Teen Titans #33: "Choices" Pt. 2

Greetings, Miss Markov.

Yes, I know who you are. Do not fear that I will expose your identity to the world; such is not my intention.

But what I will do is tell your precious team mates who you really are; the scope and depth of your crimes. Nightwing might have some idea; but not even he has full access to the files of Interpol and Markovia as I do. I can be very persistent if I choose. I have the power to reveal your entire criminal record to the Titans. Things even your brother doesn't know about.

I will do this unless you meet me within three days of my sending this email. Come to the Brooklyn Bridge, alone. Do not bring any of your "friends". Do not tell any of them where you're going. I would prefer a night time meeting, but I will be there during the day as well. Within the superstructure of the bridge there are several storage rooms; some of which have windows to the outside world. In the past vagrants have used some of them to sleep in. I am waiting in one of them for you now. Search through them until you find me.

You could, of course, use your powers to destroy the bridge in an attempt to kill me. Despite what your "friends" think, I know you are not only powerful enough, but ruthless enough, to do such a thing. But that would expose your true nature; and in any case I am very hard to kill.

You see, Miss Markov, I know how powerful you are. I know how dangerous you are. I know how good you are at what you do. And above all, I know what sort of ruthless, vicious, heartless mercenary you are.

In short, you are very much like me.

What I have for you is a business proposal. An opportunity to do what you do best, without being hindered by your "friends."

You may have found comfort and security in your new arrangement; but I know what sort of person you really are. I know what you enjoy doing most; wreaking havoc for profit. I can offer you a way to achieve that, and the Titans will be none the wiser....until it is too late.

You have three days to meet with me and take advantage of this opportunity. Or the Titans will learn the truth about you.

Choose wisely.



The Brooklyn Bridge. Sold to all too many unwary tourists looking for Big Apple bargains. But Tara Markov was no ordinary tourist. And had already experienced several bad deals in her life.

It had taken conscious effort not to use her powers. Even more effort not to return to the tower and put on her Terra costume; she felt more comfortable as Terra, rather than Tara, as time went on. Terra was a hero, and a Titan. A new life. Tara was a sneaky little tart who had to charm trust and loyalty out of others.

Of course, Terra started out as a villainous identity. But even then it was an escape from being the hateful Tara, the little unwanted bastard child.

She also wanted to go back to the Tower, ignore the e-mail's warnings, and bring Gar with her, at least. He could take the form of some innocuous insect and hide in her clothes. He would support her no matter what; she was sure of it. Even if he learned all she'd done. He loved her.

She stopped walking as she thought about that for a moment.
He loves me......I want to love him back.....but can I? Can I really?

It was a moot point now. This nameless jerk was gonna blackmail her into doing something terrible. But what else could she do? She set her shoulders, flattened her mouth into a thin line, and stepped onto the bridge.

If there was any security, she didn't see them; it was odd they should be so lax, especially these days. Then again, maybe the mystery villain had taken them out.

She went through three of the dusty, unused storerooms, stumbling and almost hurting herself once, before she found the fourth room-with-a-view....occupied. It was dark, but it was also warm......there was carpet on the floor.

"Great," she muttered to herself. "I show up when the jerk went out for coffee."

"Not at all, my dear," a deep, rich voice said. A light turned on. There he sat, in a plush chair, cigarette in hand. He wore black body armor with orange highlights. His hair was either white or silver; Tara had a hard time making up her mind in the yellow light from the lampshade.

He only had one eye; the other covered by a silk eye patch. His pale locks were matched by moustache and goatee. She could tell that under the armor he was muscular and tough. A sword sat on a table next to him, and next to that was a silver briefcase. There were other appointments around the room.

Clearly he had made himself at home while waiting for her.

She had never seen the man before in her life. But the Titans had told her enough that she instantly knew who he was.

"Greetings, Princess Markov," he said politely. "I am--"

"Deathstroke the freakin Terminator," she said. She crossed her arms in a weak attempt to hide her shudder. "Titans' number one enemy. I gotta say, Terminator is kinda cool. But Deathstroke? That's lame. What you call yourself that for? Do ya 'stroke' yourself after every kill?"

Deathstroke laughed easily. "Your feisty manner and foul mouth were anticipated. I know you quite well, though we have never met before this evening. Cigarette?"

"I quit a while back."

"I thought perhaps you might wish to start again.”

She shook her head. "Can the pleasantries, one-eye. You blackmailed me into coming out here, and it wasn't to play poster boy for the tobacco industry. What do you want?"

He took a drag on his cigarette before answering. "I would've thought that was obvious. I have a business proposal for you. One far better suited to your talents than your pretense at heroism."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to control her temper. "You think that after you've threatened me that I’d wanna help you?"

He shrugged. "I couldn't take the risk of you not coming. I also can't take the risk of the Titans finding out about our little meeting. I trust you were not tailed?"

"Nobody even knows I left. What makes you so sure I wanna stop being a Titan?"

"Aside from the fact that you aren't one now, however much you might pretend? I know you, Princess Markov. I keep my eyes and ears open in the underground. You first came to my attention when you saved the life of King Twaba during your tenure with the Suicide Squad. The contract to take him down was one I had passed on due to time constraints. The fact that the Squad saved him interested me. I was even more interested when I learned which specific Squad member it was."

"You've got ears in the Government, I assume," she put in.

He shrugged again. "Beauracrats are notoriously bribable. I got hold of your profile, then proceeded to get the Interpol, Checkmate, and Markovian records on you. Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Italy, and of course, Markovia itself.....you've had a very busy criminal career, Princess. Especially for one so young."

"That's behind me now," Tara said. "Believe it or not, I kinda like being a hero. It's fun."

Deathstroke nodded. "I'm sure it provides a thrill. But not the same one as when you were committing crimes, no?"

"No," she admitted. "But there are compensations."

Deathstroke smirked. "I refuse to believe you've gone soft. But rather than debate morality...." He turned and opened the briefcase.

Tara stared. "Okay....that is a lot of money, I'll admit."

Deathstroke smiled. "My business is very profitable. That's fourteen million dollars. You are welcome to count it. And bear in mind, it's just an initial payment. In the long term you would get more."

Tara took a deep breath. "You got so much money, what do you need me for?" What he had put in front of her would probably keep her going for the rest of her life, or at least a good twenty years or so.

Deathstroke chuckled. "One might as well ask why Batman does what he does, given his fortune. Money is a means to an end; it can't make life interesting. And, of course, more money means more possibilities."

Tara pointedly did not ask how Deathstroke knew about Batman's money, or if he knew about the change of…administration…in Gotham. "Still leaves the question; what do you need me for?"

"Ah, we've gotten to the negotiation of terms, have we?" Deathstroke smiled.

"I didn't say that. But I wonder what you want with me. At that price, you could have anybody."

"But you are in a unique situation, Princess. You have the appropriate villainous career history already, yet at the same time you've earned the Titans' trust and enabled them to accept you. It's true, I don't need you to defeat them. I need you to take at least some of them—preferably most of them—alive. My new employers want most if not all of them intact, for experimentation in some cases, and to see to the deaths themselves in others."

“Experimentation?" Terra realized it a second later. "The HIVE?"

"Yes, indeed. Quick-witted as your profile suggested,"
Deathstroke nodded approvingly. "The Titans trust you; they would never see your attacks coming until it were too late. You would make the perfect accomplice."

Terra closed her eyes. It was true, in some ways she was still tempted. She hadn't forgotten the rush she'd had as a villain. But that lifestyle had its drawbacks as well. But he didn't believe that himself, or understand it; certainly he'd never have believed it of her. And as recently as a year ago, he would've been right.
So she made the only objection she thought he'd understand. "I've actually grown quite attached to Beast Boy," she said.

"Ah yes, the celebrity. I didn't know you'd got your hooks into him. You've seduced him into bed, then?"

Eyes still closed, she smiled for the first time this evening. "Oh, yes. He's enjoyed it immensely. So have I."

"If you're attached to him as you say, and he to you, that could work in our favor. Do you think you could convince him to side with us?"

That one struck too close to home. After all, hadn't that been part of her original intention when she had first started luring Gar in? To make him less innocent? Until she had realized it wasn't really necessary....

With a chill she realized it was actually possible that if she manipulated him into it, Gar would betray the Titans for her. To be with her. The idea was like a sick weight in her heart.

"It's...,possible...." she said, finally opening her eyes. "But ya know...ye haven't sold me yet."

Deathstroke blinked his one eye. "Well," he said, "If you refuse, the original threat still stands. Though honestly, I'm sure that if you think it over, you'll come around. You're like me, not them. A realist who knows where her best interest lays, not an idealistic fool."

She didn't point out that a realist might have figured out that the bread was buttered on the hero side. She didn't point out again that it was not exactly smart to threaten her.

Instead, Tara closed her eyes again and seriously thought about it. He didn't know who she was now....but he knew who she had once been. And yes, she could admit it to herself at least; she could become that person again.

The question was, did she really want to?

Behind her closed eyes she saw Geo-Force. She saw Beast Boy. She saw all the other Titans....and then one other face hove into view. A cold face with a smug, murderous smile. The face of a woman who could very well represent her future, if she went along with Deathstroke now.

And in that moment, she decided.

"You know I was on Suicide Squad," she finally said. "Well, while I was there, one of the people I worked with was named Killer Frost. I'm sure you know about her, too."

"I know enough, yes," Deathstroke said, nodding approvingly.
"Well, when I was on the team she was chummy with me, pretty much for the same reasons you're offering me this gig now. And she taught me something. Without even knowing it, she taught me something very important."

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Bad and Evil are two different things."

Deathstroke frowned. "I'm not sure I underst--"
The rock storm blasted sideways through the room, catching him by surprise, before his enhanced reflexes could react. It smashed him first into, then through, the outward facing wall. The window smashed and he fell into the river, chunks of masonry following him down.

She knew he would survive. The Titans had told her about his healing powers. But Tara also knew he'd be too busy for the next few minutes to come after her.

She looked at the briefcase. It hadn't gone for the ride, though it had been knocked onto the floor and some of the money had fallen out. A few of the bills, she was sure, were in the river now.

If she left it here, he would just get it back. And offer the money to someone else. But she couldn't just take it either, could she? That would be almost as bad as accepting his offer would've been.

So she decided to hand it over to the Titans.

She had a lot to tell them.



Back at the Tower, they had noticed her absence.

"Where did she go?" Beast Boy almost shouted. He was panicking.

"I sensed her distress," Raven said. "But by the time I came out of my room she was gone."

"Her footprints only go so far before they're lost in the confusion," said Nightwing.

"I could scour the city," said Kid Flash.

"Let me look for her," Dagon said. "I can look in places Wally wouldn't think of."

"You'll both go," Nightwing said. "We need to--"

The doors opened and Tara came in, briefcase in hand. She looked tired.

"Hi guys," she said blearily. "Miss me?"

Gar was at her side in a second. "What happened, doll? You look a mess."

“I'll tell you...I'll tell all of you everything." She flipped the briefcase to Nightwing, who caught it in surprise. "I'm sure you'll know what best to do with that," she said. She turned to Wonder Girl. "Lasso me."

Wonder Girl frowned. "What for?"

"Lasso me, Wondy," Tara said, trying to curb the anger in her voice. "I don't wanna have to tell this more than once. And I want all of you to know it's the truth."

"We wouldn't doubt you," Raven said. "I was satisfied of your motivations long ago."

Tara smiled wearily. "Thanks Rachel, but this is too damn important. Wondy.....please lasso me."

Frowning in concern, Wonder Girl threw her lasso around Tara, who sat down.

"I got an email this afternoon...." she began.



Slade Wilson pulled himself out of the river and coughed up a lungful of water. Swimming in body armor, even his specially designed suit, was no joke.

But at the moment that was the furthest thought from his mind.
She had refused him!

Refused!

He was filled with rage, in equal parts directed at Tara and himself. Tara, because she had thrown away an opportunity of a lifetime. Himself, for having made such an enormous tactical error.

There was no point in exposing her to the Titans now; she was obviously going to do that herself. As a result, they would either expel her, thus dismissing a security risk and becoming more wary; or accept her, and function as a more cohesive unit.

His hands dug into the ground until he hurt himself and began to bleed. The wounds healed almost immediately, of course.

Except for the wound to his pride. That one would sting for a long time.

But even as he thought it, his anger cooled. It did not go away; it merely cooled into his usual calculated determination.

There was always another way. Always an alternative.

And he knew exactly what alternative he would use now. It would take a little time to put it in place, but that was just as well. He would need that time for the Titans to relax their guard concerning him again.

Then he would strike....when it was far too late for them to do anything about it.

Time, as always, was on his side.



"....so I took the money and ran," Tara finished.

“X'hal," Starfire breathed.

"He never gives up, does he?" Beast Boy said.

"And he will try again," Nightwing said. "This was just the latest strike. And if the HIVE has hired him to take us alive to them, that makes it even worse."

"Um....aren't you guys, like, mad at me or anything?" Tara said, obviously puzzled.

“Mad at you for what?" Nightwing was surprised by the question. "For giving us this vital Intel on Deathstroke's intentions? For proving your loyalty to us?"

"Maybe your detective skills weren't in workin order, Bat-Boy," she sneered, clutching the lasso still glowing around her, "But let me repeat it; I did actually consider his offer. I thought about it. And he was right about my criminal past. I've done stuff you don't even know about."

"All of us are tempted by evil, Tara," Raven said softly. "I was born to fulfill a prophecy of evil, myself. And saw a possible future in which I succumbed to it."

"But that's just, like, potential, Spooky. You didn't actually do it. But me...I've done stuff. Committed crimes. Some of which you still don't know."

"But that's part of why you had Donna lasso you, isn't it?"
Nightwing said. "So that you'd have to tell us."

Tara nodded. She hung her head.

"Well first of all, I rather think Deathstroke lied; between Batman and my own resources, I probably know as much as he does on the subject of your track record. But for completeness sake if nothing else, let's have it. From the beginning."

Tara opened her mouth and began to talk.



She talked for a long time.

She told them everything she could remember, from the first time she had gotten in a fight with her eldest half-brother Gregor, through the illegal acquisition of her powers. She told them of her meeting and teaming up with the murderous Geomancer; of how he had taught her to refine her powers....and other things as well. Some of those things made Beast Boy blush and hold her tight.

They already knew of the poor fool she'd hurt so badly in Belarus; that bastard would spend the rest of his life sucking food through a straw. She told them of some of the other people she'd hurt almost as bad. She even told them of the one caper she pulled in Italy she suspected that not even Deathstroke had known about, as she'd gotten away scot-free.

She'd never killed anyone, yet. But of course she had stood by and let Geomancer kill several people, and helped him escape afterwards.

When she finally stopped talking, her throat was raw and it was almost three in the morning.

Donna took the lasso off her. Gar used the opportunity to hug her even more tightly.

"Well, none of that was very pleasant," Nightwing eventually said. "But none of it changes anything. You still made the right choice, and you are still one of us."

"But what I've done....." she began hoarsely.

“For which you earned your pardon during your tenure with the Squad," Donna said. "We knew what sort of person you were when you joined us, and you've gotten better since. Tonight proves that, if nothing else."

Starfire didn't say anything, just hugged her. Cyborg was nodding. Kid Flash smiled and gave her thumbs up.

Dagon said, "Tara, I'm a vampire. I think I have a better understanding of your situation than anybody here except maybe Raven."

"Go to bed, get some rest. Tomorrow is a better, brighter day, I think," Nightwing said.

“Yeah...." Tara said wearily, leaning her head on Gar's shoulder. A much better day."

Gar led her upstairs to bed. Only to sleep, tonight. Which was fine with her. Just to be held.



The next day, Terra and Beast Boy stood atop the Statue of Liberty. He embraced her from behind, and they stared back at the city. It was a bright, clear day.

"I never thought the city could be so beautiful," she said softly.

"It can be," He replied. "It all depends on how you look at it."

She gave a derisive snort. “Oh yeah, real deep and meaningful, Beastie Boy.”

His only response was to hug her tighter, and she gladly pressed herself back against him.

After a thoughtful pause, he said, “You know doll, there is one thing.”

“Yah?”

“We’re uh….kinda serious now, I think.”

She giggled. “Oh, you think? Yeah honey, we’re pretty serious.”
“Yeah….well….I was thinking…eventually you should um…meet the Doom Patrol.”

Without breaking his hold on her she turned around and stared at him, almost nose to nose. “What, like meet the parents?”

“Um, yeah. Kinda like that.” He blushed and dropped his eyes.
She stared at him. “Gar, I ain’t the sort you take home to mother, even if she ain’t really your mother!”

“We’ll work it out,” he said, eyes sparkling with clear optimism.

She buried her face in his shoulder and made a noise that was not prepared to commit itself.

“Hey kids,” Nightwing’s voice crackled from their communicators. “Are you lovebirds busy?”

“We’ve still got our costumes on, if that’s whatcha mean,” Terra snapped, and Beast Boy blushed.

“We’ve got some thugs in powered armor holding up a bank on the Lower East Side. If you’d be so good as to join us?”

“Sure thing winger, on our way!” She grinned, eyes sparkling.
“Will you permit me the honors, milady?” Beast Boy sketched an exaggerated bow.

Terra laughed out loud. “Sure thing. But I ain’t no lady.”

“Something I’m very thankful for,” he agreed. She hit him on the shoulder, but only gently.

Beast Boy transformed into a giant green bird. Terra clambered on his back, and they swooped down towards the city.




If you wish to comment on this issue, please CLICK HERE to visit the letters page.