to make sure they came to get him and he did not escape.

Interpol recognized her, of course. They didn't approach and let her fly away without argument.

She was grateful for that.

[arcalian]

-7-

Bele Reve Prison, Florence, Colorado, Four years, two weeks, and five days ago....


The rain was drizzling, threatening to turn into something more heavy.

Ahead of Terra, Geo-Force was arguing with some big shot administrator. Sarge Steel, she thought his name was. A retired super? She wasn't sure, and she didn't care.

Terra didn't know what was going to happen now. But, it was time to find out.

She took a deep breath and followed her brother towards the prison, and it's mysterious Suicide Squad.

[arcalian]

-8-

Markovia, now....

“<Sister?>” Brion was surprised to see her.

They embraced.

“<Hey. Just stopping on my way back home. Kinda glad you're here, actually.>”

“<I am the heir now; I have to spend more time at home. Besides, Global Guardian activity is...intermittent, at best. I am glad to see you, but this is unexpected.>”

“<It's mostly a convenient stopping point on the way back to New York.>” She left it unsaid that as recently as six months ago, she would have gone out of the way to avoid the place. “<Did the Doom Patrol call?>”

“<They mentioned you had stayed in Europe on personal business after visiting them with Garfield, yes.>”

“<It was Geomancer, the leader of my old gang. I handed him over to Interpol.>”

“<Ahh, good. Congratulations. Doctor Caulder was vague about the details.>”

“<Sounds like him. Can I um, stay the night without talking to Zenobia?>”

Brion smiled. “<I think we can manage that.>”

She called the Titans twice, but got the answering services. The news said they had actually gone into space, after the experimental ship launch they had been protecting was attacked. She was a little worried; had her personal pride in dealing with her own past put the team at risk? She was confident they could handle themselves, but she worried, all the same.

She cared about them. Not just Gar. She had already known that, of course, but she hadn't really thought about it before. She smiled a little, then went back to worrying.

[arcalian]

-Epilogue-

New York, now....

Just as the plane landed, there was a call from Gar.

“We just got back, glad you're okay!” he all but shouted.

She winced, but kept smiling. “Likewise, honey.”

“It was Starfire's sister. We told you about her right? Anyway, we got some help from one of the Green Lanterns and this really freaky guy who had been living on Rann for years. Anyway, we rode an alien ship home, it was cool!”

“Wish I'd been with ya,” she said, and meant it. Not only had she missed him—all of them—but a space adventure sounded cool.

“So do I. We'll come pick you up!”

“I'm just landing. Stay there. I'll see you at the Tower.”

“Awww,” he said. She could hear the pout in his voice.

“I'll make it up to you tonight,” she promised.

“Looking forward to it!”

She hung up, smiling.

When she arrived at the front door of the Tower, he was there, waiting for her. They embraced, and she went inside, hugging each of the others, even an embarrassed Dagon and surprised Cyborg.

These were her home now. These were the family she'd never had.

She'd put her past behind her, once and for all. As for the future, who knew what it would bring?

Whatever form it took, she would face it with eager eyes and a lighter heart.

She snuggled with Gar on the couch in the lounge and joined in the conversation, comparing notes with the others on their adventure and hers.

From Markovia to Geomancer's gang to the Suicide Squad and finally to the Titans, it had been a long journey; but Terra was home. She knew that now.

The End!

Let us know what you think here!