Robin straightened immediately. "What?"
"Terra, what are you talking about?" Beast Boy's voice was small and confused.
The words came faster now, tumbling out before she could stop them. "I was a spy. Slade recruited me weeks before we met. Sent me to infiltrate the Titans. Gather information. Report your weaknesses."
The silence was suffocating.
"You've been working for Slade this whole time?" Cyborg's expression had gone cold.
Starfire's hand covered her mouth. "You… you betrayed us?"
"I knew something was off." Raven's voice was flat, emotionless in that dangerous way.
Beast Boy just stared at her, green face gone pale. "Terra, no. Please tell me this isn't true."
"It's true. All of it." Tears streamed down her face but she kept going. "I was supposed to give him intel. Help him destroy you."
Dick stood, and Terra flinched at the anger radiating from him. "And you did."
"No! That's what I'm trying to tell you. I didn't. Ever since my first report, I've been giving Deathstroke false information."
"She decided to be a double agent," Hikaru said calmly. "For us."
Every head turned toward him.
"Hikaru caught me. A week ago. I was leaving with fake data to give Deathstroke."
Beast Boy looked between them, something breaking in his eyes. "You knew?"
"Only for a week," Hikaru confirmed.
Dick's voice was sharp, controlled fury. "And you didn't think to tell us?!"
"It was her secret to tell. Not mine." Hikaru met Dick's glare without flinching. "I gave her a week to build up the courage to come clean."
"You put us all at risk!" Dick was on his feet now, mask doing nothing to hide his anger. "If she was still loyal to Slade—"
"But I wasn't! I chose you!" Terra's voice cracked.
"After weeks of lying!"
"Robin has a point." Donna's voice was measured but disappointed. "Trust is everything on a team."
"Wait, wait, wait." Wally's hands came up, his normal grin completely absent. "So you're telling me that the whole time we've been hanging out, playing games, training together—you were reporting everything back to that psycho?"
Terra flinched. "I wasn't—"
"How are we supposed to believe that?" Wally's voice rose.
"I haven't met him since I got here," Terra admitted, voice breaking. "And I was gooing to feed him fake information when I did!"
"Oh, well that makes it better." The sarcasm in Wally's tone was cutting. "You only betrayed us a little bit."
Beast Boy hadn't moved. Hadn't blinked. When he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet Terra barely heard him.
"You lied to me. Every day. Every conversation."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry—"
"Were we even friends?" He looked at her now, and the hurt in his eyes was unbearable. "Or was that part of the mission?"
"It was real! All of it!"
Beast Boy turned away. "I don't know what's real anymore."
"She saved us from Mad Mod," Cyborg offered, conflicted. "That was real."
"Or calculated." Raven's arms were crossed. "To gain trust."
"It wasn't! I swear!" Terra was shaking now, desperate.
Starfire floated closer, eyes shimmering. "Friend Terra… why did you not tell us sooner?"
"I was scared. I was ashamed."
"She was manipulated by a psychopath." Hikaru stepped forward. "Slade preyed on her desperation."
"That doesn't excuse—"
"No. It doesn't." Hikaru cut Dick off. "But it explains it. She chose to change. That's what matters."
"Is it?" Raven's voice was cold. "Can we ever trust her again?"
"That's what we're deciding. Right now."
Dick looked around the room, then back at Terra. His jaw was tight.
"We vote. Terra stays or goes."
Terra could barely breathe. "I understand."
"All in favor of Terra leaving the team?"
Dick's hand rose first, reluctant but firm. Raven's followed after a pause, her expression conflicted.
Wally's hand shot up without hesitation. "No way I'm trusting a traitor."
Terra's vision blurred with tears.
"In favor of her staying?"
Hikaru's hand raised. Donna lifted hers after a moment's consideration. Cyborg's rose slowly. Starfire's hand came up last, hesitant but present.
Beast Boy stood frozen, hands at his sides. He didn't raise either one.
"I… I can't."
Dick counted silently. "That's four to three, with one abstention." He looked at Terra, and she saw the weight of leadership in his eyes. "Terra… you can stay. But you're on probation."
Terra couldn't speak. Could barely stand.
"Thank you," she finally whispered. "I'll prove I'm worthy of your trust."
"You better. One mistake, Terra. One."
She nodded, throat too tight for words.
"Team dismissed."
The common room emptied quickly. Starfire left with worried backwards glances. Cyborg headed to his workshop. Donna retreated to the training room. Raven vanished into a portal.
Wally was already gone, a blur of yellow and red disappearing down the hallway.
Beast Boy walked past Terra without looking at her.
The moment his door closed, Terra collapsed.
Hikaru caught her before she hit the floor, guiding her to the couch. She sobbed into her hands—ugly, broken sounds she couldn't control.
"You did it," he said quietly. "The hard part's over."
"Everyone hates me."
"Give them time."
"Beast Boy won't even look at me." Her voice broke completely. "I hurt him. I hurt all of them."
"You told the truth. That's more than a lot of people would do."
Terra looked up at him through tears. "What if they never forgive me?"
Hikaru didn't answer immediately. When he did, his voice was gentle but honest.
"Then you live with that. And you prove yourself anyway."
Hikaru left Terra in the common room once her breathing had steadied, her tears slowing to quiet, hitching breaths. He barely made it around the corner when Dick's hand landed on his shoulder.
"We need to talk," Dick said quietly. "About using Terra against Slade."
Hikaru turned, meeting his eyes behind the sunglasses. "I'm listening."
They moved to the operations room. Dick crossed his arms, his tactical mind already working through scenarios.
"If she's really on our side, this is our advantage," Dick began. "Slade thinks she's loyal. We can feed him anything we want."
"That's the plan," Hikaru confirmed.
Dick's expression hardened slightly. "But if she flips back—"
"She won't."
"How can you be sure?"
Hikaru held his gaze steadily. "Let's say I'm good at reading people."
Dick studied him for a long moment, weighing risks against potential gains. His training under Batman warred with the trust he'd learned leading the Titans.
"You're putting a lot of trust in her," he finally said.
"I think she's the best shot we have to take down Deathstroke once and for all," Hikaru replied evenly.
Something shifted in Dick's posture—understanding replacing caution. He nodded slowly.
"Alright," he decided. "We use her. Carefully."