Terra (episode)/Transcript

Terra (episode)/Transcript
Season	2
Episode	3
Air date	January 24, 2004
Preceded By	Every Dog Has His Day/Transcript
Followed By	Only Human/Transcript

This is the transcript for the episode "Terra".

Prologue

(Opening shot: the sun gradually brightening against a black screen. When the view is fully illuminated, we see a rocky landscape, with outcroppings on either side of a broad canyon. It is not long after sunrise. Tilt down slightly to an overhead view of a large scorpion racing toward the first bend, then cut to a close-up of a young girl who runs as if trying to beat the devil in the hundred-yard dash. Seen from the shoulders down, she is very thin, with spindly arms and legs, and roughly the same age as the Titans. Her clothing consists of denim shorts, a light gray long-sleeved shirt, and a dark gray crop top with black sleeves over this. Her hair is long, blond, and straight, and she wears thick brown leather gloves and hiking boots. This is Terra.)

(The camera shifts to frame all of her from behind; this shot reveals that she is heading toward the shore of Jump City Bay and Titans Tower. A butterfly-shaped hair clip can now be seen over her right ear. She turns to look over her shoulder as the pursuer's shadow falls over her, revealing large, light blue eyes that broadcast her fear quite clearly. The scorpion has nearly closed the gap and works its mandibles in anticipation of a meal. As Terra charges ahead, the giant tail is lifted for a strike; it comes down inches from her and throws her off balance. She skids across the ground and rubs her head, finding that her hair clip has been knocked loose to fall nearby. As she reaches for it, that enormous stinger punches into the dirt and again just misses her; she is off and running in an instant, with the creature giving chase.)

(Now she swerves to avoid an outcropping, which is destroyed by a sweep of the scorpion's claws, and vaults over a lower formation to keep ahead. She runs flat out, and the camera cuts to an overhead view and pans quickly ahead to her, then farther ahead to show a dead end not too distant. Cut to it; she stops at the wall of rock and turns to find the beast's shadow falling over her. She cowers against the sheer face as the scorpion prepares to lunge. However, it looks up instead, and the camera tilts up quickly to the ledge on one side of the canyon. Robin leaps down onto it from above. A quick flash of the sun as the camera pulls back, and the other four Titans have joined him there; Beast Boy has become a wolf.)

Robin: Titans! Go!

(Before any of them can move, though, a tremor shakes the ground. Cut to Terra, whose eyes are now glowing yellow and whose mouth has assumed a cruel smile; her hair blows all around her. The rock beneath the Titans' feet begins to crack and shift, and one end of a natural bridge across the canyon breaks loose and is lifted into the air. Pan to the other side to show that end pulling free as well. Pull back to ground level; she raises her hands and groans with the effort as the slab goes higher and higher. Now her hands are glowing as well: this is her own particular superpower at work. Finally, she brings them down, and the rock drops squarely on top of the scorpion to crush it flat. One final tail spasm and scream of pain, and the thing falls silent.)

(Terra placidly pushes the hair back from the right side of her face, where it has fallen forward due to the lost clip. Starfire looks down from her midair viewpoint confusedly.)

Starfire: She was not in trouble. (Pull back to frame Cyborg and Raven.)

Cyborg: She was leading it into a trap! (Pan to Robin.)

Robin: Question is... (Beast Boy takes human form.)

Beast Boy: (awestruck) ...Who is she?

(Long overhead shot of Cyborg and Beast Boy; tilt up to a dark fissure in the side of the rock face behind them. Slade steps out of this and looks down on the scene. He has replaced the mask and armor that were damaged at the end of "Apprentice.")

Slade: (to himself) Don't get too attached, my young friend.

(His perspective of Terra on the end of this, then cut to a close-up of her.)

Slade: (from o.c.) I saw her first.

(Fade to black.)

OPENING THEME

Act One

(Opening shot: a long view of Terra, brushing the dust from her gloved hands. A quick gesture, and the patch of rock she stands on has broken loose and begun to carry her up to the ledge. She does a triumphant little spin before reaching the Titans, then jumps over to them. The rock falls away.)

Terra: (cockily) What? Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before?

(For a few seconds, all five are at a loss for words. Finally Robin steps forward.)

Robin: I'm Robin. (holds out his hand to shake) We're the--

Terra: (tapping her fists against it) --Teen Titans! Rock on! It's cool to meet you guys. I'm Terra, and you're...

(Her perspective of the group; she points from one to the next, the camera panning to follow.)

Terra: ...Cyborg, Raven, Starfire... (She curtsies; pan to Beast Boy.) ...and...

Beast Boy: (completely freaking out) Boy Beast!...uh, I mean, Bass Boot!...No! (Back to Terra.)

Terra: Beast Boy?

(He screams and turns into a turtle, tucking head and legs into the shell and spinning in midair.)

Terra: (laughing) Dude! He's hilarious! (He stops spinning.)

Beast Boy: Hilarious? (He pokes out his own head.) Me? Really?

(She tips him a wink. In no time flat, he is back in human form and absolutely thunderstruck. Hearts float up from him as he staggers giddily about with more of the same in his eyes and passes out. Starfire flies over to her.)

Starfire: Curiosity abounds. Please. (rapid fire, she leans into her face) Where do you come from; how did you get here; what is your favorite color; do you wish to be my friend?

Terra: Um...Earth, walked, red, and...sure.

Starfire: (gasps and bear-hugs Terra) Hello, new friend! (Bones grind against one another.)

Terra: (strangled) How's it going?

(Starfire releases her crushing grip, and the new arrival drops back to the ledge, but her arms are a bit out of joint now. As she straightens them, Beast Boy pokes his head into and out of the frame from various angles in order to get a better look. Finally, he pops up next to her.)

Beast Boy: (blushes) So, what brings such a cool little chickie to our big, groovy city, huh?

Terra: I go where the wind takes me, you know? I get to see new places, meet new people, stomp a few bad guys here and there.

Beast Boy: (sighing) Cool! (He laughs; pan to the other Titans.)

Starfire: Fascinating!

Cyborg: Well, all right!

Robin: You mean, you don't have a home?

Terra: The Earth is my home. I've been crashing in a cave on the other side of the hill. (Starfire zips up.)

Starfire: Unacceptable! I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness.

Terra: I have a flashlight. (Starfire grabs her arm and hauls her past the others.)

Starfire: You will stay with us.

Terra: Really, I-I'm...

Cyborg: Come on, we got plenty of room.

Beast Boy: Yeah! And I can make you laugh some more. (Groucho Marx joke glasses appear on his face.) I'm hilarious, remember? (They disappear.)

Terra: (laughing) Well, I guess I could stay one night.

Starfire: Oh, glorious!

Beast Boy: Yes!

Cyborg: Boo-yah!

(The previous three lines are spoken at the same time. Beast Boy leads her toward the shore and the Tower, Cyborg brings up the rear, and Starfire flies happily above. Pull back from them to put the ledge in view. Raven looks after the departing foursome, while Robin kneels for a closer look at the o.c. battle site. She turns to him.)

Raven: Everything okay? (He picks up some dirt and lets it fall.)

Robin: Not sure.

(Cut to Slade, still at the mouth of that elevated fissure. He retreats slowly into the darkness. Back to Robin and Raven.)

Robin: Something just doesn't feel right.

(He stands up, his cape waving across the screen. Behind its trailing edge, the view changes to a long shot of the ledge as the two head for home. After they have gone, the area where they were standing crumbles away in a great cloud of dust.)

(Dissolve to the exterior of the Tower, later in the day, and cut to the operations center. Terra looks around, clearly impressed by what she sees, while the others are elsewhere in the place.)

Terra: Whoa! Nice digs! (jumps to the windows) And check out the view!

(She flops onto the couch and puts her feet up on the coffee table.)

Terra: I can't believe you guys actually live here! (Beast Boy pokes his head up and vaults onto the couch.)

Beast Boy: Su casa es mi casa. So do you want the grand tour, or...

Terra: (suddenly crazed, eyes bugging out) Got any food?

(Close-up of a huge mound of dirty dishes. The sound of gobbling is heard, and the camera tilts up slightly to show Terra at the end of the kitchen counter, stuffing her face at warp speed. How one person could put away enough food in one sitting to empty all those pans and plates is a mystery best left unexplained. All the Titans, save Starfire, watch the display of sheer gluttony with stunned shock.)

(Terra wolfs down some more food from the bowl in front of her, then tips the rest of the contents into her mouth. She throws the empty container aside and proceeds to gulp down an entire meatloaf in one instant. Sight gag: her head expands until it is big enough to allow the whole thing to fit in her mouth. It then returns to normal size as she swallows the last of her meal and lets off a thundering belch. Now Starfire descends into view next to her, carrying a plate of what could be some alien Jell-O mold.)

Starfire: Might you now wish to partake of my homemade glorg?

(She holds up the food on the end of this line; embedded in the gelatinous mass are several gray, wriggling, worm-like things.)

Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven: NO!!

(Too late; Terra has already seized the plate and put the entire contents behind her teeth. A quick swallow puts the food out of sight.)

Terra: Tastes like sushi mixed with ice cream.

(Each item appears above her head when it is named, separated by a plus sign. The two combine to form a dish of glorg as she licks the plate and pushes it to Starfire.)

Terra: Got any more? (The image disappears.)

Starfire: I shall go cultivate the fungus!

(She flies off, plate in hand, and Terra turns her attention to the other Titans.)

Terra: So, where's the tub?

(Cut to inside an open doorway. Cyborg and Beast Boy peek in around the frame and are absolutely floored by whatever is inside.)

Cyborg: Whoa.

(Their perspective, looking into the bathroom. Shower curtain, bathtub, walls, floor, towels; all are liberally splattered with dirt and marked with the prints of grubby hands and feet.)

Cyborg: Mud bath.

(Tilt down slightly toward the floor, then cut to the hallway. Terra has finished her bath and changed into a white robe and slippers. A towel is wrapped around her hair.)

Terra: Sorry. Guess I was due for a rinse.

(Robin and Raven pop into frame; their faces are comically distorted by disgust for both the filthy bathroom and her bad joke.)

Terra: Mind if I use your sink?

(Cut to the kitchen. She has unwrapped her hair and put on headphones for a Walkman that is going full tilt. The sink is filled with soapy water; she pulls out her crop top, freshly hand-washed, and hangs it on a nearby clothesline. The rest of her outfit is already drip-drying. When she steps aside to pin the garment up, the Titans can be seen looking in from the doorway.)

Raven: Well, she seems comfortable.

Beast Boy: Wonder how long it's been since she had a decent place to crash for the night.

(She goes over to the couch and eases out of her slippers. Setting the Walkman on the cushions, she stretches expansively, yawns, and curls up. A moment later, she is snoring loudly and sprawled out to her full length, with one foot hanging over the edge. The Titans watch her with concern from across the room. Cut to them.)

Robin: She needs more than a place to crash.

Starfire: She needs a home. (Beast Boy thinks for a moment.)

Beast Boy: Why not our home? (The Walkman gradually fades out.) She could stay here with us.

Starfire: Yes! (Cut to Raven and Cyborg.)

Raven: I don't know.

Cyborg: She would make a good addition to the team.

Robin: (from o.c.) Maybe. (Pan to him.) Let's ask her to train with us tomorrow.

(Back to Terra. One eye pops open suddenly.)

Robin: We need to see what she can do.

(Zoom in on her. Now the other eye opens as well, and her expression betrays the worry that has started to take hold of her. Dissolve to the exterior of the Tower; it is now nighttime. Inside the darkened operations center, the door opens at the far end and a figure is silhouetted in the light from the other side. Close-up: it is Beast Boy, carrying a small bundle as he enters. He keeps his voice down on the next two lines.)

Beast Boy: Hey, Terra! (Just behind the couch; he approaches.) I...I thought you might want a blanket.

(The other side of the couch; she is nowhere in sight, and her Walkman lies there abandoned.)

Beast Boy: Terra?

(Dissolve to the exterior, then tilt down to the surface of the bay. A stone flies into view and skips along; close-up of the shore, where several others are lying near a backpack. One of these floats up, and the camera follows it to reveal a very dejected house guest sitting here; the backpack is hers. She has changed back into her usual outfit. A flash of her eyes sends the stone bouncing over the water. As she levitates another one, Beast Boy's voice interrupts; pull back on the next line to show him taking a seat next to her.)

Beast Boy: So I'm guessing the couch was too lumpy?

(She skips the stone. Surprised at what she has been able to do, he grabs one of his own and lets fly. It merely splashes in; she laughs and causes another to drop into his hand. This time he gets it right, and he laughs and flexes his muscles jokingly. She blows out a relieved little breath visibly; he responds with a loud raspberry. Now she sticks out her tongue and pulls down on her face to distort it out of shape; he changes his head into that of a gorilla and snarls loudly. She promptly stretches her face as if it were a rubber mask; startling Beast Boy back into human form, and both laugh heartily for a moment. They cut themselves off sharply and stare into each other's eyes for a second before turning away nervously and blushing.)

Terra: I can't stay.

Beast Boy: Why not?

Terra: Places to go, people to see.

Beast Boy: Come on. You know you want to stay. We've got free cable, indoor plumbing, and all the tofu you can eat.

(He counts these three items off on his fingers as he names them. When he finishes, he has the entire hand outstretched; one thumb and only three fingers, not four. He brings the missing one back with a little shake and smiles at the inadvertent joke he has made. She laughs.)

Terra: Tofu? You sure know how to charm a girl. I-I guess I could hang out for one more day.

Beast Boy: (jumping for joy) Awesome! We're gonna have so much fun! (Cut to her; he continues o.c.) And I can't wait to see what your powers do when you really cut 'em loose.

(His last words ignite that same worry we saw while she was sleeping. Suddenly her eyes blaze and her hair is blown straight up as light shines over her. Beast Boy is lifted into the air on the rock he was using for a seat, then gets dumped back to the shore when it pulls itself out from under him. It hits the water with a huge splash, leaving him soaked and spitting out mouthfuls of water.)

Terra: (flustered) Sorry! I'm sorry, I'm so stupid! Don't tell! Please don't tell!

Beast Boy: Terra, it's okay. You can't totally control your powers. So what?

Terra: Promise you won't tell anybody, ever!

Beast Boy: Sure.

Terra: Swear it!

Beast Boy: Okay! Okay! I promise. But really, it's no big deal. If my friends knew, they'd still like you.

(She turns away from him on the end of this. Long shot of the shore; they cannot be seen at this distance.)

Terra: (heard from the shore) You just don't understand.

(Tilt up to the upper stories of the Tower and fade to black.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: a close-up of Cyborg running at top speed. It is now the next day. Pull back; he is crossing a broad plain outside the Tower. Steel columns, each topped with a large fist, shoot up from the ground; he dodges one after another and jumps clear. Close-up of an outdoor control panel, the one seen in "Every Dog Has His Day", as Robin reaches into view to press a few buttons. In response, several laser cannons lock on target and begin to fire. Cyborg dashes, swerves, and jumps to avoid being hit; now Robin activates other controls on the panel. On a screen, an image comes up of a gateway with a large panel mounted in its top half. This descends like the blade of a guillotine.)

(Out on the plain, three such structures rise from the ground. Cyborg gets under the first two gates, but has to stop and catch the third before it can crush him. Straining mightily, he pushes it up on its track and is able to get clear before it crashes back down. Launchers rise from the tops of two rocks and fire a stream of disc-shaped projectiles; pan from them to a third such device, also firing away. Cyborg has his sonic cannon ready and shoots down several while dodging the rest.)

(From here, cut to a long shot of the control panel, which has a timer display mounted in its front face. Robin and Raven are behind it, while Beast Boy, Starfire, and Terra cheer Cyborg on. Terra has a pair of goggles hanging around her neck. He runs up, stops, and looks at the panel on his forearm; it shows a time of 2:17. He has been running an obstacle course.)

Cyborg: Boo-yah! New course record! (He laughs.)

Raven: Well, yeah. You're the first one to do the course. (Now Cyborg steams a bit.)

Robin: Okay, Terra! Ready to show us what you can do?

(She nods and steps out into the open.)

Terra: (to herself, uncertainly) I just hope you're ready to see it. (Beast Boy walks over.)

Beast Boy: You can do it. 'Sides, it's jut practice; it doesn't matter if you mess up. Not that you're gonna mess up, but I'm just saying that even if you really blow it, you...

(On the end of this, she moves slightly away, giving him the back of her head, and puts on the goggles. A quizzical look out of the corner of her eye brings him up short.)

Beast Boy: Shutting up now.

(The timer on the front of the control panel starts to count down from 11.)

Robin: Countdown initiated! Good luck, Terra. (She takes a few steps away and adjusts her gloves.)

Beast Boy: Come on, Terra!

Cyborg: You go, girl!

Starfire: Onward to victory! (All three cheer some more.)

Terra: (to herself, limbering up) Don't lose control. Don't lose control. Don't.

(The timer reaches zero. She clenches her fists, which glow yellow, and braces for action. Laser cannons spring out of the rocks and open up on her; she raises the spot she is standing on as a large column of stone, and the blasts strike it repeatedly. It is finally blasted apart, but she rides down on a large fragment. An even bigger one crashes down on the cannons and breaks them to scrap while throwing up a wall of dust. She rides into this; close-up of her as the view clears. She coughs a bit and then panics, yelling and waving her arms frantically, and the camera pulls back to show the steel fists punching up from the ground directly in her path.)

(A glancing blow almost knocks her from her flying perch, but she digs in her fingers and keeps aloft. Another cry of terror as she flips onto one side to avoid the next fist, but it is no use; this one smashes the rock into gravel and sends her tumbling. Thinking quickly, she levitates several boulders and grabs hold of one big enough to carry her. A relieved little sigh gives way to more panic as she realizes she is heading for a crash landing; only a mighty effort to pull up the leading edge keeps her in the air. However, she grazes a rock formation in the process.)

(Robin and Raven observe from their seats behind the control panel, and Robin presses a button to trigger the next challenge. The other Titans watch with admiration.)

Cyborg: Whoo-hoo!

Starfire: Glorious!

Beast Boy: Yeah! You da man, Terra!...um, I mean, you're the...way to go!

("Da man" in question is spinning along, barely in control of that boulder, and headed straight for the guillotine-like gates. At the last possible second, she brings up a snake of stone and causes it to punch through the upper panel of each gate. She jumps on to ride it across; it smashes the boulder to splinters.)

[Aniimation goof: When the gates first emerge, there are four rather than three.]

Raven: We're gonna need a new obstacle course.

(Robin moves over to her end and works a few controls. Now Terra, flung free from the stone snake, drops screaming toward a large pit that is opening in the earth. She brings one rock toward herself, cannot get hold of it, and has better luck with a second, but only temporarily. Sliding to the edge, she scrabbles for a fingerhold and is unable to get one before gravity drags her off. A couple of fist-sized stones fall after her; she and they drop o.c., after which she rises back into view, holding one in each hand. She drops them after clearing the pit and jumps onto a larger rock to sail onward.)

(As Robin works the controls and Raven watches, the other Titans cheer and the disc launchers pop out from the rocks. Terra, caught by surprise, pulls up the leading edge of her stone to shield herself. A quick sweep of her hand sends rock fragments of all sizes hurtling toward the projectiles and launchers; all are quickly put out of commission, and she comes in for a landing. The stone breaks when it hits the ground, throwing her ahead to skid to a very unsteady stop on her feet. As the dust clears, we see Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire staring wide-eyed at her, and she straightens up into the sort of pose every gymnast tries to nail while landing after a routine.)

(The three Titans break into wild cheering and Terra lowers her goggles. Beast Boy and Starfire zip over to her in time with their next lines.)

Beast Boy: You rock!

Starfire: Magnificent success!

(Cyborg's timer shows 1:56; Terra has beaten him by over twenty seconds on her first try.)

Raven: Looks like we have a new course record. (Cyborg is caught off guard, then shrugs.)

Cyborg: I musta softened it up for her.

Beast Boy: (to Terra) You were incredible! (Laughing, she sweeps him into a monster hug.)

Terra: I did it! You said I could do it, and you were right.

(Hearts spew forth from the little green joker. After she lets go, he staggers woozily backward before toppling to the ground.)

Robin: A little rough around the edges, but you've got some real talent there. (She smiles.)

Terra: You think?

Robin: With a little more training, you could--

(Before he can finish the thought, his communicator chimes in. He pulls it out and flips it open; cut to a slightly nonplussed Terra, who looks back at her three-person cheering section as the camera pans to them. The emergency signal in Starfire's neck piece begins to flash, as does the one on Beast Boy's belt; he is back on his feet. Cyborg looks at his forearm panel as Raven floats down to join the group. The signal in her cloak's brooch is also flashing.)

Terra: (annoyed; lock of hair falls over right eye) Okay. Why is everybody blinking?

(Dissolve to a close-up of Slade against a white background.)

Robin: (from o.c.) Slade.

(Cut to the six teens, now back in the operations center.)

Robin: He's back.

Terra: (to Beast Boy) Slade?

Beast Boy: Bad guy. Way bad.

(A bit of typing causes the picture of Slade, now seen to be filling the window/screen, to shrink to a small box against a map of Jump City. An arrow points from it to a particular spot, which begins to flash.)

Robin: Got a fix on his location. Titans! Move out!

(As Terra watches, hopelessly puzzled, they vacate the premises, but Beast Boy stops short before he gets to the door. He looks back; cut to the team's house guest, quite down in the mouth at the prospect of being left out.)

Beast Boy: (from o.c.) Hey! (Back to him.) You coming or what?

(She smiles broadly and runs out with him, arm in arm. The door closes behind them. From here, dissolve to an underground mining excavation, with assorted earth-moving equipment parked among the cart tracks. Several men are at work, but a series of laser blasts from o.c. throws them into chaos.)

Miner 1: Protect the diamonds!

(More blasts fling them across the space as two of Slade's commando robots jump into the area, and many more arrive and open fire while the other miners scatter.)

Miner 2: Forget the rocks, they're taking over the entire mine!

(One of Robin's discs is flung into view, knocking the weapons from their hands; cut to the Titans at the mine's entrance and zoom in.)

Robin: Tell your boss we'd like a word with him. (The troops jump straight up.) Titans! Go!

(All five charge; Terra comes up behind them, puts on her goggles, and takes to the air on a boulder.)

Terra: You boys ready to rock?

(Two robots jump on and grapple with her. At ground level, Robin engages one at close quarters and drives it back with a kick to the gut before jumping up toward the midair melee. The attackers are kicked to the ground, one at a time, and he jumps down after them. However, the sound of a weapon being primed stops him short, and he finds himself facing an entire squadron of reinforcements. Out comes his fighting staff, which he extends it to full length and begins to twirl. As they charge, he knocks them away one after another. Now he is lost at the bottom of a dogpile; one mighty effort throws all the robots clear and leaves him standing alone. One levels its weapon and is promptly plowed away by a boulder from Terra. Two others come up from behind; one is torn in half on a stone spike she raises while running off.)

(One robot has gained a high vantage point and is taking careful aim at Robin. Starfire flies past a load of steel girders held aloft by a crane; the shooter is perched among these. A second robot moves up to stop her, but she blows it away with a starbolt. The resulting explosion obscures the view but does not stop the shooter from pulling the trigger. Robin continues his fight with several others and is thrown clear when the shot hits them.)

Starfire: Robin!

(She doubles back toward the load of steel girders, where two other robots have joined the shooter, and squeezes off more starbolts that send all three tumbling. They grab hold of her in midair and bear her struggling to the ground. Two more move in to lend a hand, but Cyborg seizes them and knocks their heads together. Breaking out his cannon, he runs into the fray.)

Cyborg: Hang on, Star!

(Now two other robots drop to ground level and charge in. A large drilling vehicle sits nearby; in short order, another has climbed into the driver's seat ad fired it up. It starts toward Cyborg, who gets his cannon going at full throttle; he dispatches several aggressors, including enough of the ones holding Starfire to allow her to free herself and fly up. A laser blast strikes the cannon and forces Cyborg to cease fire. As other shots flash past, he looks over at the shooters, then up at the overhead load of girders. A well-placed shot breaks the platform holding them up and dumps a few tons of steel on the opposition.)

(Close-up of Cyborg, whose expression quickly changes to shock when he looks off to one side, toward the sound of the drill's engine. A cry of surprise escapes his lips; cut to his perspective-an extreme close-up of the whirling bit as it approaches.)

Cyborg: No!

(Back to him. The tip starts to grind against the side of his head; he is slowly pushed back toward the wall of the excavation by the machine's momentum. Raven descends into view.)

Raven: Azarath Metrion Zinthos!

(She levitates a cart and sends it flying toward the driver robot, which catches it upside the head. From here, cut to Beast Boy as he runs over.)

Beast Boy: Raven, look out!

(Several robots have gathered around her. One fires, but she shields herself from the shot and lifts off as several other blasts lance toward her. She dodges the fusillade, after which Beast Boy leaps into the free-fire zone, a transformation already in progress. Overhead view of the shooters, who suddenly find themselves in a large growing shadow, and Beast Boy, as a stegosaurus, lands among them to send the lot scattering. They concentrate their fire and begin to drive him back toward the entrance of a mine tunnel, where Terra is dropping a piece of the ceiling on a robot. She stops several falling rocks in midair and launches them at the robots to end their laser fire. However, the effort is a genuine strain on her, judging from her groans and the flash of her eyes behind the goggles before she squeezes them shut. As in the scene on the shore, light has flared up around her, but now it is blinding white.)

Terra: Can't control it!

(The goggles' lenses shatter and there is a great flash. When the view clears, more of the ceiling begins to fall in. Beast Boy whips his tail around to repel the opposition, then returns to human form. Rocks crash down all around him due to Terra's overload. Cut to an overhead view; he looks up, his face goes slack, and he lets off a scared little whimper as the shadow of a descending slab grows over him. His perspective of the falling debris, which gives way to a black screen when it lands on him.)

Terra: (voice over) BEAST BOY!!

(Snap to a close-up of Robin as she says this. His attention is drawn by her yell, as is that of Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire; the last gasps in sheer terror. Cut to just behind Terra and zoom in slowly on the smashed robots lying among the rocks in front of her. One of them starts to crawl out, its bottom half is gone, and others get to their feet and advance as well. Her ruined goggles now hanging around her neck, she gathers herself for a mighty effort; once again her eyes and fists glow yellow, white light surrounds her, and columns of stone descend from the ceiling to crush every robot. The last spasm of movement is from a sparking hand. When it stops, she runs off into the tunnel.)

(Robin dashes to the cave-in site and starts to clear away the rock. Starfire joins in the effort as Cyborg fires his cannon across the area to ward off the enemy. Raven arrives a moment before the pile rumbles and the largest slab is lifted away by Beast Boy, now in the form of a colossal Sasquatch. He throws it aside and rubs his head.)

Robin: You okay? (Beast Boy nods and takes human form.)

Beast Boy: Where's Terra?

(A cut to farther down that tunnel gives the answer. Winded and exhausted, she stumbles over to a wall and leans against it for support. After a moment to catch her breath, she slides down to the ground and looks at her hands.)

Terra: Why can't I do this?

(Extreme close-up; her eyes are squeezed shut. Echoing, running footsteps from o.c. draw her attention. Long shot of a junction with another tunnel, where a figure dashes past.)

Terra: (softly) Slade!

(In a closer shot, we see that she has correctly identified the runner. She goes after him as fast as her legs will carry her. After a few hundred yards, she skids to a stop and raises one hand to cave in the ceiling just ahead of him. Now she walks up, both hands glowing.)

Terra: Looks like I've got you.

(A huge leap gets him airborne and deposits him just behind her, and with a swift low kick he dumps her to the ground. Straightening up, he produces a sphere with his insignia on it.)

Slade: Actually, Terra...

(He throws it upward; it sticks to the ceiling and starts to beep as a red light flashes. She gets to her feet.)

Slade: ...I've got you.

(The device explodes in a mighty blast that wipes out the entire view. When it clears, more rocks are falling from the ceiling behind him and Terra has been floored again by the shock wave. Clouds of dust wash over the screen as the view fades to black.)

(Fade in to a shot of Slade walking implacably away from this second cave-in. Emergency lights switch on at the bases of the tunnel walls, bathing the enclosed space in eerie yellow-green light. His approaching silhouette puts fresh fear into Terra, who scuttles backward a little bit and finds herself staring directly into that black-and-red-orange masked face. Fade to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: an overhead view of Terra and Slade, facing off as more emergency lights flick on around them.)

Slade: Now, Terra... (Cut to her, backing up; he continues o.c.) ...you walked right into a trap. (steps into view with his staff) Another mistake.

(Back to her; pull back to put him in frame as he leans over her.)

Slade: You of all people should know better. (He blocks her in with the staff.) But at least you and I are finally getting a chance to talk.

(He tries a jab, but she dodges easily and counters by launching a stone at him from the wall. It zips past him, a near miss.)

Slade: Hmm. I see we have much to talk about.

Terra: Mind if I talk with my hands?

(Fragments fly as she causes two large stone snakes to emerge, one from each wall. They hurtle toward Slade's position, but he dives to avoid being crushed between them. He ends up in a kneeling crouch at her feet.)

Slade: Good, Terra, but not good enough.

(He swings the staff and follows up with a jab; she sidesteps both attacks and somersaults away. An overhead swing also misses its mark when she rolls out of range. Before she can move again, he brings the staff down to cut off her anticipated movement. Hands to head, she huddles on the ground under his next descending blow, and a chunk of rock surges up from the ground to send him staggering backward across the tunnel.)

(Terra, still behind this makeshift shield, peers cautiously around the edge and sees Slade approaching. She steps out and heaves the mass toward him; planting the end of his staff in the ground, he swings himself up along its length. The rock hits the staff and breaks it, but leaves him untouched. As it crashes into the wall, he regains his footing.)

Slade: Impressive, unless, of course, you were aiming for me.

(He drops the piece of the staff he is still holding and advances slowly toward her. She backs up a bit and launches several medium-size stones from the tunnel wall at him. A mighty punch shatters the biggest of them, and as she sends out another volley, he moves in and knocks several out of the air. Now she slings a colossal boulder at him, but one blow smashes it and drives her back against the wall in the bargain. She collapses to the ground.)

Terra: Back off! (She stands up.) I'm with the Titans! They'll be coming to--

Slade: You don't belong with the Titans. (Head-on view of her; his hand is in frame.)

Terra: You don't know anything about me!

(He produces her missing hair clip in that hand-evidently he palmed it after the prologue, and her face goes slack when she sees it.)

Slade: (from o.c.) On the contrary, Terra. (Close-up; he holds it up.) I know everything about you. (Back to Terra, zooming in; he continues o.c.) I've been watching you for some time. I know why you're always running away.

(Pull back to frame both.)

Slade: I know your secret, little girl.

Terra: No!

(She rushes at him, but he seizes her wrist and forces her back to the wall. Extreme close-up of his eye.)

Slade: Earthquakes. Avalanches. Mudslides. (Extreme close-up of Terra; he continues o.c.) Everywhere you go, you try to do good. (Pull back a bit; he releases his hold.) And everywhere you fail. (leans to her) So everyone turns against you.

(Back to her. She has turned her face away, and without the clip, her hair has once again fallen forward to obscure its right half.)

Slade: (from o.c.) You lack control, Terra. (reaches into frame to replace hair clip) And when you lose control, you are more dangerous than anything I've ever seen.

(She looks up at him wonderingly; he turns away.)

Slade: But it doesn't have to be this way. I can help you, child.

Terra: (puzzled) You can?

(He bends over; close-up of a small stone as he picks it up.)

Slade: (from o.c.) Right now, you are...rough around the edges.

(On the end of this, cut to her. He holds the stone into view, and the camera shifts back to him.)

Slade: You need more than obstacle courses to overcome your problem.

(Pan to his hand; he squeezes the stone viciously, and it starts to crumble.)

Slade: (from o.c.) You need a teacher. A mentor. (She looks on.) Come with me, Terra, and I can teach you to shine.

(He opens his fist on the end of this line, revealing a diamond in his palm: it had been hidden at the center of the rock. She looks on, completely befuddled, then up at him, and finally backs away.)

Terra: But...my friends told me you're...

Slade: You don't really believe they're your friends, do you, Terra?

Terra: They took me in. Gave me a home.

Slade: And when they find out what's wrong with you, they'll reject you, like everyone else. (In front of the two, tilting down slowly.)

Terra: Beast Boy-- (Waist level.)

Slade: --Can't keep his mouth shut forever. He'll tell them.

(This hits a nerve; she balls her fists angrily and warms them up.)

Terra: He promised. (The tunnel starts to shake.)

Slade: He lied.

(Torrents of dirt and stones go flying as she vents her rage.)

Terra: Shut up! Just shut up and leave me alone!

(Close-up. Her eyes are tightly closed at this point; when she opens them, we see that they are glowing at full intensity. She gasps in shock and drops to her knees, hands on head.)

Terra: Don't lose control...don't lose control!

Slade: (from o.c.) Now, Terra... (Cut to him and pan to her.) ...how can you lose something you never had?

(Overhead view of her, pulling back. The debris is flying in circles around her as she voices a tormented scream and the camera pulls back. Elsewhere in the tunnel, pieces of rock are shaken loose by the force of her outburst; in the main excavation, one last robot is knocked backward to smash against the side of a crane, accompanied by a yell from the o.c. Robin. Pan to him. He looks up as the place trembles and stones fall from above. Raven flies over.)

Raven: We need to get out of here. (Cyborg joins them.)

Cyborg: Slade's trying to bring down the whole mine!

Robin: I'm not sure he's the one doing this. (Pan away, then back as Starfire swoops down.)

Starfire: I cannot locate Terra or Beast Boy.

(Robin mulls this over for a second. A wall of collapsed rock parts to reveal Slade looking at the funnel cloud that has developed from Terra's breakdown. Cut to the hopelessly huddled little girl, floating at its center.)

Slade: (from o.c.) No one else understands you, Terra. No one else can help you. (Cut to him.) I'll be waiting.

(He leaves. Beast Boy, as a gopher, pops up from the ground at a distance and catches sight of the maelstrom. Diving back underground, he burrows toward it and under the edge of the funnel cloud. Inside, he emerges and returns to human form.)

Beast Boy: Terra! Terra!

(He jumps toward her and is nearly swept away by the Force Ten gales. Only a one-handed grip on Terra's shoulder keeps him from saying hello to the ceiling at two hundred miles an hour. The grab shakes her out of the fit, and she fully realizes how much danger he is in. His free hand and one of hers inch slowly toward each other and take hold for dear life.)

Beast Boy: It's okay, Terra. I'm here. (She falls sobbing into his arms.) I'm here.

(The whirlwind dissipates, leaving them to descend slowly to the ground. Dissolve to a close-up of the two.)

Terra: You won't--

Beast Boy: I'm not gonna tell anybody. I promise.

(Close-up of her weary, tear-streaked face as he reaches tenderly over to cradle her head. Dissolve to the exterior of the Tower that evening. On the next line, cut to Terra inside at the door to the operations center. She is slinging up her backpack.)

Terra: Well, guys, uh, it's been real. (Pull back; all the Titans are there, save Cyborg.) Seriously, thanks for everything, but I should--

(She turns to leave on the end of this, but the door opens to reveal Cyborg blocking her exit.)

Cyborg: (smiling) Don't even think about it. (She turns back.)

Terra: Okay. What's going on?

Raven: Well...

Cyborg: ...We talked it over, and... (Close-up of Starfire.)

Starfire: ...We wish for you to stay here, with us! (She giggles; pan to Robin.)

Robin: We think you'd make a great addition to our team.

Beast Boy: So...want to be a Titan? (Robin gives her a communicator.)

Terra: Me? (Close-up; she stares at it.) Really?

Robin: (from o.c.) Of course, you'll need more training. (Pull back to frame him.) I know you have trouble controlling your powers, and we can help.

(Cut to his and Beast Boy's feet on the end of this; the communicator drops between them and bounces away. When the camera cuts back to head level, Terra's expression shows the battle between disappointment and fury raging in her head. The fury gradually wins during the next three lines.)

Terra: You told him?! (Pull back; she is addressing Beast Boy.)

Beast Boy: (ears drooping) I didn't!

Terra: You promised! You lied to me! You lied!

(She runs off. Letterbox, top third of the screen: all six teens are visible only as small silhouettes against a blue background. Terra continues her headlong dash away from the Titans; after she is gone, the view shifts back to them in fullscreen.)

Beast Boy: (running after her) Terra, no! Wait!

(Dissolve to a pan along the shore and stop at her hair clip lying on a rock, having fallen loose in her hasty departure. Beast Boy reaches into view and picks it up; pull back to frame him. He looks dejectedly at it and sits down.)

Beast Boy: Terra... (Robin walks up behind him.)

Robin: I just figured it out. I didn't know it was a secret.

Beast Boy: She didn't even say goodbye.

(He picks up a stone and throws, skipping it farther over the water than any of his or Terra's previous attempts. After it has finally submerged, the screen fills with static, which resolves to a view of Terra running as she did at the start of this episode. She has ditched her backpack. The camera tilts down from her image to a black area beneath it, showing that this is a monitor on which Slade is observing her. Since destroying his own lair at the end of "Apprentice", he has established a new base of operations.)

Slade: Run all you like, because no matter where you go... (Close-up of him.) ...every step brings you closer to me.

(Snap to black.)