They found Mad Mod in the central auditorium—or what passed for one in this twisted reality.
He stood center stage, surrounded by flickering holographic projectors. His British accent dripped theatrical condescension.
"Failed your exams, did you? Tsk, tsk! I expected better from Jump City's so-called heroes!"
"This ends now!" Robin's voice cut sharp as his escrima sticks.
The team spread out automatically, surrounding the stage in coordinated formation. Years of training evident in their seamless positioning.
Mad Mod laughed.
Reality warped.
The floor tilted forty-five degrees without warning. Walls began spinning like a kaleidoscope. Gravity shifted—sideways, then inverted completely. Several Titans stumbled, caught off-guard.
"You think you can stop me in MY world?" Mad Mod's image multiplied across dozens of holographic projectors. "This is my classroom, and you're all failing students!"
The projections scattered, each Mad Mod moving independently. Some ran left, others right, several phased through walls. Impossible to track which was real.
Cyborg's targeting systems went haywire. "I can't get a lock on him!"
Kid Flash vibrated in frustration. "Which one do I hit?!"
Robin threw explosive discs at three different Mad Mods simultaneously. All three images flickered and reformed, unharmed.
Starfire's starbolts passed harmlessly through projection after projection.
Raven's dark energy wrapped around one only for it to dissolve instantly.
The Victorian architecture twisted further. Chairs flew through the air. The ceiling became the floor then became the walls in nauseating rotation.
Terra stood behind the others, still catching her breath from the crushing room. Her hands trembled as she watched the chaos.
But her mind was working.
"Wait..." she said quietly.
Nobody heard over the noise.
She closed her eyes, focusing. Placed one hand flat against the floor—currently at a sixty-degree angle.
His reality warping... it's tech-based. Projectors everywhere. Holographics creating false images. But they need a power source. Something physical. Something real.
Her geokinetic senses pushed outward, feeling through stone and metal.
Terra's eyes snapped open.
"I found it!" she shouted.
Hikaru was closest. "Found what?"
"His power source! The generator running all this—it's massive, basement level, dead center of the building. That's the real target!"
Robin processed instantly. "Can you reach it from here?"
Terra hesitated.
She looked at Hikaru. At the team surrounding her.
I'm not alone anymore.
Determination hardened her features.
"Watch me."
Terra planted both feet, hands pressed to the tilted floor.
"Everyone, hold on!"
The Titans scattered back instinctively, giving her space.
Terra's eyes blazed gold.
The earth responded.
Cracks spider-webbed across the floor, spreading rapidly—precise, and controlled. Terra's seismic sense mapped the building's entire structure in her mind's eye.
She could see it. Three floors down. The generator, powering Mad Mod's reality-warping technology.
The floor obeyed her will, it split open. Not chaotically, but along specific fault lines Terra created and controlled. Rock formations surged upward briefly before reversing direction, plunging downward with devastating force.
"NO!" Mad Mod's voice cracked. "My beautiful school!"
Spikes of compressed stone punched through concrete, through rebar, through everything between Terra and her target. They drove downward like pile drivers.
The building shook.
Far below, the generator's protective casing shattered. Stone spears pierced turbines, severed power conduits, demolished the technological heart of Mad Mod's nightmare world.
The effect was immediate.
Holographic projections flickered once, twice, then died completely. Victorian architecture dissolved like smoke, revealing the abandoned theater underneath—plain, mundane, real.
Gravity stabilized.
The real Mad Mod became visible—elderly, gripping his ridiculous tech-enhanced cane and bowler hat. No longer dozens of projections. Just one confused, angry old man.
"There!" Cyborg's targeting locked instantly. "I got him!"
His sonic cannon fired.
Mad Mod went flying backward, crashing into the stage backdrop with a satisfying thud. He didn't get up.
Terra swayed.
Hikaru caught her before she hit the ground, arm around her waist providing support. Her breathing was labored, power expenditure draining her completely.
But she was smiling.
A weak, exhausted, genuine smile.
"Did... did I do good?"
Hikaru grinned back. "You saved us."
"We saved each other." She corrected.
The team rushed over, surrounding them both. Beast Boy was bouncing excitedly despite his obvious fatigue.
"Terra, that was AMAZING!"
Robin nodded approval. "Perfect timing. Textbook execution."
Starfire beamed. "You were most heroic, friend Terra!"
Even Raven showed a hint of impressed emotion. "Well done."
Terra's smile widened, tears threatening again. But happy ones this time.
Police sirens wailed outside the abandoned theater.
Mad Mod was being loaded into an armored transport, handcuffed and ranting about "disrespectful youth" and "failed education." The Titans watched from the building's front steps, exhausted but victorious.
Terra sat down on the curb, looking small, vulnerable, but no longer broken.
Robin stood with arms crossed, watching the police work. "That was impressive, Terra. Finding the generator like that."
"I was terrified. But... still I had to do something."
Donna sat down beside her, Wonder Girl armor glinting in the streetlights. "That's what makes you a hero. Not fearlessness. Courage despite fear."
Beast Boy plopped down on Terra's other side, grinning. "You totally saved our butts in there."
She laughed.
Hikaru approached, settling onto the step next to Terra. "You okay?"
"I will be." She met his eyes. "Thanks to you. You came for me when..."
"That's what we do." Hikaru said simply. "I'm sure you would've done the same if our situations were reversed."
Terra looked around at the others—Cyborg reviewing battle footage on his arm panel, Kid Flash foot tapping impatiently while waiting for pizza, Raven meditating quietly, Starfire floating contentedly, Donna and Robin discussing tactical improvements.
They were her team now.
Not perfect. Not without complications or secrets.
But hers nonetheless.
"Group hug!" Beast Boy announced, pulling Terra to her feet.
"Gar, no—"
Too late. The team converged, wrapping around her in warm chaos. Starfire laughed joyfully. Cyborg's metal arm was cold but comforting. Donna's strength was gentle. Even Raven participated with minimal complaint.
Terra met Hikaru's eyes in the pile. He was laughing.
And she found herself joining him. She was crying a little. But the fear from earlier was gone.
The team broke apart as the pizza delivery guy pulled up, looking confused by the superhero gathering. Kid Flash immediately bolted over to collect their order.
Terra wiped her eyes, smiling at the chaos.
She caught Hikaru's gaze one more time, and mouthed "thank you."
He nodded back returning her smile.