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Chapter Text

In the holding cell of the dimly lit ship, savage screaming and a banging that rocked the whole ship echoed endlessly, making the terrifying sounds even worse.

Two Gordanian guards approached it warily, holding tridents defensively. They passed cells with clear walls, displaying much calmer prisoners like prizes. The guards paid these trapped souls no mind, they only continued down the dark hallway. A series of metal doors slid open as they approached, and they joined two other guards at the reinforced door of the cell, where their prisoner was undoubtedly trying to escape. The will of an enraged Tamaranean, even handcuffed, was nothing to ignore.

"The door will hold?" one asked the other, trying to sound calculating instead of nervous.

"It must!" the second answered fearfully.

An enraged shriek cut through their words.

"The alien will be delivered on schedule," a third insisted. "Lord Trogaar has commanded it."

The four guards turned to the cell, a particularly hard bang silencing them for one terrifying moment.

"And if this thing gets loose?" the last one asked, sounding resigned to the fact that it would.

"Then Zorg help us all," the first one answered solemnly.

Another shriek, another bang, and the glass over the slot meant for peeking in on their captive shattered. To the guards' terror, angry eyes, blazing a crackling green, appeared in front of them.

The two guards closest to the door backed up a few steps until they were behind their comrades. They watched, frozen in fear of both this angry alien and the impending wrath of Lord Trogaar as two hard knocks shook the door in its frame and a third completely unhinged it. It flew toward them, landing where the two original guards were standing moments before.

The Tamaranean appeared in the dark doorway, shouting in her native language. After a final war cry, she descended on them. She slammed both cuffed hands at the guard, hair flowing wildly behind her. The guard, already dazed from the hard hit, lost consciousness as he slammed into the wall.

She swung her arms again, this time hitting two guards at once with the bone-crushing force of her punch. Combined with the heavy metal of her sophisticated handcuffs, they weren't going to be getting back up any time soon.

The last guard tried to take a few swings at her with his trident, but she deflected it until it broke. She spun in the air and kicked out, slamming the guard against the wall. Unfortunately for her, he hit the alarm system, which sounded with a red flash. She tested the wall to see how far in the ship she was, and after determining that on the other side of the wall was nothing but space, she used her handcuffs as a battering ram and burst through it. A small explosion went off around her, but she was more afraid of what lay behind her than the heat and shrapnel, so she flew through it without hesitating.

…

The Dynamic Duo stood on a rooftop in Gotham. It was quiet tonight. Batman insisted that they needed to patrol, but Robin was kind of wishing that he could go back to the manor. What was the point of having a wall-sized plasma TV and the newest Gamestation with the newest Call of Duty game hooked up to it if you never got to play it? Not that he minded patrolling. He liked it. But they'd been out for an hour and they hadn't even broken up a gang fight.

He wanted to express his opinion, because seriously, if he didn't Batman would keep him out here all night, and he was just thinking of a way to do it without sounding like he was whining when Batman tensed up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Robin looked up at his mentor, who jerked his chin roughly to a spot in the city below them.

A common thug, dressed in a black sweater, black pants, and a black hat and gloves, was loitering between two buildings, almost completely in shadow. A woman was walking cautiously, and Robin couldn't imagine what she was doing out at this time of night. She was about to cross paths with the thug.

"You go," Batman told his apprentice softly.

Robin's eyes widened beneath his mask. "Alone?"

The Dark Knight nodded. "You'll need the solo practice, anyway. How long until you're off to Jump City?"

Robin grunted. He didn't want to think about that now. He grabbed his grappling hook gun and angled it. He waited. If he got there before the thug could actually grab her purse, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it and the thug would just wait for someone else to jump. The man stepped out of the alley and the woman froze in front of him, and Robin jumped into action.

He shot the grappling hook gun and swung on its line, kicking the lowlife in the chest and sending him sprawling. The woman was too frightened to even scream, but she stared at Robin with wide eyes. She stared at him for a second, then scooped her purse up off the ground and ran off.

Robin melded back into the shadows. The thief scrambled to his feet, brandishing a pipe. Robin threw a birdarang and he dropped the impromptu weapon with a terrified yelp.

"Okay Bats… Calm down. I didn't hurt no one no how. Ain't nothin' here but you an' me."

"You're wrong about that," Robin answered stepping into the moonlight.

The mugger put his hands up. "Listen, kid. I don't want no trouble."

"You should have thought of that before you committed a crime," Robin growled, rearing back and punching the man.

The thief dodged and threw a wild punch, which Robin ducked under. He jumped up and kicked at the man's chest. He fell sprawled out on the ground, bracing himself on his palms. Robin picked him up by his sweater and pushed him against the wall roughly.

The Teen Wonder was about to slap handcuffs on him to bring him to the local jail when he pointed above Robin's head. "What in the hell is that!"

Robin didn't turn right away, as he suspected that it was a trick to help the man escape while he was distracted. However, Robin was securely between the mugger and the exit of the alley. That coupled with fact that he noticed an odd green glow that lit up the streets of Gotham led him to believe that it was okay to turn and look. What appeared to be a green comet with a white tail was shooting toward the ground. Robin gaped up at it, bracing himself as it struck the ground with such force that the city trembled.

The thief that Robin had been dealing with looked doubly frightened now. Robin glanced at the approximate crash zone, then back at the criminal. With an annoyed huff, Robin settled for tangling the thug in a line from his grappling hook and dangling him on the banister of a fire escape above him to wait for the cops to collect him.

Robin took another line from his grappling hook gun and aimed it at the top of the building that he and Batman were using as a perch before that business with the thug. Upon getting back up to the top, Robin found that Batman was already gone. He sighed. Of course. No need to wait or anything. With a turn so quick that his cape flourished behind him, he took off for the middle of downtown.

Of course that would happen. It's been quiet all night, but the second Robin goes off on his own a green comet lands in the middle of the city. As Robin got closer to the crash site, he had to dodge scared civilians who were running away from the comet, which he was quickly beginning to suspect was not a comet at all. He came to a halt just outside the battle zone.

It was a girl. She was wearing this weird skin tight armor, what were probably handcuffs but looked more like metal mittens that joined at the wrists, and a face framing metal headpiece. What was most notable about her was her glowing green eyes. He wasn't being poetic- they were really glowing. She was slamming her cuffs against the beam of a building that looked like it was meant to be used as a picture studio. There was a couple standing on the balcony, which was beginning to tip forward under the barrage of metal thwacking against it. Several people on the top floors were running around. The area surrounding her was pretty smashed up, too.

Robin was about to reach in his belt for a birdarang when a batarang went slicing through the air, zinging off the edge of the girl's weird headpiece. Robin turned toward Batman, who stepped away from the shadows.

The girl turned to him, arms dangling in front of her. She savagely shouted in rough gibberish. Robin didn't recognize it, and from the look on Batman's face, he didn't either.

"Who are you?" Robin demanded, getting into a better stance.

The girl looked between Batman and Robin before throwing herself at Batman, raising her arms above her head. Batman dodged and she threw herself at him again. He dodged one more time, which was incredibly passive for him. When she threw herself at him again, he dodged and threw an explosive disc at her. She jumped back, a little dazed.

"What's the matter?" Robin asked.

"I don't know if she's hostile," Batman answered. She threw herself at the two of them again and they both rolled in opposite directions.

Robin thought that was pretty stupid. She was smashing everything in her line of vision with those massive handcuffs. Plus, she was a prisoner. It was probably best that they subdue her and then use the JLA satellite to figure out where she's from.

She smashed the ground under Batman's feet and he flipped backward to avoid her. While she was distracted, Robin threw his own exploding disc. The blast propelled her forward. It looked like she was about to crash into the wall when she flipped so that her feet took the impact. She flew off the wall- literally, flew- and delivered a painful looking punch of her metallic cuffs to Batman's stomach. He was thrown back against a building so hard that the wall cracked a little.

She turned to face Robin, who extended his bo-staff and nodded at her. She launched herself at him and hopped off the ground in front of him. She delivered a roundhouse kick to his chest, which sent him rolling. While he was on the ground, she leaped up and raised her fists with the intent to smash him into the ground, but he grabbed his bo-staff and round-offed, smacking her heard across the solar plexus. She was thrown against a car and the metal dented under her and the windows cracked. He stared down in shock as his staff disintegrated in his hands. He clapped his hands together to the wipe the dust from his gloves.

She shook herself off and looked at the car thoughtfully, before easing her foot under the front bumper and lifting it. Robin could only stare in shock as she threw it into the air like a hackey-sack. He ducked, looking over his shoulder as the car hit a building and promptly exploded.

Batman came to stand over by Robin, looking at the alien, calculating. "Here's the plan. The next time she jumps, I need you to-"

He was cut off by the girl jumping into the air and raising her arms. She pummeled her arms into the street so hard that it cratered under her feet and the Dynamic Duo were almost knocked off balance by the tremors beneath them.

She stood slowly, the giant metallic mittens falling apart. She smirked at her hands, which were still handcuffed but were now exposed.

The two heroes looked concerned. It was going to start getting worse.

She raised her arms and they glowed green. Batman took cover in the lee of bus stop, and Robin settled for pulling his cape across his body. This worked minimally, absorbing the effects but not the impact of the starbolts. He got knocked around a little and he rolled next to Batman.

The Caped Crusader was looking around at the damage. "We've got to stop her. It's going to be a hard fight."

Robin regarded the alien. Perhaps he was still a little mad about being ditched, but he found himself unable to stop from pointing out, "I thought you just said that you don't know if she's hostile."

Batman looked back at the alien. "How do you want to stop her?" The Dark Knight asked his protégé, somewhat impatient.

Robin squinted, half-regretting that he'd said anything at all. "Um… if I could get those cuffs off her, she might see it as a… peace offering."

Batman sighed. "Alright. Diplomacy's probably better when dealing with alien races, anyway."

The girl leaped in front of them, kicking the entire bus stop down in front of them. It was one of the most terrifying moments Robin could recall since joining Batman, and it was definitely the worst patrol yet.

Robin turned to her and held his hands out as a sign of goodwill. "We just want to talk," he informed her.

She shouted at him in her rough gibberish and aimed a kick at him, which he blocked. He flipped back from her. She advanced on him again and he drew out another bow staff. She hit the middle of it with her handcuffed wrists and it snapped in half. He stared at it, one eyebrow raised in disbelief, mouth slightly agape. She was destroying these things like they were made of wood.

She delivered a kick to his chest, and he hit the ground hard. He rolled away from her next attack, crouching. She charged up that green light in her fists, and he stayed perfectly still. She let a bolt loose and he dodged at the last second. She managed to get him in the shoulder. He let out a pained hiss as he clutched his shoulder, curling into the ground.

He pushed the pain away and turned to find that she was leaping at him, and he braced himself for impact, tucking his head in for protection.

He looked up when the impact didn't come. Batman was holding the end of a grappling hook, and she was wrapped up in it across from him.

Batman nodded at Robin. The Teen Wonder exhaled slowly, hoping this was going to work, and grabbed in his belt for a steel pick. She flinched as he approached her and he felt kind of bad. He offered her a small smile before he set to work on the lock. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized that he wasn't going to hurt her and the glow in them fizzled out for the first time since she'd landed. He had the cuffs off in a manner of seconds; weird alien technology had nothing on his lock-picking skills.

The handcuffs clattered to the ground at his feet, cracking the pavement. He stepped to the side and winced as it just missed his foot. She rubbed her wrists, looking relieved to be out of the cuffs. She was still watching Robin warily.

He gave her another small smile. "There. Now maybe you-"

To his shock, she cut him off with a forceful kiss. It wasn't a very involved kiss, and he wasn't hating it that much, as he was acutely aware that she was kind of pretty. Heat flooded his face, and he was too shocked to even try to push back. She pulled away and he just stared at her, bewildered.

She pushed him away from her, and poor Robin was so surprised that he stumbled over something- very possibly one of the myriad craters the alien created when she was trying to get the cuffs off, but more likely his own feet- and fell back flat on his ass. He could only stare at her, blushing slightly and very confused.

She turned, acknowledging Batman, and looked back to Robin. "If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone," she commanded in a cold voice.

Robin could only watch with wide eyes as he sat sprawled out on the ground where she'd pushed him. She pushed herself into the air and climbed up into the sky.

Batman watched her go, too, looking almost disinterested. He stepped into the battle-scarred street, looking down at his apprentice expressionlessly. Robin blushed even more furiously. "Good job."

Robin stared at his mentor, wide eyes growing even wider. That was cruel. His face heated up even further. "It isn't as though I expected that to happen," he snapped in his own defense.

"I wasn't joking. She's stopped destroying Gotham." The Caped Crusader gestured around them. "And maybe she'll want to be our ally. She certainly seemed taken with you," he remarked dryly.

Robin scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

Batman raised his eyebrows at his apprentice, the expression only notable in the slight change in the shape of his cowl around his eyes. "Clearly that was some kind of language transferal. I'm willing to bet she's from the Vegan solar system- most Vegans are humanoid in anatomy." He frowned. "I'm not very up to speed on distant alien races. Clark would know."

Robin forgot about his own embarrassment as a dark shadow stretched above them. An orange pod landed a few hundred yards away from the Dynamic Duo, in one of Gotham's parks. From the pod sprouted a hologram of an anthropomorphic lizard. "People of Earth," it said in a cold voice, "we come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner. A very dangerous prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But if you attempt to assist her your destruction will be absolute."

Robin looked up at his mentor. "Let's go. Into the car. I tagged her with a tracker during the fight."

Robin sighed. Of course he did.

…

The Dynamic Duo pulled up to a tiny grocery store, stocked mostly with vegetables and canned goods.

The alien was ripping into a bunch of bananas, tearing at the skin with her teeth.

Robin cleared his throat. She licked her fingers clean and turned to face him, assuming a defensive stance.

Batman and Robin stayed calm, their fingers each a few inches away from their belts, just in case.

"We don't want to hurt you," Batman told her. "We want to help you."

The glow in her eyes snapped on like a light from a switch. "Why?" she growled. "What do you wish to accomplish by helping me?"

Batman held his ground as she advanced on them, even though Robin desperately wanted to back up. Just a little bit. "Diplomacy," Batman answered evenly.

"Diplomacy," she repeated, like she was testing out the word. "I am familiar with diplomacy. You offer me something, I return the gesture. You have freed me from my bonds. What may I offer you?"

"Assistance."

"Assistance? Against the Gordanians? I do not offer this." She crossed her arms over her chest to signify finality. "Name another price."

"Look, those things are only here because of you," Robin pointed out indignantly. "What did you do? Why are you their prisoner?"

The glow in her eyes dimmed. She shook her head and laced her fingers together. "Not prisoner. I am… prize."

"A prize?" Robin demanded, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"I am a peace offering to the Citadel. The Gordanians take me there to live out my days as their… servant." Her head slumped down in defeat while she was talking, and as she finished she snapped it back up to look at the Dynamic Duo.

Robin saw fear in her eyes. He saw defeat. "I won't let that happen," he promised, feeling determined and sure. He noticed Batman out of the corner of his eye- he was giving Robin a weird look with one eyebrow raised- and Robin quickly amended his statement. "We won't let that happen."

"You wish to help me further?" the alien asked.

Robin shot a glance at his mentor, who nodded. "Those lizards are still tearing up Gotham. We'll need your help to stop them."

"Diplomacy," she repeated knowingly.

"Ahh… Right. Yeah. Diplomacy," he mumbled. She wasn't very friendly.

Batman shot a look at Robin. Robin couldn't really tell because of the cowl, but he was pretty sure he was amused by what was going on. Yep, he was definitely smirking. Robin glared at him.

"Is there anything about these creatures you can tell us?" Batman demanded, businesslike.

She began rattling off traits, still watching the pair warily. "They are not very smart. Strong. They wield tridents which have shocking capabilities. They are able to fly. I am unsure as to whether or not they have the hive of minds, but they certainly seem to operate as a group in the strictest of terms."

"Um. Hive of minds?" Batman asked, unsure of what she meant.

She made a clicking noise, tapping her tongue against her teeth in an annoyed manner. "Yes. What is the expression…"

"Hive mind?" Robin suggested.

She nodded, glaring at them. She must have thought they were making fun of her.

"Okay. No harm done," Robin said soothingly.

The wall of the grocery store was blown off and a group of nine soldiers approached them. "Give us the girl and no harm will come to you, humans," one of them instructed.

Batman and Robin glanced at each other and nodded before launching into action. Robin extended his bo-staff while Batman slipped into the shadows of the stored front. The alien girl immediately jumped on one of the Gordanians, hitting it with so much force that Robin heard something crack. He didn't know whether he should be concerned or not.

While that one Gordanian was out for the count, another grabbed her by the hair and spun her, throwing her into the street outside. The tarmac cracked and cratered underneath her. Robin gaped at that. It was amazing that she didn't seem to sustain any injuries. She appeared to have the wind knocked out of her, but that was all. Damn. He never wanted to fight against her.

He kicked the Gordanian that was attacking him in the face after swinging around on his staff to gain momentum. It crashed into another lizard and they sprawled out on the street. Not good. Batman was fighting one of them, but that left five of the monsters closing in around the girl. She gathered light in her hands and threw it at them desperately, but one of them got close enough to do hand to hand combat. She must have been a little tired or something, because she went into a defensive stance. She wouldn't last against all of them just defending herself.

Robin launched himself into the group of Gordanians and tried to back some of them away. For the most part, they seemed to think of him as an annoyance and one of them stepped to the side with a hiss and an annoyed flick of its tongue. Ew. Okay, he'd show them just how annoying he could be. Robin flipped himself so that the creature's weight was on his staff and then threw it over his shoulders and spun, knocking it into the Gordanian that was attacking the girl.

She glanced at him, with a tiny smile on her lips. Okay, so that left three. And Batman just took out two of them with ice bombs. Ooh, good idea, since they were cold blooded. Nice.

Well, that left one, and it wouldn't hurt to show off a little. He followed Batman's lead and chucked an ice disc at it. He followed that up with a kick to the face, which was left unfrozen. The thing let out a weird roar and thrust the trident forward. Ah, crap.

The alien grabbed his wrist and spun him around. He was more than a little surprised at that. She let him go at a good angle for a fierce kick and she chucked her green energy at the trident, which seemed to short it out. He was still on a crash course with the Gordanian and it turned the trident horizontal to block Robin's kick. The Teen Wonder's steel toed and soled boots ripped through the trident like Styrofoam, connecting painfully with the alien's cheek. Well, it didn't really seem to have much of a cheek. But the side of its face.

It fell hard because it was still stuck in the ice, which cracked around it as it fell.

The nine aliens seemed to realize that this wasn't going to be an easy grab-and-go mission and they flew up into the sky all atat once, some supporting others.

Batman looked at the two teenagers, his mouth set in a line but his eyebrow quirked. Robin could tell the gears were spinning.

The girl watched them go with a clenched fist and a growl on her lips.

"That's not the last we're gonna see of them, is it?" Robin remarked, already knowing the answer.

"No. Now that you have interfered, Trogaar will strike harder."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a huge shadow fell across the city. A gigantic spaceship floated across Gotham slowly.

"More of your friends?" Batman asked.

The girl shuddered. "I do not approve of your joke."

Batman shrugged and watched as the spaceship dropped a pod down on the outskirts of Gotham. A blue line of energy rippled up the sides and condensed in the form of a Gordanian, magnified a hundred fold.

"Holy giant lizard-" Robin breathed before catching himself.

"Fools!" the giant hologram berated them. "The Earth scum were warned. Your insolence will be punished. Your city shall be destroyed." With that, the hologram blipped out and the ship moved across the sky.

Batman sighed in annoyance. "Okay," he sighed, coming up with a plan.

Robin glared at the alien girl. "You really could have mentioned the giant particle weapon."

She gave him a smug smile. "Diplomacy," she purred.

Batman held her gaze for a few seconds, fixing her with a glare. She returned it with an almost bored look. "Can you get us on that ship?"

She didn't look bored anymore. She looked like she was about to throw up. "You wish for me to go on that ship? So that you may exchange my life for the well-being of your city?"

"You're not very trusting. No, I doubt handing you over will appease them much. We're going have to get them at the source."

The girl looked up at the ship, honestly looking like she might cry.

Robin sighed and went with the friendly route again. "Hey," he soothed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. We won't let them take you."

She swallowed and her face returned to its stony look. "I do not need to be protected."

He narrowed his eyes at her and let it go. She was annoying him. But if Batman was going to play the bad cop by making her go onto the ship, he had to play the good cop. He hated playing the good cop when the third party was annoying. "Is there anything we can call you?"

She jiggled back on her heels and then rocked to her toes, pondering. "In your language, it is pronounced… Star…fire." She pronounced each word carefully.

"Okay then, Starfire. If you help us destroy their weapon, they won't ever come back for you. They'll leave you alone. For good."

She considered. "Fine. Your logic suits me. I will get you onto that ship. But if you let anything happen to me… I promise that I will eventually escape the clutches of the Citadel, and I will lead the planet into war against the Earth. For vengeance." She sported a somewhat dreamy smile as she spoke the last two words.

"Uh… right. Noted," Robin answered doubtfully.

She narrowed her eyes. "I do not think you should take that threat so lightly. I am the crown princess of Tamaran."

"Tamaran? That's Vegan, right?" Batman asked as he gazed up at the ship, still thinking of a plan.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You will not divest me of any more information," she snapped.

"Didn't have to try that hard to divest you of anything." Under his breath, Batman muttered something about kissing and teenagers and hormones and loose lips, but Robin couldn't quite make it out.

Starfire flew them up to the ship, holding each of them by their wrists. Getting onto the ship was easy. The ramp was open, probably waiting for more Gordanians to load. Or maybe they were waiting for her to come back to them so that they wouldn't destroy the city. Robin wondered if Batman would send her back to keep her out of harm's way.

He scouted around for a second, glancing down hallways and checking for any cameras before beckoning the teens forward.

The three of them ducked into the shadows as Gordanian guards stalked off down the hall to the left.

Robin didn't really like this. They couldn't just pick up superheroes as they went along and add them to their roster. It didn't work like that. They had to work as a team. They had to know each other. And Robin didn't know this strange girl. Nothing she did made any sense. Especially not kissing him. He felt heat rise to his face and drew his cape around his shoulders moodily. He didn't know if he was comforted or appalled by the knowledge that no matter you went, girls would be insane and unpredictable. And pretty. Uh. No. Not that last part. Stupid brain. Stupid… not brain.

"Robin."

He jerked. Stupid of him, getting caught up in his thoughts like that. "Yeah?"

"Assess the situation for me."

Robin stepped up to Batman, noting out of the corner of his eye that Starfire seemed to be sort of cowered into the wall with her hands pressed against her chest and he spine pressed against the wall. She looked so scared. "Not that much security. I figure they're all either in Gotham or working on that particle weapon. Besides, it's not like they'd expect her to just show up here on her own. So that should leave halls open, with the weaker and less skilled guards patrolling it, if any."

Batman nodded. "Good. Where's the weapon?"

Robin frowned. How the hell was he supposed to know that? He couldn't pick out a layout to the ship. The halls stretched labyrinthine toward the middle, or possibly not to the middle, he didn't know how alien logic worked. He sighed. Think. Okay. So the fuel tank… the fuselage… storage… holding cells… He was putting it all together like a puzzle… The control center… The escape pods… Fitting it in, building blueprints in his head. "I'd say on the northwest side of the ship, or possibly the northeast, but judging by the directions those guards were going, I'd say northwest."

The corner of Batman's mouth twitched up and Robin felt himself glow with pride. "Good. Now, if we see any guards the first thing we're going to want to do is keep them quiet…"

No sooner had the words left Batman's mouth than a muffled cry sounded down the hall. Shit. Starfire was gone. Robin fled down the hall, Batman following behind them. She was choking the guard by pulling his trident against his throat, muttering in that strange, guttural language.

"She's going to kill him," Robin hissed. He could see the glow from her eyes shining in the dim light of the hallways.

Batman narrowed his eyes. The creature slumped to the ground and she pulled the trident out of its grip, still muttering in her native language. She glared at the Gordanian and sent a sharp kick to its side the made it groan, but she left it at that.

She put a hand on her hip and planted the butt of the trident on the ground as the lights in her eyes flickered out. "Are you going with me to locate the weapon, or do you wish for your precious city to become so much rubble?" she asked haughtily.

Robin could believe she was a princess then. Her chin was lifted, her body language was impatient and haughty, and her tone coupled with her formal language was nothing short of regal. He was equally annoyed and interested. Which made him more annoyed. "Aren't you going to send her back?"

Batman shrugged. "She seems to be working out okay. At least with the trident we'll be able to incapacitate any guards we come across."

Robin huffed. "She already had those starbolt things anyway." Uh oh. He knew the look on Batman's face.

"I don't mind having a woman around. It's strange that you have such an aversion to it, considering how liberal she's been with you."

Um. No. Not going there. But, wait. Was that a jab at the nature of his sexuality? He swore under his breath. "I do not have an aversion to it," he hissed.

"Good. Because I sure don't. It's a little distracting, but I'm sure I'll get used to it." His mouth was twitched into a little smile.

"Ugh. That's disgusting. She's, like, sixteen."

Batman shrugged. "Who knows what the conversion is from her years to ours?"

"Can't you be more serious? We're on a mission," Robin snapped, irked.

The tiny smile faded from his lips. "I'm waiting until I hear-"

To illustrate his point, a zap followed by that language again.

"Ah. She's taken out the first guard's companion. Done our work for us." Batman gestured for Robin to walk toward her.

He stomped away. "I don't need anyone to do my job for me."

Batman sighed, collecting himself. As much fun as teasing Robin was, they had work to get done now.

They crept up to the door of the command board, which was also where the-

"Lord Trogaar, the weapon is fully charged."

Yep. Where the weapon was. Too easy.

Batman pulled out a few discs from his belt and motioned for Robin to do the same. He palmed three explosive discs between his fingers and together, the Dynamic Duo threw their explosives at the door. It fell over spectacularly and Starfire shot starbolts through it before the dust even cleared, holding the trident in her left hand. Batman and Robin rolled into the room and immediately began attacking. There didn't seem to be a plan other than 'punch your way over to the computer', so Robin did. Oooh. The big guy in the middle must be Lord Trogaar. Okay. Robin just needed to hack the computer. Easy. He was great at hacking computers. But… oh God. Was this a touch screen? How did he make the keyboard come up? Alien tech. Right.

He was hip checked out of the way and Starfire tossed the trident at him. "Hey!" he growled. She pressed a button under the monitor and a sleek surface slid out. She touched that and her fingers flew over the keyboard. Oh jeez, now he was thinking about her fingers… what was wrong with him…

A prehensile tail wrapped around her. It was the big guy. Robin looked from the keyboard to the girl uncertainly. She grabbed the tail in her palms and let green energy surround her hands. Lord Trogaar screamed and threw her to the ground. Robin clambered to the screen. He glanced up as he tapped. Most of it was written in code, so he was okay with languages. He'd have to redirect, it was too late to stop it. Um… where to redirect…

Batman jumped two of the lizards, bashing their heads together. Starfire was fighting the big thing, and she was smacking it around rather easily. Well, she did flip a car at him literally with her hands behind her back, so he shouldn't be worried. He finished what he was doing and he slid the sleek surface back in place under the monitor.

He was in time to see Starfire get smacked to the ground. Ouch.

He flipped onto Lord Trogaar's back. He caught sight of Batman finishing up with the rest of the guards. He wondered briefly how many there were. Stupid of him- always count the enemy and their weapons. He'd been too concerned about the computer to worry about it. Sloppiness like that could get him killed, he reprimanded himself.

He was thrown from the lizard's back and caught in mid-air by the wrist.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Do not get used to it," Starfire snapped. She threw him fiercely at Lord Trogaar, but he was ready for it this time. He jabbed the trident she'd given him at the huge reptilian alien. Maybe he shouldn't have used his own tech against him. Trogaar snapped the base of the trident and grabbed Robin by the cape. Damn capes. He tossed him over his shoulder at the wall behind him and swatted Starfire out of the air. The steel floor dented below her.

Trogaar unsheathed his claws and stood over Starfire.

"Bruce…" Robin mumbled, reaching for her with his injured arm while trying to push himself into action.

Batman reacted instantly. He grabbed the lizard's tail and tugged on it. Disgustingly, it came off.

"What did you-?!" Robin gasped.

"It'll grow back," Batman muttered angrily.

Trogaar turned and rounded on Batman. Starfire wasn't getting up.

Okay, okay. Robin's arm was dislocated. Easy fix, no biggie. He just had to pop it back in place. He lined it up, panting a little in anticipation of the pain to come, and then put all of his weight on his arm. It hurt like fire for a few seconds and then it dulled to a fierce ache. Good enough.

He grabbed in his belt. He threw ice discs at Trogaar's feet, freezing him. The alien roared in pain. Robin shot a grappling hook at the creature and let it go to wrap around its legs. Batman shot another to wrap around its arms. It fell to the ground, ice shattering around it. It was still thrashing.

"Are those going to hold?" Robin asked doubtfully.

"It should. I'm not sure how strong-"

A pained yell came from behind Robin and he turned to see Starfire shoot what seemed to be the last of her energy at the Gordanian Lord. He stilled. There was shocked silence.

"Did you just-?" Robin choked.

"N-no… stunned… he is stunned… Drained… I am… I need…"

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. That wasn't good. But first, the weapon. Batman slid in front of the monitor. He growled at it. "Damn it, it's all in code. What did you do?"

"Set it on a crash course for the nearest Red Giant," Robin answered, rubbing at his shoulder where his arm had been dislocated.

Batman considered. "Hm. Not bad thinking. Perhaps a white one would have been better. They're hotter so it would burn it up faster." He started typing on the computer.

Of course. Always nitpicking. Robin just grunted.

"Sun… need…" And then odd grunting noises and that language she spoke.

Robin stooped beside her. "Hey. Hey. Starfire." He shook her shoulder. "Hello?"

"You heard her," Batman said, crossing his arms. "She needs sun."

Robin raised an eyebrow at his mentor. "You mean, like, she's solar powered?"

Batman shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just listening to what she's saying."

Robin sighed and picked her up bridal style. "She's really light."

"Swoon over it, why don't you," Batman quipped as he turned with a swish of his cape.

Robin frowned. "I meant," he snapped, "She's light considering she's wearing all this armor and she's like, six feet tall." He hurried after Batman.

They went back to the ramp, where Robin set her down in the open. He guessed the sun had to be shining, even though it was kind of dark around them. She didn't move, and he knelt next to her, patting her cheek with his knuckles.

"Hey," he called. "Alien princess girl. C'mon." She gasped and sat up, startling him.

"I'm glad you're o-"

She flew away from them without looking twice, going in the direction of the sun.

Robin gaped after her.

"Don't look so sad," Batman consoled him, clapping him on the back. "I bet there's a whole planet of girls that look just like her."

Robin narrowed his eyes and looked at his mentor with an exasperated expression. "I don't care about that! How the hell are we gonna get off this damn ship?" He kicked the wall angrily.

Batman sighed and pressed a button on his belt.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 - Bat-Hallucinations and Rainstorms

"No. Not from my star system. But you know of the Omega Men? She's from their neck of the woods."

Robin sighed. He liked seeing Clark and all, but he was feeling sulky and Batman had teleported them to Watchtower to do a little snooping on Starfire. He understood the need for thoroughness, but he really wasn't in the mood. Bruce could have at least dropped Robin at the Manor instead of going right from weird alien ship to the Watchtower.

Superman and Batman were crowded around the computer, and Batman was searching for information while Superman provided what he could. Robin was sulking behind them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yep, she's crown princess of Tamaran. Trained on Okaara for four years. Oh, damn. She's been caught up in a whole POW contract."

Robin glanced over Bruce's shoulder.

"Interested now, are you?" Bruce asked without looking behind him.

The Teen Wonder crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

"If you're that interested, you might have to find out more on your own. The record ends there. She was taken by the Gordanians about a year ago, our time. Recently the Citadel demanded use of her. I don't know what's happened between then, though. No records." Bruce pushed the chair back.

"Okay," Robin deadpanned. "Any chance of getting back to the Manor tonight?"

"What's with him?" Clark asked with a tilt of his head. He sounded concerned but Robin hated it when people talked about him like he wasn't there.

"I'm fine, if you wanted my opinion," he snapped.

Bruce sighed wearily. "Hormones. You're lucky you never took on an apprentice."

Okay. Robin was about to teleport himself back to Gotham.

"What has you so antsy, Dick?" Clark asked, taking on a gentler tone.

Robin sighed and was about to mumble an apology when Batman interrupted with, "I bet he's got a date."

"That, mainly," Robin growled, indicating Bruce with his thumb.

"You're off on your own in due time," Clark offered.

"Yeah," Robin muttered. "Just getting through a few more days will be hard."

Clark put his hand on Robin's shoulder supportively. "You'll be fine."

…

Robin sat back on his heels. He looked out his bedroom window. The sky over Gotham was bruising into night.

Jump. Chosen mainly because it was the base of some school for teenaged hoodlums. The HIVE Academy, it's called. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going to make his base, but there was a little island just off the coast. He could do something with that.

He wanted to make his presence known. Yeah, Batman had the Batsignal, but he wanted to connect with the civilians and the law enforcement. None of that evil-vigilante crap he and Batman had to put up with sometimes.

He was already in uniform. He'd changed before so that he could get a few minutes to think without being disrupted. He'd miss Gotham. Sure. He'd been living here for the last eight years. He was leaving behind a lot. Not just Alfred or Bruce or Babs… No.

Robin groaned and pushed himself to his feet. So much for thinking. He flipped out from his room onto a tree branch, where he hopped onto lower branches to get closer to the ground. He wasn't supposed to leave the Manor like that while he was in uniform. But tough.

Once he was far away enough, he shot a grappling hook to a rooftop. Just for leverage so he could get around faster.

Gotham was a round city. There were layers of the city, like rings. Wayne Manor and other opulent buildings, both businesses and residents, were in the center. Then, as you went out, the buildings started looking older and more weathered. Bars started appearing over windows. Graffiti became more and more abundant. The north side of Gotham was a little better off than the south side. But not by much. Right now, Robin was on his way to the upper quarter of the southeast side of Gotham. To see the one thing that he was going to have the hardest time leaving behind. The thing he wanted to leave behind the most.

The streets started to get kind of slummy. A rich boy like Dick Grayson wouldn't- shouldn't- be going here. Not because it's beneath them. Because they'll get the crap kicked out of them. Watch, wallet, expensive shoes all torn away. Left with enough bruises to make up for it. If they were lucky.

But he's not Dick Grayson now. He's Robin. Just Robin. Not Batman and. He never felt this empowered when he was Batman and Robin. It felt good. It made him anxious to leave and go to Jump, where he'd feel this empowered all the time. He skidded to a stop. An old, faded billboard was in front of him. For Haly's Circus. They'd always set up in the same spot when they came back to Gotham. Robin leaped on top of it into a handstand. He balanced there and lifted one hand. He started to lose his balance and he let his feet dangle and his knees bend and he flipped onto the roof of the building behind the billboard. He faced the back of it, just plywood, and he gave it a long, meaningful look before setting off again.

Seven years. He'd been back here a few times since it happened. Usually with Batman, once with Batgirl, a couple of times by himself. This, though… this would be the last time. At least, the time like this. The last time he came here to remember. He stopped and crouched at the ledge of a building. There was a rotunda beneath him, almost like a large, circular alleyway. Buildings were pressed against it and right now a clothesline was going through it. What a crummy place to put a circus.

He flipped down, crouching on the ground to absorb the impact of landing. He would have been standing somewhere around here. Eight years ago. His parents would have been… about there. Just to the right of the clothesline. He curled his fingers into his palms thinking about it, and pain filled his chest. His parents were taken from him. The Flying Graysons. They flew, alright, they just didn't land. Robin squeezed his eyes shut as emotional pain so strong it almost seemed like a physical pain rocked through him.

But it was okay. He wasn't angry. Sure, he wished it didn't happen. But his parents would be proud of him. He'd continued to fly. A Robin. He got the name from his mother. He was her robin. And he still was. He stretched out on the ground, spread eagled. He rested his cheek on the stone ground. He kept the family colors. He kept the name his mother had given him. He kept their memory. He wasn't leaving them. Really, he wasn't.

Tears bubbled up behind his eyes. Don't cry, Dick… Don't cry, Robin… They'd want this for you.

"Why are you sprawled out on the ground like a five-legged leaping lek'tork?"

He jolted into a sitting position so fast it hurt. Shit. It was the alien girl. Catching him crying. Well, he wasn't really crying yet. But it was the closest to crying he'd come in years. Well, except for one day out of the year. Not that that day was entirely unrelated to this place.

"Where've you been?" he asked after clearing his throat.

"That matters not. You may not ask me a question until you have answered mine."

Jeez. That was kind of annoying. "Nice threads."

She was wearing a black halter top with some kind of metal armor attached to the top with a green jewel set on the top. It was a tiny top, though. It showed all of her stomach. Actually, it really only covered what was necessary. And cleavage. It covered cleavage. She had on a short skirt, again in black and with a silver belt with the same green gem fitted in the center. And it was short. Surely impractically so. And these black boots that went up past her knees. They weren't heeled, but Robin almost preferred that. It kind of bugged him when girls wore heeled boots. They were superheroes, not runway models. So much skin showing. She was weirdly tan. Her skin was almost gold. She wore an armband on her right bicep and two metal gauntlet glove things, again with green gems settled in them.

"Please, where do you see threads?" she asked.

"Ahh… that's clothes. Sorry." Stop looking at her legs!

She frowned at him. "That is a colloquialism?"

Don't look at her stomach either. "Uh… yeah. It's just a thing people say. Don't worry, my dad doesn't know what it means either."

She raised a small alien eyebrow at him. "Why not just say clothes?"

Eyes, Robin! Look at her eyes! "I don't know. It's just a different way of saying things."

She nodded slowly. "We do not corrupt out language in such ways at home."

"Yeah. Well." Robin cleared his throat again. Suddenly, he was really uncomfortable with this girl showing up while he was trying to say goodbye to his parents.

"You are sad," she quickly, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Uh…" He scratched at the nape of his neck. "You could say that."

She floated over to him and kneeled in front of him so they were at eye-level. "Why are you sad, Earth Boy?"

He coughed. "It's Robin, actually."

"Is that not the name of a bird?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah. It is. But it's also my name." Ordinarily, he'd be kind of annoyed at having to answer so many inane questions. But her eyes were so bright they were boring into his. He was almost glad for his mask. He was afraid her eyes would have an even greater effect on him without it.

She nodded like she was accepting that. "And, Robin, why are you sad?"

"I never said I was sad."

"I can tell. My people are a very emotional people. Even though you hide your eyes-" she punctuated this with a poke at his mask on the bridge of his nose, which for some reason made him blush pretty violently- "I am aware of what someone looks like when they are attempting to hold back tears. Has someone hurt you?"

"No. Nothing like that. I'm just… saying goodbye." Why he was opening up to her, he couldn't say. She just looked so interested. So innocent.

"You are leaving?"

"Yup."

A light drizzle started. Of course. Gotham couldn't have nice weather for Robin's departure. It had to be a 'don't let the door hit you on the way out' kind of goodbye.

Starfire made an alarmed noise and pulled Robin roughly into the awning of a building, pressing them both against the stucco.

"What the hell?" Robin demanded, prying her fingers away from his shirt. Long, tan fingers, and she had really pretty nails, for a girl that was an escapee from a POW contract. Ugh, he was looking at her nails now? Bruce would have a few things to say about that.

"The sky… you have made it cry." She looked genuinely frightened. She was glancing around desperately, trying to find something to appease the rain.

"Um… it's okay. It's just a drizzle." Surely it's had to have rained since she's been here. "It's just rain. Precipitation."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "It's okay, look. Come on." He closed his fingers around her wrist firmly and tugged her out into the rotunda again. The clothesline was retracting into one of the windows of an apartment above them.

She shrank back but he tugged her forward. Oh, she was getting wet. Which was like, duh, of course she was going to get wet. But he didn't think this through. Her hair was hanging heavily on her shoulders and her eyelashes stuck together and her top… not that there was much there was much left to the imagination but… And water was running down her skirt and pooling around the top of her boots. God, if Babs knew what he was thinking, she would have smacked him twice since they stepped out from the lee of the building.

She looked up at the sky, some wet strands of hair clinging to her shoulders. "It cries for your departure."

Robin ran a hand through his hair, rearranging it slightly so that it wouldn't just stick to his scalp. "That's a nice thought, but, no. It rains in Gotham all the time."

"It is most dark here," she observed, still looking at the sky.

"Yeah. It doesn't rain where you come from?" He dropped her wrist as they approached the middle of the rotunda.

"Tamaran does not mourn the absence of one individual. Not even its princess." She turned her gaze to him, shaking her hair away from her face. "You must hold great sway in Gotham."

Girl knew how to give a guy an ego trip. "Really, it's not sad that I'm leaving. It rains to bring water to the plants and put it back in lakes."

Her eyes widened at him. "This depressing weather sustains life?"

"Well sometimes there are floods, in which case…" she was giving him a blank look which was growing more worried with every word he spoke. "Ahh… yeah."

"Your planet is most strange," she said wearily.

"You're staying here?" he asked, surprised.

Just like that, she started crying. Woah. She was like an emotional time bomb. Robin stared at her. Maybe he should pat her back or something…?

"I cannot return to Tamaran. There is a bounty out for me. Only in this sector of the galaxy am I protected. The Gordanians fear your JSA," she admitted.

"Uh… That's JLA…"

She nodded and sniffled. "I am trapped here."

He winced. "Oh, hey. Come on. You don't have to be trapped. You can make a life for yourself."

"I am alone. There are so many Earthlings. Millions… Billions, even. I have flown around your world… so many languages… so many colors of skin and eyes… so many governments… I am at a loss as to how I should behave. I must learn on my own."

Oh God. She was really having a fit. Not that her fears were unfounded. If he was in her situation, Robin would be afraid, too. Actually, once he almost thought he was in a similar situation to her. He was lucky. Bruce Wayne came and rescued him.

"Look you don't have to… I mean where I'm going…" Nope. Couldn't do it. He blushed and his tongue wouldn't do what he wanted to it to do and she was looking at him with those bright wide eyes and it just made it worse.

Then he saw Batman. On the roof across from him. Robin wondered how long he'd been there. Who was he kidding? Batman probably followed him out of the Manor. He'd get in trouble for that later. Aw, crap, he was late for patrolling. And he had a crying girl. A crying, wet, alien girl.

Batman jerked his head to the right and Robin followed the gesture. The Batsignal. Robin had never been more relieved.

"Umm… Look, sorry… I gotta… I mean, there's trouble and…" Oh shit. She had those eyes on him and he couldn't move. He wondered if that was a power she had. Because he really wanted to leave. Move. Flip away. Faint. Do something.

She blinked at him and nodded before flying off.

"Uh, wait!" he called after her. Now he was kind of worried and he felt guilty for being so relieved.

Oh, well. She was gone. He made his way up to the roof roof where Batman was standing. "Did you enjoy your date?" Batman asked dryly, not sounding amused at all.

"Oh, shut up. I didn't plan that. I came to say goodbye to mom and dad." Robin froze. Oh, yeah. He kind of forgot about that. "Mom and dad…"

Batman put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "You're not leaving them."

"I know. It's just… I'll be so far away. This is the first place I'll live where they won't… be there," he choked.

Batman gave his shoulder a squeeze. "They'd be proud of you." There was a pause while Robin tried to pull himself together. Then, "I'm proud of you."

Robin glanced up at Batman, who dropped his hand from Robin's shoulder.

"Come on. We have work to do." He jumped over to an adjoining building.

Robin shook his head a little to clear the sound of his own hallucination away. It must have been a hallucination. There was no way that was what Bruce actually said.

Maybe he should go back to the Manor. It was raining and he was leaving his parents and he was distracted by wet girls and now he was hallucinating. With a small groan, he leaped after Batman.

Batman led him to a small jewelry store. The door was slightly ajar and there were red lights flaring inside.

"Oh. Great," Robin sighed, smacking his forehead with his hand.

Batman raised an eyebrow at his apprentice. "What?"

"Obviously Catwoman. She left you an invitation."

"Just go," Batman muttered, sounding annoyed.

Robin sighed. He entered quietly, Batman behind him.

Yep. Catwoman. Gotham really could have given him a more unpredictable last night. Seriously. Rain and Catwoman in the same day. He might as well have stayed home.

"Batman, darling, you brought your child," she purred from further inside.

Robin really hated Catwoman sometimes.

"Put the jewels down, Selina."

At least Bruce was skipping the flirting. That was a nice break.

"But, honey, it's raining outside. You do know how I hate rain…" she pouted.

Batman didn't say anything. He didn't say anything. Robin imagined Batman throwing his hands up and saying 'Well, in that case… alright, let's go, Robin'.

He grabbed a birdarang from his belt and aimed to pin the satchel of jewels in her hand against the wall. Then Batman would just let her run off and Robin would call it a day.

Catwoman did a one handed cartwheel over the attack. "Fine, boys. Come get the kitty." She did this really disturbing slithering thing past Batman that involved a lot of rubbing against him and slipped out the door.

"Really?" Robin demanded, turning toward the door.

Batman just shrugged.

Selina was jumping up the walls of an alley and Robin deployed a grappling hook from his gun. He landed in front of her and assumed an offensive stance, his knees and elbows bent and his hands straight.

And then a streak of red, black, and green landed next to him. That took him by surprise. "Um…" Robin stammered.

Starfire wasn't looking at him, though. Not even a little. She was staring at Catwoman. "Um, Batman?" Robin called, very confused.

"Ooooh," Catwoman purred. "I can sense the kitty in her."

Kitty? What? Robin launched himself at Catwoman, wanting to end it so that he could make sure that she was okay. Catwoman hopped back and threw the bag at Starfire, who caught it was a confused look on her face. "Go, Kitty," she called, till dodging Robin. "I'll find you and we'll split the loot."

Robin turned to look at Starfire. She was rifling through the bag, still looking confused. He turned to her but Catwoman caught him by the cape and yanked him back toward her. "Ah ah ah," she purred in his ear. Robin dropped to his hands and kicked out behind him. Catwoman grabbed her whip from where it sat at her hip and coiled it around Robin's wrists as she jumped over his foot. He fell onto his shoulders and groaned as he tried to snap the whip.

He looked back at Starfire to find Batman looming over her. "You don't want to take that," he promised in a low voice.

"Starfire, don't," Robin called, hoping that she would recognize him as a friend and realize the mistake she was making. She held up her right hand out and it began glowing green. Batman reached for his belt, but she hit him before he could reach anything.

Batman was thrown a few feet away onto his back and she streaked into the sky, but Robin could just make out a round device attach itself to one of her boots. Probably a tracker. As soon as she was gone with the jewels, Catwoman released him from the whip.

"What did you do to her?" Robin demanded, rubbing his wrists and sitting up.

"Nothing. I could feel the kitty in her calling out to me. She needed help."

"I know that. She's scared. So, what, you're giving her the jewels?" he asked crossly.

"Half. She gets half."

Robin went over to Batman and Selina followed. "We put a tracker on her." Well, Batman did. But the 'we' came with the 'Batman and Robin' territory.

"I'll take care of that," Catwoman answered.

"You alright?" Robin asked Batman, nudging his arm with his boot.

Batman groaned and sat up. "That's an interesting bit of power she has. It's a mix of a thermal and electric blast."

Analyzing. Yep, he was fine.

The Caped Crusader turned his attention to Catwoman. "It's a little early to make a jewel run. We just started."

"I wanted to say goodbye to Robin," she purred, extending her arms for a hug.

Robin stepped back. "Thanks for the sentiment," he mumbled.

"What was that about?" Batman asked, brushing himself off and standing up.

"I don't know. She's interesting. She from around here?" Catwoman asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Not from this solar system," Batman informed her.

"A space kitty…" Catwoman said thoughtfully.

"Robin's girlfriend," Batman added.

Robin made a noise in his throat that was more high pitched than he wanted it to be.

Catwoman gave him a Cheshire smile.

"Does making fun of me mean you want me to leave?" Robin demanded moodily.

Batman shrugged.

He wasn't about to stand around and watch their weirdly flirty attempt of making it look like Batman wanted to incarcerate Catwoman.

Robin was torn between going back to the Manor and going back to the old Haley's circus rotunda. He decided that it was dark and rainy and he'd have to wake up early to go to Jump tomorrow, so he went back to the Manor to get Alfred to go through a few photo albums with him.

Chapter Text

Robin stood on the ledge of his Tower while the sun rose. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He didn't want to be part of a team. He wanted to be on his own. Like he was while he was going to visit Haly's old stomping grounds. But he formed a team anyway.

He couldn't help it. His first job wasn't that hard. Some English kid named Punk Rocket. It wasn't that easy, but it wasn't that hard. He could have handled it on his own. But this kid called Beast Boy showed up, and he looked so lost. Robin just saw himself from a few years ago.

And a guy called Cyborg. A little pushy, but really adept with technology. Robin knew a thing or two about technology, but not like Cyborg. They might rub shoulders once in a while, but Robin could really use someone like that to collaborate with when it came to cases.

A weird girl named Raven. She had this creepy sorceress deal going on. She was a little unresponsive and kind of hesitant, but she stayed with them. Robin thought it might be because she didn't have anywhere else to go, and that made him think of Starfire really guiltily.

The four of them together formed the Teen Titans. Bruce shook his head, told him the cute alliterative name had to go. But Robin liked it, and his friends liked it.

Robin had never been a leader. That was always Batman. But It seemed kind of right. Raven and Beast Boy let him call the shots. Cyborg resisted a little, but the challenge was welcome. It made Robin think more.

He was very happy with the way things worked out. Even though he hadn't meant to form a team, he felt so much better now. He felt almost normal. Even though he took to staying in uniform 24/7 at Bruce's demand so that his teammates wouldn't know his identity and therefore Batman's, he was closer to being a normal kid than he'd been in years. He had friends.

Sure, he'd had Barbara and Wally and Roy and Donna. But that was on a need to know basis. They came and went whenever duty called. It was nice to know that you were always going to have someone there for you.

The Tower was only half built. Cyborg was integrating his own tech into it. Robin wasn't quite sure what that meant, but Cyborg assured him it was awesome. Easily downloadable system upgrades. It was like the Batcave swallowed the Manor. They had really awesome stuff and really high tech to back it up. Bruce grumbled about the cost, but Robin knew it was only to keep up appearances. He didn't have much else to do with that money, anyway. Robin would have to do a lot more than build a high-tech fortress for four teenage superheroes to make a dent in his fortune. And that wasn't even a joke.

He liked coming up to the roof. Gotham was always so damn dreary. It was constantly raining. Even when it wasn't raining, the sky in Gotham didn't seem to absorb any light. It was constantly sooty and depressing. But in Jump, the sky absorbed the sun's glow and spread it over the whole city. It took Robin a few days to get used to the heat. It made him slightly sluggish. In the morning, though, the air was still a little cool from the night and he liked the way the warmth brushed over him carefully.

Jump was smaller than Gotham. It had a square layout, which probably made it easier to navigate, but Robin was having a difficult time adjusting. He split the city up into 20 sectors. The city was on the beach, and that made it a little hard to patrol because they had to look underneath piers and boardwalks.

He didn't even mind staying in costume all the time, because he was working more often than not. Which he liked. It was a little tedious, because Bruce had to keep bringing Dick Grayson back to attend events or just be seen around Gotham. He couldn't let anyone make the connection between Dick and Robin. Not even the Titans.

He thought of Starfire occasionally. And not just in the usual way that a teenaged boy would think about a pretty girl that kissed him, although he did that too. He wondered where she was. Maybe Catwoman took her in. He didn't know whether this thought comforted him or made him more nervous.

He decided to go on early morning patrol. Really, it was just taking a walk. But calling it an early morning patrol would sound more official in a report to Bruce. Getting off their island was a bit of a pain, as Robin couldn't fly. Raven usually created a disc of dark energy for him to stand on until they reached their destination. For now, he stretched out his cape, modified to act as a glider, and jumped off the roof.

Using the glider was a little tricky, but Robin got the hang of it kind of quickly. He was a Grayson, after all. He was born to fly. He alighted on the ground just off the shore from their tower and tucked his cape back into place.

The sun, the salt in the air, the people… All so different from Gotham.

Robin walked by the piers. He wished he could stand at the water's edge in his civvies. He kind of felt stupid standing on the beach in spandex and Kevlar and steel toed boots.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught of flash of fiery red. He turned. It was just him on the beach. It was still pretty early, so he was alone. That red… It made him think of…

His communicator beeped. Wrong frequency for the Titans. Robin sighed and flipped it open.

"Robin. Report."

He sighed again, mostly for Bruce's benefit. "The sun literally just came up."

"Any missions during the night?"

"Not really."

He raised an eyebrow at his ward. "Why not? Do the criminals in Jump have a bedtime?"

"Yes, actually. The HIVE Academy reinforces a strict curfew from Sunday to Friday."

Batman was still for a second. "Alright, fine. I need you back in Gotham on Wednesday for an event."

Robin groaned. Another reason he really didn't like going back to Gotham was because if there was a case, he couldn't participate. Explaining Robin and Dick Grayson's simultaneous reappearance in Gotham at the same time was a little bit trickier than they could manage. Plus, now that he had friends in Jump, it was hard to go back to lonely Gotham.

"When will I be back here?"

"Thursday. I guess Wednesday night if you're really eager."

Robin nodded. "Alright. Fine."

"I wasn't really asking," Bruce pointed out.

"I said fine. Don't push it," Robin snapped.

Bruce gave him the 'you're not in charge here' glare that Robin received with his 'you can't boss me around forever' annoyed look. His communicator vibrated in his palm.

Bruce perked up interestedly. "An alert?"

"Yeah. Robin, out." Robin snapped his communicator closed and reopened it, pulling up a grid of the streets of Jump City. A little bit southwest of the main road, in sector twelve. Robin started running toward it. He was in sector nine now, and twelve was located diagonally from nine.

"Robin! Where you at?" Cyborg asked, his face filling the rounded screen of Robin's communicator and replacing the grid.

"I went out. I'll meet you there."

Cyborg grumbled something and said, "Fine. We'll meet you there. Cyborg, out."

Robin snapped the communicator closed and went for his usual 'grapple line up to the roof and then run on the rooftops' gambit.

Ah crap. It was a jewelry store. With the door pushed slightly open. Red lights flicked on and off. It was eerily similar to his last night in Gotham.

Nobody'd tried to rob the jewelry store while he was there. The academy students took on smaller jobs. They were more organized and usually had a bigger goal than just stealing.

Robin did a set of acrobatics until he landed on the ground in front of the slightly open door. He pushed it open slowly.

It was Starfire. He swore inwardly. "What are you doing here?" he asked as she calmly observed a few jewels behind the glass.

"Observing the merchandise," she answered simply. She melted the glass with the green glow in her hand rather than smashing it. "And taking it."

"Why here? Why didn't you stay in-?"

"Gotham? I did not like Gotham. That lovely woman convinced me to look outward. And I went to the beaches. It reminds me of my home."

Ick. Catwoman, a lovely woman. "You had beaches, but not rain?"

She plucked a jewel out of its place and shoved it in a white satchel in her hand. "I understand that it can be hard for you to fathom." Her voice was full of pity. It was annoying.

"You don't have to steal."

"What is it that you suggest I do?" she asked, selecting another gem.

"I've put together this team. You can-"

"The Teen Titans?" she scoffed. "No, thank you."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "But why not?"

"Because I want these." She held a small, bright green gem between her thumb and index finger. She turned it toward her eyes to scrutinize it before tossing it into her bag.

"I know you're scared," he said, remembering their conversation the last time he saw her. "I can help you."

She looked at him blankly. "I do not want your help."

Robin was losing his patience. "Then I'm going to have to stop you."

"You may try. You may give chase." She paused, observing him. "That is what I want."

He raised an eyebrow. "You want me to chase you?"

"At least when you chase me, it will be because I have committed a crime," she reasoned bitterly.

He frowned at her. "Look, I don't want to do this. But the rest of my team-"

Out of time. Cyborg kicked the door in loudly- Robin would have to have a talk about stealth with him later- and Starfire jumped into the air.

Robin drew out his bo-staff and extended it, holding it horizontally. It wasn't an offensive stance; he was still giving her a chance.

"It was glorious meeting you, Titans," she said politely before blasting a hole in the ceiling with her green energy. Robin threw an arm over his head, which was unnecessary as Raven had already put up a shield of dark energy above them to catch any stray debris.

"Titans! Get her!" Robin ordered. "She's got jewels!"

Cyborg aimed a blue blast of sound at the whole in the ceiling, making it even bigger. That was another thing they'd have to talk about. Property damage.

Beast Boy changed into a hummingbird and flitted through the hole in the ceiling, followed by Raven. Robin and Cyborg slid out the doors. Raven was putting up energy blockades, slowing down Starfire's progress. Beast Boy, in the shape of a falcon, was climbing in the air, glancing down at the girls as he went.

"What's he doin'?" Cyborg grumbled as he aimed another shot.

"Peregrine falcons have the fastest recorded flight of any bird when in a dive," Robin explained, impressed with Beast Boy's knowledge. Maybe the changeling didn't even realize that. Maybe he knew it instinctively. It wasn't a bad plan, dive bombing her. Raven certainly wasn't comfortable attacking, so having her keep Starfire still while Beast Boy attacked was a pretty decent idea.

Robin ran around the side of the building and shot a grappling hook to the roof of the next building. He had to anticipate the next move. If they didn't catch her… Well, she'd probably go straight up. He had to start looking into a base for her. Where was she staying? Probably the old business section. Or by the docks. He had so much ground to cover.

He ducked into the shadows of the adjoining rooftop, waiting, grappling hook ready in his hand.

She threw a few starbolts at Raven, who blocked them easily. Beast Boy made his move, diving at her as a falcon. About two thirds of the way between where he began the dive and Starfire, he shifted to an elephant. Raven disappeared into the ground, but Starfire didn't even try to move. She put her bag of gems carefully between her teeth, like a mother cat carrying a kitten. She bent her knees and raised her arms. She was going to try to catch him.

Robin flinched. She'd thrown a car at him, but she'd lifted that herself. She was able to gauge the weight and adjust slowly. Now she was going to have to catch an elephant-with tusks- from a dive. He watched as she took the weight, groaning. The roof started cracking under her feet and she pushed Beast Boy away from her, tossing him at Raven with a forceful shove. Beast Boy changed to his human form at the last second, but they still got thrown to the ground with enough force to bounce up and then crash down, winded.

They should have rolled with the landing. He'd have to teach them that.

Starfire took the bag in her hand and turned to fly when a burst of blue light hit her square in the back. She fell forward and her bag slid out from her hands, some of the jewels spilling out from the mouth.

Robin sheathed his grappling hook and smiled. His team had done it. He jumped over to the roof Starfire had fallen onto and took out a pair of handcuffs from his belt. He motioned for Cyborg to check on Raven and Beast Boy.

She was a little groggy, but he made her sit up and clipped the cuff around one wrist, then the other as he coaxed them behind her back.

"Robin?" she murmured, her eyes fluttering open.

"Yeah. I'm arresting you." He scooped up the bag quickly to dangle it in front of her face. "You can't steal here."

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "You cannot on Tamaran, either. I am aware of the legal repercussions."

"Why do you do it, then? Do you need money? There are other ways…"

"I do not wish to be lectured." Starfire stood up, Robin straightening and raising an eyebrow at her. "I will take my leave. I thank you for the entertainment."

"Entertainment?" he demanded indignantly. "What do you mean, take your leave?"

Starfire furrowed her brow. "Have I misused a colloquialism? I do not know how else to phrase this." She paused, searching for words.

"You can't just leave. I have to take you to the police. You'll serve time for breaking into the jewelers. Attempted robbery, breaking and entering…"

"I do not wish for that."

"You're not princess here. You can't just do whatever you 'wish'. There are consequences," Robin explained, irritated.

"There are only consequences if you are caught," Starfire purred, stepping forward a little and leaning toward Robin in a way that made him uncomfortable.

"You look pretty caught to me," he snapped, refusing to back up because that was what she wanted.

She smiled at him and lowered her lids a little. "Looks can be deceiving," she said softly.

That made him back up. He didn't really mean to, but she was so close to him and she was looking at him in a way that absolutely terrified him. Which was saying something, as he'd been on the receiving end of many of Bruce's best glares. He thought he was immune to intimidation by facial expression, but this was a whole new breed of animal next to Bruce's looks.

She strained her arms and the handcuffs broke at the chain. Robin gulped. Starfire bent to the ground and calmly picked up the jewels that spilled out of the satchel when she fell to the floor. She glanced at the bag in his hands. "You may keep those." Cradling the remaining gems in her hands, she took off in a blur of green, red, and black.

Oh. Shit. She got away. That was bad. He'd have to find her hiding spot and create handcuffs with a denser metal. If he were Bruce, he would have slipped a tracker on her person by now. But he wasn't and he didn't and he would be hearing about that in person on Wednesday.

…

"And you just let her escape."

Robin sighed and ran a hand through his slicked back hair, which made him quickly turn back to the mirror to fix it. "I didn't let her. She broke my handcuffs."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at his ward and couldn't stop the twitch in one side of his lip. "Broke your handcuffs, huh?"

"I really think I hate you sometimes," Robin grumbled with a glare. "Besides, I got most of the jewels back. I looked into it, and some of the ones she actually took were pretty flawed. She stole some uncut gems."

"All green, right?" Bruce asked. He straightened the lapel on his jacket before attaching his cuff links.

Robin nodded. "Different shades. Emerald, jade, peridot, tourmaline…"

"She's not from around here. She might not have known how well cut a jewel was by looking at it."

"Yeah, I thought of that, but it still doesn't explain anything. Other than the color, there was no pattern, because it wasn't like she took only low quality stones."

"Those blasts she has are green. Could that have anything to do with it?" Bruce asked as he straightened his tie.

"I don't know much about her. She wears green gems. So maybe. But I can't say for sure."

"I wish you'd wear a black tie," Bruce grumbled.

Robin rolled his eyes. "It's so dark, nobody'll notice, anyway." He flicked his deep red tie sulkily. "What's this for, again?"

"Wayne Enterprises' anniversary. Same as last year," Bruce answered.

"That's not fair. There are like twenty of these damn things in a year, you can't expect me to remember each one. You hardly remember each one," Robin snapped.

"Cool it."

Robin sighed. Now that he'd been in uniform for almost a week, and in his mask for a week straight, it was kind of hard being without it. His eyes felt naked, and he kept raising his hand to run it through his spiked hair, remembering at the last minute that he'd agreed with Bruce that Dick Grayson didn't spike his hair.

Bruce put a hand on Robin's shoulder and they both smiled as Alfred opened the door and guests came into the main lounge.

Robin just wanted to be at home. Beast Boy and Cyborg were probably yelling at each other between bouts of Gamestation and pizza. He was stuck at one of Bruce's stupid events. The only thing that made it bearable was that he was doing this so that he could be Robin full time. After a few events he could start missing a few and before long his absence would go unnoticed.

A few of the teenage daughters of important- or unimportant- people connected with Wayne Enterprises went up to him giggling. He offered them small smiles and tacit greetings. He was never rude ever at one of Bruce's events, but being outright nice made girls cling to him. He learned that the hard way.

Just when he started thinking that it couldn't get much more boring, Selina appeared in front of him.

Robin didn't really mind Selina that much. He didn't like apprehending- or not apprehending- Catwoman, because she and Bruce flirted and it made him feel sick. And they weren't much better at events like these. But when Dick Grayson and Selina Kyle had a conversation, he usually didn't mind.

"I heard you met my kitty cat a few days ago," she purred as she pulled him into a friendly hug.

This time, however, Robin didn't think he would like talking to her so much. "Your kitty?" he echoed, playing dumb.

"You know. Green eyes. Red and gold coloring." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Loooonnnnng legs."

He coughed and pushed her back. Then he gathered himself enough say, "Oh. Yeah. I guess."

"I heard she scratched you right up," Selina quipped with a smirk, curling her fingers like claws. "Also, something about handcuffs?"

"She did not! I mean, we didn't actually fight. I mean…" he fumbled as he tried to turn that into something that related to cats.

Selina smiled widely. "You didn't? You let her get away?"

"We shouldn't be talking about this right now," Robin said quickly.

She pouted at him. "Fine. Dick, I have someone I'd like for you to meet."

Robin raised an eyebrow at her.

"She's my niece."

"Uh huh," Robin answered suspiciously.

"She's not from around here, so I think that leaving her in the care of the polite and knowledgeable Dick Grayson, the son of the owner of this fine business, while I go mingle with a few of the other adults would be a great idea. Would you help me out, Dick?"

Robin glanced at Bruce, who was shaking the hand of some guy with a mullet and a bow tie. "Um…"

"Great," Selina cooed with a smile. "Kory!" she called, reaching out her arm.

He almost ran out of the room. He tried to, but Selina's hand clamped around his elbow held him still. "Is there a problem?" she asked sweetly, injecting all kinds of false concern into the question.

Robin stared at her, eyes wide.

"No problem, then?"

Standing in front of him, smiling coyly, was Starfire. Except not Starfire. She was dressed normally, for the occasion. She wore a simple purple dress with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline and white gloves. Her hair was done intricately, tucked up neatly in a way that made him just want to tug it down. He winced at the thought. His eyes flicked to the necklace she was wearing. A bright green gem on a gold chain.

"Go on, Dickie," Selina purred. She gave him a tiny nudge in the shoulder.

"Greetings," Starfire said, extending a hand for him to shake.

He turned to snap something at Selina, but she was gone. He turned again and Starfire was standing a lot closer to him than she had been before. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.

"My Aunt Selina said that I needed to come back to Gotham for a few days," she said simply, dropping her hand mournfully.

Robin's gaze flicked from her gloved hand back to her eyes, which were less green than usual. The same brightness, but he could see the whites to her eyes, now. Usually they were just less green. It was strange, but he never really noticed that until just now. Selina must have given her contacts. "Don't you live in Jump now?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I do live there, yes. Has my Aunt Selina told you this?"

Robin narrowed his eyes right back. She couldn't seriously expect him to believe that Selina was her aunt.

"I am sorry, but… Have we met before?" She tilted her head at him inquisitively.

She didn't know that he was Robin. "Uh, yeah, your… aunt… told me you lived in Jump."

"I enjoy the weather there. It is most pleasing. Gotham is dark, and it does the raining like dogs and cats," she said conversationally.

Robin tried to pull back the smile that tugged at his cheeks. "You mean cats and dogs."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"The saying is, 'raining like cats and dogs'," he corrected softly.

She blushed. "Oh. Pardon me. English… It is not my first language. The phrases and idioms are most confusing."

He felt a pang of guilt at her embarrassment. "Uh… it's okay, really. English isn't my first language, either."

She lifted her eyes to look at his. "Really?"

"Yup."

"May I pay you a compliment?" she asked softly.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Um, sure. Shoot."

"Your eyes… are most lovely." She took a little step closer to him and reached out her hand to touch his face.

He gaped at her a little before collecting himself. "Um… thanks." He grabbed her fingers and held them away from his face. She was still looking at his eyes and he blurted out, "Yours too."

She shook her head at him. "You are kind, but my eye color is common. Yours… such a bright blue…"

He cleared his throat. "Where did you get that necklace?" he asked quickly.

She cradled the gemstone in her fingers, "This? It was a present from my Aunt Selina."

"Must've been expensive," he observed bitterly.

She shrugged. "I know not the intricacies of gemology. The color is most pleasing."

He nodded getting excited. "Yeah? The green? Some people think colors have a special meaning. Or that it gives them powers."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Powers? That is silly. Color preference has its roots in sentiment and memory."

He deflated a little. "I suppose you're right. What makes that color sentimental for you?"

She considered for a moment. "I suppose-" She cut herself off and gaped over Robin's shoulder.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Dick. Who's your friend?" Bruce asked tightly.

"Bruce. This is Kory. Selina Kyle's niece."

"Selina's-?"

"Ah. The Wayne boys. My, there must be something special about my Kory to command both of your attention at once," Selina purred as she appeared behind Starfire.

Bruce narrowed his eyes at her. "Special, indeed. Maybe we could stop by your penthouse, Miss Kyle, and have a word with her?"

Starfire glanced at Selina worriedly, but Selina just smiled at Bruce. "Ah-ah, no can do. My darling's due back in Jump City tonight."

Bruce and Robin glanced at each other.

"I might just have to pay you a visit, Miss Kyle," Bruce intoned.

Selina's eyes became half-lidded. "Oh, I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Wayne."

Starfire looked between the two adults, confused. Robin sighed. At least Bruce would probably let him go back to Jump tonight, now.

The party wound down, the last guest finally leaving around two in the morning. Starfire and Selina slipped out sometime between midnight and one.

Robin sighed and grabbed a chair, flopping into it. "Okay, so, what do we do about them?" he demanded as he ran his fingers through his hair, sculpting it into his preferred form.

Bruce watched him absently. "I did promise Selina I'd drop by. I'll do that soon."

"Am I coming with you?" Robin asked, hoping very much that the answer was no.

Bruce shook his head. "I want you back in Jump. Find her."

"Are you going to expedite her?" Robin asked quietly, not looking Bruce in the eyes.

"You think she should stay here?" Bruce demanded.

"I don't think she's safe anywhere else."

"Not our problem. Come on. I want you in Jump by tomorrow morning." Bruce started taking his tie off as he left the room.

Robin sighed and rested his forehead on the table. He let out a huge sigh and considered falling asleep at the table.

"Master Richard?"

"Yeah, yeah, Alfred, I'm going."

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 - Sisters

The Titans were taking a break tonight. He'd never let Bruce know. Besides, they were all still in their uniforms. Actually, they'd all decided to stay in uniform all the time. Robin had orders from Bruce, but he didn't exactly expect the others to follow his lead. Cyborg argued that any chance of a civilian identity was pretty much out the window what with the body armor for skin and the glowing eye. Raven apparently didn't have another identity. Robin wasn't sure why Beast Boy stayed in costume. He didn't ask, though, suspecting that it might have to do with the Doom Patrol.

Robin knew all of their identities, except for Raven, who wasn't born on Earth, apparently. He felt a little guilty at that, but it wasn't like they ever asked him. They were probably curious, and he was glad they didn't ask. He couldn't imagine what he would say besides 'Batman told me not to tell', which was a little embarrassing.

They were at the amusement park on the boardwalk. Amusement parks, carnivals, and circuses all got him in a nostalgic mood. Just the smell of the fried food and the popcorn made him remember his days at the circus. He was sitting in the Ferris Wheel, looking out over the skyline of the city. Fireworks were going off over the sky, which made him a little bit uneasy. Fireworks covered up noises like gunfire. He'd spent one too many Fourth of Julys in Gotham on a case with Bruce. He told himself to relax. Jump wasn't really a gunfight kind of town.

Looking out over the horizon, he saw a streak of green, like a shooting star. The streak made him think of Starfire.

That party was two weeks ago. Bruce expressed his discontent with Robin every time he reported that there was no sign of her in Jump, but he'd been ignoring it. Really, he hadn't been looking. She hadn't stolen anything or caused any trouble, and he was reluctant to send her away when she told him she was only protected in their Solar System.

She was easy to track. Her heat signal was unique. Her body temperature was much higher than the average person's, and it was easy to find out where she'd been. A few times when he'd been on patrol, he'd enter an old warehouse and find her heat signature everywhere. He'd follow it until it left the city or went into the atmosphere too high for him to reach, but he hadn't seen her since the party.

He was much more concerned with the HIVE Academy, especially since three of their top students broke into their tower. Robin would have been much angrier about that, but with the footage of Mammoth, Jinx, and Gizmo from inside the tower, he learned a lot about them.

The green streak arced through the sky. That was odd. He leaned forward and squinted. A flash of white was trailing the green blur. He could see the streaks of light skim the water, and a green ball lit and hurled itself toward the white light. No doubt about it, that was Starfire.

He grabbed his communicator. "Titans, trouble."

"Aw, man. Where?" Cyborg answered.

"Over the water, headed this way," Robin informed them.

"But… I just won Raven a giant chicken and I don't want to lose-"

Robin snapped his communicator closed. They'd meet up with him.

From his vantage point on the Ferris Wheel, he could make out the green and black and red of Starfire. She was flying backward, sending a volley of starbolts at a squid looking creature.

It wrapped a tentacle around her ankle and she screamed, shooting another starbolt. It glanced off the metal body of the creature without doing any harm. It pulled her closer and began slithering its tentacles around her limbs to keep her from struggling. She let out a fierce yell and kicked the metal body before its tentacles could wrap around her free leg.

She kicked it away, but the force of the blow threw her backward. She crashed into water before getting caught in a wave. Robin jumped down from the Ferris wheel, grabbing his staff. He glanced behind him and he could see Cyborg running toward the edge of the pier to check out the squid.

Robin stepped into the frothy water where Starfire washed up. She coughing and trying to spit saltwater out of her mouth.

He offered her his hand and she looked up at him in surprise. "What are you-?"

"What is that thing?" he interrupted as he yanked her to her feet.

She shook her head. "I do not know. Why is your water so salty?"

He gaped at her a little. She was being chased down and she stopped to ask him that? He wondered how she was managing on her own. "Um…" he stuttered.

The pink squid shot out of the water without warning and shot past them, wrapping its tentacles around Starfire as it went, completely ignoring Robin. She struggled and let out a terrified scream.

Robin grabbed a birdarang and threw it, aiming carefully. It sliced through the squid's legs between its body and Starfire. She dropped and he caught her before she hit the ground, shocked to find the severed tentacles still wriggling around her. One had slithered over her mouth and she looked up at him in surprise, fear etched into her features, her eyes aglow.

The squid turned back around and paused in the air. New tentacles shot out the back and it hurled itself toward them. Robin bent over her, shielding her from the attack, when the squid was grabbed by a strong, cybernetic hand and twirled through the air a few times before being thrown away.

Cyborg turned and looked at them. "Aw, man! We're saving her?"

"It's complicated," Robin muttered as he unsheathed a birdarang and cut the wriggling tentacles away from her limbs.

"Yeah? Is that also your relationship status on Facebook?" Cyborg asked with a roll of his eyes.

Robin ignored him and cut the last tentacle away from her mouth. "What's chasing you?" he demanded.

Her eyes were wide. "I know not. I feared it was the Gordanians, but that does not appear to be their technology."

"Uh, guys?"

Robin glanced back. The squid was coming back toward them. Beast Boy jumped into the air and changed into a crocodile, attempting to snap at its legs. He was to slow, though, and he fell into the ocean. The robot kept coming toward Starfire, who lit starbolts in her hands. Raven used her dark energy to twist the limbs into a knot, but they slithered free as soon she took the energy away.

Robin grabbed his extended staff and slammed it as hard as his could could against the metal body. The creature shuddered before shaking itself and launching itself forward again. Scooping Starfire into its arms again, it started to take off. She let loose a starbolt into the legs that bound her and it shorted out briefly, sparking green, but she couldn't slip free. Robin jumped on top of it while it was still close to the ground. He scanned his eyes over the smooth surface.

"Hm… Don't see an off switch. Guess I'll have to make one myself," he quipped, balling his hand into a fist and slamming it into the core of the robotic squid, wrapping his fingers around wires and pulling. The creature shuddered and its limbs stretched out, releasing Starfire. She flew up to the top of it, where Robin was still crouching, and she grabbed him by the wrist, bringing him back to shore and placing him among his friends.

"What were those things?" Raven demanded.

"I… am unsure." Starfire turned to watch the creature explode in the middle of the fireworks that were still going off. "Although it is uncanny that it would arrive as the war signal is sounding."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at her. "War signal?"

She pointed to the sky, indicating the fireworks. "I was on my way to inspect the nature of the signal when I was apprehended."

"You mean the fireworks?" Beast Boy clarified. He nodded and he laughed heartily.

Robin glared at him. "It's not a war signal. It's recreational."

She stared at him incredulously. "Your people light colored explosions for recreation?"

"Um… yeah. You don't have any idea what those things were?" he urged.

"I do not think that their technology is Vegan, nor do I believe it is of your star system," she offered. "I do not have any specificities for you."

Robin sighed. "Raven?"

She nodded and chanted quickly, created a ring of black energy around Starfire's wrists.

"What?" Starfire shouted angrily. "What are you doing?"

Robin crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. "We still have to apprehend you."

"X'hal. You betrayed my-"

"Uh, sorry, little lady." Cyborg interrupted. "We didn't betray nothin'. We never had a deal. Just cuz we don't want space squids to carry you away don't mean you're on our side."

She looked at Robin, seeking supplication, but he remained impassive. "Fine, then," she growled murderously.

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. Her hands were clamped together behind her back. While she could still use starbolts, her movement would be severely restricted.

She hovered in the air and flipped upside down so that her starbolts were aimed at the Titans. She kicked her legs, spiraling around, spraying starbolts everywhere.

"Titans, move!" Robin commanded. One of the starbolts slammed him in the shoulder and he was thrown back into the sand, salt water lapping at his cape ad soaking his shoulders. Before he could move, she was over him. "Shit!" he squeaked.

She narrowed glowing eyes at him. He shifted his weight so he could bring his arm up to punch her, but she repositioned over him and put her foot on his wrist, forcing it down. He swallowed. His brain was going a little fuzzy at the knowledge that there was a girl straddling his stomach. She spoke in Tamaranean and he blinked. "Um, what?"

She turned suddenly and snarled at someone behind her. Robin held up his free hand and gave his team the order to stand down. He could hear Cyborg protesting, but he ignored that. "It's okay. They won't attack you."

"You are… most confusing," she told him, leaning in close. Her hair tickled his neck.

"Ah… how so?" he asked, trying to ease his wrist out from under her hand.

"There is a word on this planet. 'Nice'. You are 'nice'."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't…"

"On my planet, there is not such word. Closest is rutha. 'Weak'," she continued.

"Yeah? Is that why you're not so nice?" he grumbled.

She narrowed her eyes at him and leaned closer, which shut him up effectively. "You do the nice things. Then you do the not so nice things. It is confusing."

Robin glanced around her at his team. Cyborg and Raven were poised to attack and Beast Boy was smirking at him.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to confuse you. I don't want to be enemies. In fact, I'd like to be friends-"

"Friends?" she echoed, raising one eyebrow and tilting her head at him. He raised his hand over his eyes against the bright glow and hurried to continue.

"-but I can't do that unless you agree to follow the law."

She leaned back, contemplating. "Friends…" He gave her a few second before rearing back and punching her in the shoulder. He meant to go for her face, but he couldn't do it.

She fell off him and he extended his staff, pointing it toward her neck.

She narrowed glowing eyes at him and with a shout, lifted her legs so that she could kick the staff out of his hands. She aimed another kick at his stomach, which he blocked. She floated in the air to deliver a kick to his shoulder, backed by the force of a flip.

While she was in the air, Beast Boy headbutted her as a ram. He still had that smug look on his face. "You okay, dude?"

"Fine," Robin answered gruffly as he shook his shoulders to get the water out.

"Need anything? Bandage? Cold shower, maybe?" he asked with a smile.

Robin glowered at him.

Cyborg's sonic cannon could be heard blasting at her. She spun and kicked him in the chest. He was thrown back against the pier, splintering a support beam as he hit it. He groaned. "Damn, girl's got power in her punches!"

Raven frowned. She was already using her energy to keep Starfire's bonds in place.

A purple blast shot out, knocking Starfire to the ground. She gasped and turned around, shouting in Tamaranean.

Another girl, dressed in the way Starfire was dressed when she first landed on Earth, shouted right back in the same language.

"Um…" Beast Boy stammered.

Robin scratched his neck.

"What now?" Raven demanded. "Should I keep up the bonds?"

"Uh…" Robin mumbled. "I guess so."

Starfire whirled around and delivered a kick to Raven's chest. The empath was thrown back and the black band faded away. "I apologize," Starfire said distractedly. She charged up starbolts in her hands and threw them at the girl in black, who dodged in the air and returned fire. Starfire took a shot in the stomach and the other girl advanced on her, punching her in the face and stomping her into the ground with a kick to the stomach.

Starfire twitched on the ground, but seemed to be out cold.

The back haired girl flipped her hair to the side and grinned at them. "Sorry to crash your party. Name's Blackfire."

"Ah… are you two related?" Beast boy asked with a chuckle.

"Sisters, unfortunately."

Raven raised an eyebrow at Blackfire. "But you just…"

"We bicker a lot. I saw you all trying to stop her and I figured you could use my expertise." Blackfire grinned smugly.

"Thanks," Cyborg said from where he stood, inspecting a boot-sized dent in his armor on his chest.

"We bringin' her to the JCPD?" Beast Boy asked, nudging Starfire gently with his boot.

"No. Back to the Tower. I don't think the cops can handle her," Robin said.

"Raven? You mind?"

Raven shook her head.

"Wait!" Blackfire said, landing and tilting her head at Robin.

"What?" he asked, unsure.

"Take me with you. I'd like a word with my sister.

"No problem!" Beast Boy said with a smile.

Robin glared at him. "We can't just bring people in-"

"C'mon. You saw. She's on our side."

Robin sighed. "Fine. Raven?"

She nodded. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Darkness and coldness washed over the Titans and the two aliens, and they were sucked into the ground. Robin always felt like he was floating in an abyss, with no up or down or direction or light or warmth-

Just as he was beginning to get a little stir-crazy, they were deposited in the ops room. Robin sighed. Beast Boy fell on the floor and Cyborg blinked. The teleport was rough on all of them, and Raven would be tired after transporting so many people.

Robin scooped Starfire up and brought her to the interrogation room. The interrogation room was a tiny room, made even tinier by the fact that half of the room was a cell. The cell had the same kind of doors that the rest of the Tower did- metal sliding ones- but it was fitted with a Plexiglas section of the wall. The Plexiglas was a one-way mirror on the inside, see through on the outside. That was so that the criminal inside could be observed. There were also microphones in the cell that made it possible to hear the criminal from outside the cell.

The outer part was plain, fitted with a table and many monitors and machines that measured body temperature, heartbeat, voice recording, and others.

Robin sat her in the chair inside the cell and rested her arms and head on the table in front of it. He could bolt her hands to the table, but he didn't bother. She'd be able to rip the bolts out, anyway.

He felt weird about staying in the cell with her while she was unconscious, so he stepped out and took a look at the monitors. Her body temperature was warm. The machine read 113° Fahrenheit. Robin figured that was normal, though. Her heart rate was a little faster than what was normal for someone knocked unconscious, but Robin figured that was normal for her, too. After a few minutes, she began stirring. Robin entered the cell and leaned against the wall next to the door, facing her.

She bolted upright, speaking feverishly in Tamaranean. She looked up at him, confused. "Robin?"

He nodded at her.

"What am I doing here?"

"This is the Tower."

She narrowed her eyes at him, then raised an eyebrow. "I am… prisoner."

He considered this. "That depends on you."

"I do not understand."

He stood across from her and narrowed his eyes at her, leaning on the tabled with his palms braced against it, elbows straight. She looked back unblinkingly, bright green eyes soft and not at all intimidated. "Is Catwoman making you steal?"

She blinked at him once before laughing. "Why would you think that?"

"Your traits when it comes to stealing are very similar."

She narrowed one eye at him, considering. "If I say yes, I am free?"

"Not exactly, no. Is she?"

She glared at him now. "Do you remember what I said to you before? About being 'nice'?"

He nodded.

"Catwoman is nice to me. All the time," she added accusingly.

"Why not just stay with her in Gotham?" Robin demanded, ignoring her accusation.

She shivered. "Gotham is bad. So dark, all the time. I need the sun. It gives me strength. I would become very sick without it. I stayed with the Catwoman for a few days before she suggested I come here."

"Why here?"

"She said you would do the taking care of me." She rolled her eyes after she said that.

Robin felt his face heat up. "She said I'd take care of you?"

She nodded.

"Then why don't you join the Titans? I don't understand your logic."

She narrowed her eyes at him moodily. "I do not want to be taken care of. As crown princess of Tamaran, I was trained for war at a young age. Then I was brought back home and expected to be waited on. It was most unpleasant." She stood abruptly so that her chair skidded back a little. "I take care of myself," she announced, enunciating each word carefully.

He considered her. "That includes stealing?"

"I get what I want on my own." She leaned forward, looking at him with her lids lowered. He really hated it when she did that. "Some things may take longer than others."

He backed up uncomfortably, then folded his arms across his chest. "Ah…" He cleared his throat. "If that's how you want to behave, then I have to arrest you."

"Is this not the arresting now?" she asked, sinking back into the chair. "I am caught, yes?"

"Your sister helped-"

She jumped to her feet, knocking the chair over in her haste. "X'hal! Komand'r!" Green light flooded into her eyes. "Let me out of this cell."

"No." Robin narrowed his eyes at her.

She launched herself at him, grabbing the collar of his shirt and lifting him. "Human boy. I have the ability to free myself. But out of respect for you and your home, I am asking you to let me out."

He kicked her in the stomach and she flew into the wall behind her. He dusted himself off as he stood over her. She snarled at him from where she lay on the ground, a hand on her stomach.

"Look. I don't know what your deal is, 'Princess'. But you can't do whatever you want on Earth. There are people you have to answer to. And right now, that's me."

"You do not understand," she snapped. Tears pooled in her eyes and Robin gaped at her, losing his confidence. "She enslaved me."

"I thought the Gordanians enslaved you."

She glared at him through her tears. "You do not deserve to hear this. You have stolen it from me."

He gave her a quizzical look but she ignored him.

The glow faded from her eyes as she began. "The Citadel has declared war on the entire Vegan star system. The Gordanians are their puppets. Most other planets in Vega have fallen, but we Tamaraneans have defied the Empiric vision for years. Until my sister gave them an attack plan that focused on the weak points in our defenses. Upon forcing our soldiers into surrender they offered my father a bargain." She raised her gaze, which had been dreamy and distant, to look at Robin. "The crown princess in return for Tamaran."

Robin scrutinized her carefully. Tears were escaping from her eyes, but she spoke steadily and with pride.

"I was taken to Gordania, the planet of the Gordanians. I was kept a prisoner there for three Earth years. When I turned fourteen, I was taken to the Citadel, where I was used for labor and recreation. Recently, the Citadel shipped me back to Gordania to be the personal servant to Lord Trogaar. However, I killed his mate and as punishment I was to be shipped back to the Citadel. That is when I landed in your Gotham."

He didn't know what to say. He decided to focus on Blackfire. "So what's she doing here now?"

"I wish to find out. But you will not allow me freedom."

The way she phrased it stung at him after hearing about her past, but it didn't shake his resolve. "I'll bring her here for you."

She narrowed her eyes at him and brushed away her tears.

He made his way out to the ops room and found Cyborg and Beast Boy listening intently to Blackfire. "And then I got sucked into it and space was crashing in around me and-"

"Blackfire? A word?" Robin interrupted warily.

She glanced at him and gave him a smile. She looked him up and down carefully before turning back to Cyborg and Beast Boy. "Sorry, boys. I'll finish the story later."

Robin turned as she fell into step beside him. "Sorry about the mess my sister's caused you. The others told me about it. Stealing gems? It's not like her at all."

"Are you worried?" Robin asked conversationally.

Blackfire shrugged. "I haven't really seen her in a while. I don't know what she's been up to."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her and looked away.

"Actually, I think the last time I saw her, we got in an argument. I brought her something to make it up to her."

He flicked his gaze back to her. "You did?"

"Yep. Here it is." She held up a large hexagonal diamond, the same color as Starfire's eyes. Not that Robin really noticed, of course…

"Wow," he said appreciatively. It was a big diamond. "Where'd you get it?"

"Centauri moons," she answered smugly. "They've got mines full of them there. Not that that makes the price go down."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"I noticed… Your sister's speech pattern. It's a little choppy and she doesn't understand slang or contractions. You don't seem to have that problem Why is that?" Robin asked interestedly.

Blackfire shot him a smile. She raised one eyebrow. "Tamaraneans have the ability to learn language through kissing," she purred.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah," he answered warily.

"The more kissing you do, the more integrated the speech becomes. I could use a brush up, actually…" she said, turning to him.

"Ah…" Robin stammered, stepping away from her. "Ah… I think… I think maybe…"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's the matter? Has my baby sister already spoken for you?"

"No… Just… I don't think…"

"What, then? Are my looks suitable?" She glanced down at herself.

"No! Ah… I mean yes… I mean… I guess, but that's what I… You don't just go around kissing…"

She raised an eyebrow at him in scrutiny. "That isn't what I've observed about Earth culture. I thought sexual wantonness was-"

Robin cut her off quickly. "It depends on the person," he muttered.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully and Robin took the opportunity to speed ahead of her and open the door to the interrogation room.

"Baby sister!" Blackfire exclaimed cheerily in English as she entered the room. "You got yourself locked up already?"

Starfire's expression remained stony.

"Aw. You're mad. Don't be. I got you a present!" Blackfire held up the diamond with a grin.

Starfire blinked. "Is that… a diamond from the Centauri moons?" She gaped a little.

"It matches your eyes," Blackfire crooned.

"But how much did that-?"

"Doesn't matter. Nothing's too good for my little sister." Blackfire glanced at Robin. "C'mon, let her out."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I can't."

She pouted at him and blinked a few times, which didn't really do much except unnerve him. "Please? I'll watch her. You saw how easily I took her down."

He wasn't sure if it was the blinky eyes or the story Starfire just told him or something else entirely, but he was actually considering it. He couldn't keep her in there forever, and all that the JLA would do is expedite her. And that wouldn't help her any. And she'd been quiet for the last few weeks. He sighed. "Fine."

Blackfire gave him a winsome smile. She said something in Tamaranean to Starfire, who frowned. He crossed over to the door holding her. "But consider yourself to be on probation."

She gave him a scathing look as she exited the cell. Blackfire crushed her into a hug and draped the diamond around her neck. "There you go, sweetie. It looks fabulous, even on you!"

Starfire glanced down at it, in spite of herself.

Blackfire plucked at the hem of Starfire's skirt, holding it between her thumb and first finger. "Black, huh? I never thought of you as the kind of girl to wear black. It suits you, though."

Starfire looked away meekly.

"What's the matter, kid? Don't you have anything to say to your big sis?" She put her hands on her hips expectantly.

"I have… missed you," Starfire murmured, raising her eyes to Blackfire's.

"Aw. I missed you, too, Kori. No hard feelings, right?" Blackfire asked.

Starfire glanced at Robin, who was watching uncomfortably. "No. I suppose the feelings are hard no longer."

Blackfire smirked at her sister. "So!" She spun to look at Robin. "What do you heroes do for fun around here?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh…"

She giggled. "I have a pretty good idea. If you're down to go out again."

Robin shrugged. "We're taking the night off anyway. So as long as it's okay with- yaah!" he grunted as Blackfire dragged him away behind her. He caught a glimpse of Starfire over his shoulder, looking sadly at them. He had a feeling that she wasn't completely okay with this.

He tried to wriggle out of her grip, but she had a worryingly strong hold on him. She finally stopped dragging him when they got to ops room. Robin looked behind them to make sure Starfire was coming. He didn't want her in there by herself. She could hack the computers.

"Okay, boys, there's a club downtown that I heard about. Interested?"

Beast Boy hopped up on the back of the sofa. "Of course! Let's hit a club!"

Cyborg shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"No," Raven intoned behind her book.

Blackfire raised her eyebrows. "It's in a creepy, abandoned old warehouse…"

Raven lowered her book slowly. "Fine. But if I don't like it, I'm leaving."

Blackfire giggled. She wrapped her arms around one of Robin's. "What do you say? Wanna dance with me?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and slid his arm away. "Sure, why not?"

…

The lights flashed so many different colors. It was a little dizzying. Robin had never been to a club before. He hated dancing. He only did it when Bruce forced him to at an event, and it was never fun. He couldn't think of a single time that he'd danced and it had been fun.

But he wanted to blend in with his friends. Cyborg and Beast Boy, at least, were enjoying it, and Raven had just slunk off to hang out with some guy with gauges.

Blackfire was really into it, spinning with her arms over her head. He kind of liked that. She exuded confidence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Starfire fly off. He didn't want her causing any trouble while she knew they were distracted. He'd never hear the end of it from Bruce.

He followed her up the stairs until a door let out to the roof. The night air was cool after the stuffiness of the warehouse/club. Robin took a breath in and cleared his throat. "What's up?"

She jumped and looked up. "I… there is nothing…"

"Uh, sorry. That's slang. It means, what are you doing?" he corrected.

"Oh, I will never fit in here," she murmured worryingly.

"That's okay. You just need to give it time." Robin let the door click closed behind him and he leaned on it.

"I commit social blunders all the time. Just before two boys asked me to dig and shovels were not even related!" she admitted, furrowing her brow.

"You know," Robin pointed out, "for a thief, you're awfully worried about what other people think of you."

Starfire ran a hand through her hair. "I do not see how those things are related."

"Usually, thieves are social deviants."

"Are you sure? Perhaps you just assume that."

He frowned at her. "It's not just me who says that. There are studies."

She sighed in response. "I merely wish to fit in."

He observed her. Orangey-tan skin, cherry red hair, bright green eyes, odd little eyebrows, towering height of around six feet… that might be hard for her.

"Sometimes it's better if you don't."

She tilted her head at him questioningly.

He took a seat next to her on the ledge of the building. "I was raised an acrobat. My dad's Batman. I live in a T. What about that fits in?"

"That is different. You do not need to fit in for people to like you." She turned her head away from him.

"Catwoman likes you," Robin pointed out.

"Yes," Starfire agreed, "and she is hundreds of miles away in Gotham City. I am alone here." She wrapped her arms around herself as though she was cold.

Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… You know what? I think that-"

Blackfire popped up through one of the skylights in the ceiling. Starfire shied away from him. "How do I look?" she asked. She wore a ridiculous pink wig with straight bangs across the front. She was grinning at them but Robin frowned. Starfire looked more distressed than ever.

"Pink," he deadpanned. "Look, we were in the middle of something."

Starfire looked at him with wide eyes.

Blackfire pouted. She glanced down at the skylight, but she didn't go through it. The music changed below her and she gasped. "I love this song!" She darted forward and grabbed Robin's wrist, pulling him along with her and back through the skylight.

He shook his head and straightened his back as he touched the ground. Looking back up, he could see Starfire above them, pacing around.

Blackfire grabbed at his wrists and tried to get him to dance with her. "Uh… Look, Blackfire, I don't really dance."

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me the Boy Wonder is afraid of a little dancing." She giggled at him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. He glanced over at Cyborg and Beast Boy, who were still dancing, and he pushed his way back to the stairs. He opened the door to the first landing and Blackfire floated behind him.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to dance. Don't run away from me."

"I'm not. I just want a word with your sister."

She huffed. "It's really better to leave her alone when she gets like this."

Robin frowned as he made his way up the first flight of stairs. "I don't know. Sometimes it's better to talk it out, even if you don't want to."

She narrowed her eyes at him as he rounded the second flight of stairs. One more and he'd be at the roof.

She flew up to him and blocked his way. "Remember what I was saying about language transference?" she asked, putting her fingertips on his chest and pushing him into the wall a little.

He ducked under her. "I already told you that I'm not interested. Sorry."

He started going up the stairs and she tugged at his elbow. "Okay, fine, no kissing. Just stay and talk to me."

Robin rounded on her. "Look. Your sister's-"

Cyborg was thrown through the wall, landing a few feet away from Robin. He gaped for a second and ran over to him.

"You okay?"

The cybernetic teen rubbed his head. "Remember that thing that attacked space chick? It has friends."

"Where is she?"

"Down with us," Cyborg answered, getting to his feet.

Robin made to run off after him, but turned to Blackfire. "Aren't you concerned? Your sister's being attacked."

She had the sense to be a little embarrassed. "Oh. Right."

Robin followed the wreckage through a hole in the wall that led outside. He jumped through into the alley in time to see three of the robotic creatures, one of them carrying a dumpster. He assumed Starfire was in it. He grabbed a birdarang from his belt and threw it expertly. It sliced through two of the tentacles of the one carrying the dumpster, which made it drop it.

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven gathered behind him. "Teen Titans, go!" he called.

Before they could jump into action, Blackfire appeared in front of them. She shot beams of light from her eyes at each of the robots, hitting it where the tentacles connected to their bodies. Each one quivered and purple sparks danced over their bodies before promptly blowing up.

"Awwww, yeah!" Cyborg hooted.

"Nice shootin', Tex!" Beast Boy complimented.

"Very nice," Raven crooned.

"How did you know where to hit them?" Robin asked, impressed.

She shrugged, a modest smile on her face. "Lucky guess?"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"We could use luck like that! You oughta join the team!" Cyborg offered. Robin raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn't say anything.

Blackfire grinned. "Me? A Teen Titan?"

"Sure! Especially if it'll help us keep your sister under tabs." Cyborg glanced at Robin, whose face was carefully blank.

Starfire streaked into the air, a blur of green and black.

Blackfire glanced that way, but she didn't say anything about it.

Robin slipped back into the warehouse and made his way up the stairs. Starfire jumped into the air. "So… what, you're leaving?"

She was so startled she fell a little before catching herself. She turned to face him before touching down on the ground. "Uh… yes."

"Why? I thought you were protected here." Robin crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly.

"Truly, I do not think this planet is big enough for both my sister and me." She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Won't Catwoman be upset?" Robin asked, kicking at a small, jagged chunk of concrete with the toe of his boot.

She followed the movement of the concrete with her eyes. "I suppose. Perhaps I shall stop by her penthouse to say farewell before I take my leave."

"Why leave?"

She squirmed uncomfortably. "If Blackfire is going to remain here, then I am afraid that I cannot."

"Are you jealous?" he asked softly.

She flicked her gaze up to him. "I suppose. A little. Everything comes so easily to her. She is even better with the language than I am."

Robin considered telling her about the amount of language transfers, but he decided not to.

"Where I have blundered, she has succeeded. She has made friends. She is not alone." She looked away from him again and jumped daintily into the air.

"Do you really think that?" Robin demanded. "Do you really think that you're alone?"

She tilted her head at him. "I…"

"You're not," he informed her.

She touched down to the ground, eyes wide.

Wind swirled around them, making her raise her arm to shield her eyes. A flat spaceship appeared over the lip of the building. A green tentacle shot out from the palm of a tall alien in a metal, robotic spacesuit. Robin jumped in front of Starfire but he was pushed back, the wind knocked out of him as he landed on his back.

The green tentacle wrapped around Starfire, binding her hands up against her chest and wrapping over her mouth. She was pulled onto the ship and a clear containment field slid up around her.

The ship whizzed off. Robin jumped off off the roof, spreading his glider out behind him and catching the wind. He grabbed a grappling hook out of his belt and attached it to the hull of the ship then retracted it until he was hanging under it. He swung himself upward, landing between the alien and Starfire. She made a muffled sound of surprise.

The alien swung a clawed, metallic arm at Robin and he dodged it, sending a kick at the alien's face. "The girl stays on Earth,"

The alien charged him, swinging a punch at him. Robin jumped over the force field containing Starfire and it rippled at the blow. The alien shot another tentacle at Robin, who blocked it with his wrist. It careened to the side and hit an energy pod for the engine.

"No!" the alien cried. He darted to a control board as the ship pitched to the side and sunk through the air. "I can't stop it!"

Robin pressed a button at Starfire's feet outside of the force field and it retracted. He pulled the green tentacle away from her and she gasped for breath, wide, confused eyes turned toward him. "Can you give me a hand?" he asked, extending his his hand toward her. She nodded wordlessly and settled both of them on the ground.

Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy ran over to Robin.

"Dude! Are you okay?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah! What the heck are you doin'?" Cyborg demanded.

Robin pushed Starfire behind him as two metallic aliens came out of the ship and walked toward them. "Titans, get ready," he growled, assuming a defensive stance.

"In the name of the Grand Centauri Empire, you are all under arrest!" The alien droned, holding up a badge with a foreign symbol on it.

Beast Boy's eye widened. "Um, no. You can't be the good guys. We're the good guys."

"And we are Centauri police."

"The Tamaranean girl is a liar and a thief!" A second alien police officer said, jabbing his finger at Starfire. "She has committed high crimes throughout the entire Centauri system."

"I have never even been to the Centauri system!" Starfire squeaked as she cowered behind Robin's cape.

"Yeah, right," Cyborg scoffed, narrowing his eyes at her.

Raven looked skeptical. "You do have a track record for stealing gems."

Robin studied her. She looked confused and frightened. His eyes drifted to the diamond around her neck. He curled his fingers around it and yanked on the chain. "You've been chasing the wrong girl," Robin said, holding the chain in his fingers. "Where's Blackfire?"

"Uh…" Beast Boy stammered, pointing over his shoulder.

"We won't let her get away with this," Robin said, narrowing his eyes and clutching the diamond in his hand.

"I will not let her get away with this." Starfire clenched her fists together and streaked into the sky.

Beast Boy moved to go after her, but Robin put a hand on his chest, shaking his head.

There was a bright flash of purple and Starfire was knocked to a lower altitude, then streaks of a few green starbolts from Starfire. Blackfire was dragged onto the ship before the battle could go much further. She turned to look at the Titans before flying off in a different direction.

"She's not even going to thank us?" Beast Boy sulked.

"Come on," Robin said with a smile. "Let's go home."

Robin woke up early the next morning. The sky was just starting to turn pink. He put on his glider and went to the roof of the Tower. The wind was strong and he waited for it to calm a little before jumping off and landing on the shore.

As the sun started coming up, he caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye from under the pier. He turned his head in that direction. He couldn't see anything. He tapped the side of his mask, activating the infrared vision. The heat signature under the pier was way hotter than normal. He tapped his mask again, turning it back to regular vision. "I know you're in there. Come out."

Starfire stepped out from the wood, rubbing her elbow with her other arm. Robin patted the sand beside him and she sat next to him.

"How are you doing?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on the rising sun.

"I am… fine."

"Really?"

She shrugged and didn't offer anything more.

Robin clicked a compartment on his belt and drew out the green diamond. "I have this for you."

She squinted at it.

"The Centauri police said you could keep it as compensation for the mix up."

She took it from him wordlessly.

They sat next to each other in silence, both with their knees pulled up to their chest. The sky slowly turned from pink to bright blue.

"You did not let them take me," she said finally.

Robin tilted his head at her. "'Course not."

"I have not exactly given you a reason to help me," she pointed out, resting her cheek on her knees as she studied him.

He shrugged. "It's what I do, I guess."

"I am not from here. I do not fit in."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I do not know the proper dialect or certain customs and the food on this planet is most strange to me." She closed her eyes and was quiet for a minute. "But there are people like you and like Catwoman. And you are kinder to me than anyone back home ever truly was. And it makes me want to stay."

She lifted her head up and tucked her hair behind her ear. She offered him a small smile. "I do not understand why you choose to act this way. But I am grateful. And confused. But mostly grateful. I wish to offer you my thanks. As well as my promise that I shall make it up to you."

He studied her, his masked eyes flitting over her bright green ones. "You know, my offer still stands."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Your offer?"

"Join the Titans."

She widened her eyes at him. "I cannot."

He leaned back on his palms and straightened his legs out. "Why not?"

"I wish to remain on my own. I am free that way. Besides," she added, getting up and wiping sand off her skirt, "thievery is most invigorating."

Robin frowned at her, which made her smile wider. "You disapprove."

"Of course I do. It's wrong."

"I would never have dreamed of thievery on my own planet. I was a princess. I had an obligation to my people to uphold the law and set the good example. Here, I am free to do as I please."

"You are not. You'll have the Titans to answer to." He scrutinized her, but the sterner he got the more bubbly he became.

"I do not mind that. I like the Titans. Your friends are nice."

He stood up as well. "I don't get you."

"Nor I you," she responded. "Besides. If 'answering to the Titans' means 'interacting with you', then that is hardly a reason for me to stop my pilfering."

He blushed a little. "You know, you can, uh… interact… with me outside of… pilfering."

She raised her eyebrows at him, interested. "Really?" she asked, stepping toward him.

He scratched the back of his neck. "Ah… well… we're interacting now, aren't we?"

She smiled at him, lowering her eyelashes. He swallowed, finding his mouth suddenly dry. "I suppose we are," she said softly.

"Ah… Yeah. Great." He ran his fingers through his hair.

She watched him, a gleeful glint in her eye. "I am making you uncomfortable?"

"No," he answered quickly. "I mean, maybe a little."

"I am trying the being nice," she said, sounding wounded. He wasn't sure if she was making fun of him or not. "Am I doing it wrong?"

"Maybe… maybe if you were a little less flirty about it," he stammered.

"Flirty?" she echoed as though she didn't know what it meant. He narrowed his eyes at her. "I am sure that I don't know what you mean."

He coughed. "It's when… Uh… Flirting is…" he coughed again. "I think I hear Raven calling me."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I did not hear anything."

"Yeah. My comm's ringing."

"There is no noise."

"It's on vibrate."

"Oh," She answered, looking at the circular device in his hand. "Goodbye, then, Robin," she purred.

"Bye, Star," he answered.

She tilted her head at him. "You have mispronounced my name."

"No… uh… Star. It's a nickname. I guess." He spread his glider out behind him.

"Oh. I see. I like it."

"Yeah. So. Bye." He jumped out over the ocean and let the breeze blow him back to the Tower.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 - Masks

"I'm working a Slade lead on the far side of town. Sure you guys can handle this without me?"

"No problem!" Cyborg answered confidently, probably glad to have a chance to lead.

Robin nodded once and cut the transmission before shoving the Red X mask over his face. He crawled out of the skylight onto the roof of the building and faced them.

"You workin' for Slade, tough guy?" Cyborg demanded, cannon ready.

"Red X works alone," Robin drawled inside the suit. He raised his arm, palm out, and shot an X into the air.

Cyborg blew it up with his cannon. Robin leaped back and Cyborg took another shot at him, which he dodged. Cyborg would have to work on getting faster. His aim was too deliberate.

As he dodged the next attack from Cyborg, he sprayed explosive Xs at him from his gloves. Cyborg ran for cover.

Beast Boy attacked next, in the shape of a lion. Robin didn't give Best Boy enough credit. It was pretty damn terrifying to have a lion charge you, even if it was green.

He shot an adhesive X at him. The Titans were easy to stop, really. You just had to know how to hit them. Beast Boy bounced back once, then stuck to the ground. He shifted a few times, but that goo was made from titanium, promethium, and rubber. Once it stuck, you were stuck.

Next was Raven. She was probably the most simple, as Robin had been meaning to teach her martial arts but hadn't gotten around to it yet. She relied completely on her powers. "Azarath, Me- mmmbgf!"

An X wrapped around her mouth. Too easy. She tried to pull it off. Robin almost felt bad. It would hurt a little coming off. She probably would be able to free herself, but he'd just shoot another one at her. He had time.

Cyborg came up behind him and made to grab him, but with a press of the teleporter Robin was outside of his grasp. This threw Cyborg a little. Another press of the teleporter and he was behind the cybernetic teen. He opened up the back panel and immobilized him, then messed with his circuits a little to give himself more time.

"What? Hey! Yo! Who told you how to shut me down?" Cyborg demanded, his voice dropping in pitch as Robin messed around. His arms dangled in front of him.

Satisfied, he pushed Cyborg forward. Robin glanced around. That had to have taken less than a minute. He turned to leave.

"Yeah, you better run!" Cyborg shouted angrily.

Without looking back, Robin teleported. The teleporter was not unlimited. It was a line-of-sight teleporter- if he couldn't see it, he couldn't get past it. He also couldn't teleport through plasma, so he couldn't escape from prisons with bars made of energy. Not by teleportation, anyway.

He teleported to the ledge of a roof. He decided to go back the rest of the way on foot to conserve energy. Xynothium wasn't cheap. He'd rather not have to rough up Professor Chang again. The man was just unpleasant.

He hadn't gone too far when a problem he didn't account for came up.

"Greetings."

He skidded to a stop and looked up. Starfire was waiting for him to talk. He had to cover his tracks. He couldn't have her guessing that he was Robin.

"Hi, cutie." Huh. A different personality was a good idea. He didn't exactly plan on a flirty approach, but whatever worked.

She gave him a bland look.

"What can I do for you?" Robin asked, leaning on the wall nonchalantly.

"Have you just come from battle with the Titans?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uh… yes."

She looked him over for a while.

"Why? Common enemy?"

She glared at him. "The Titans are not my enemy," she snapped.

Well. That was news to Robin. "Okay, okay, cutie, no harm done."

She sulked for a minute then asked, "Did you injure them?"

"Nope. They're still sprawled out on the rooftop back there if you wanna go-"

"Was Robin in attendance?" she asked nervously.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "No. Why?"

She tapped her fingers together. "It is nothing."

"C'mon, cutie. Criminals gotta stick together." He shouldn't be doing this. He should get back to the Tower while the Titans were still incapacitated and make that call. But he really wanted to know what she had to say. Besides, it would take a while to get Beast Boy out of that mess.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I have not seen you here before."

He shrugged. "I'm new in town." Robin was glad of the full face mask. It hid any facial expression that might betray him.

She gave him a soft look. "Are you alone, too?"

"Uh…" He had to think of something to say, and quickly. "Yep. My place is a good romantic getaway, if you're interested."

She made a face at him. "I do not believe I like your forwardness."

He shrugged. "So spill. What's on your mind there, cutie?"

She sighed and sat in the air, drumming her fingers against her skirt. "He has been acting most strange lately."

"You good friends with him?" Robin asked, knowing that she wasn't. She looked confused and he added, "Lucky guy, hanging around a girl like you."

She frowned at him. "No. But he is one of the only people on the planet with whom I am familiar. I would not like for any harm to come to him."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you mean?"

"He has been… angry. I am afraid that he needs help." She fidgeted uncomfortably.

"He's fine," Robin snapped.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "There is no reason to behave like a klorbag," she grumbled.

"A what?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "What is that?" she asked curiously, pointing to the chip.

"Mine," he answered, tossing it up in the air and catching it again.

"What does it do?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He twirled it around in his fingers. "Want it?"

"You stole that from the Titans?" she asked.

"No. They'd like it, though. What are you gonna do about it?" He pushed away from the wall he was leaning on.

"I did promise Robin I would do the making up of it," she muttered thoughtfully.

"That's right, cutie. Come and play." He was totally wasting time. But it wouldn't hurt to learn her fighting tactics. And he was having fun.

Her eyes and hands lit up. He'd just have to make sure she didn't melt the chip, or whatever it was she did to things with her starbolts.

She lobbed a few at him, and he remained still until they would have hit him. He teleported behind her. "Missed me," he remarked. She turned and swept her foot under his, but he jumped over the kick. He went down on one hand and kicked her in the stomach. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that," he teased.

She floated in the air above him. She threw another starbolt at him, which he dodged, and then she spun herself in the air vertically and lashed out with her foot, connecting with his jaw.

Ah, that hurt. He rubbed his jaw. "Okay. Nice moves."

He teleported behind her and grabbed her wrist, twisting it so that her fingers were pressed between her shoulder blades. He slammed her into the wall. "Sorry to leave like this, but-"

"You will not leave until I allow it!" she snarled, pushing herself away from the brick while pulling the arm that he was still gripping over her head, flipping him over her and crushing him against the wall.

He blinked at her behind his mask. "Woah. Nice one."

"I am glad that you appreciate it." She narrowed her eyes at him.

Robin moved his hand down to his belt to hit the teleport button, but she grabbed his wrist and pressed it against the wall. "Easy, cutie…" he warned.

"Stop referring to me as the cute E," she snapped.

He grinned under his mask. "Alright. Listen. I can't let you take this chip."

"Why do you need it?" she growled, her face too close to his.

"I need it to help Robin."

She gaped at him, her grip on his wrist slipping. "What do you mean?"

"Later, cutie." He lifted his legs, as she was holding him against the wall so firmly that they didn't need to support him, and he kicked her in the stomach, sending her backward. He watched her tumble to the floor and he pressed the teleport button and shimmered away, heading back to the Tower.

Okay. That was stupid. And he wasn't quite sure where he got the 'cutie' thing. He entered the Tower and made his way to the investigation room. He signed on to his hidden frequency. The one he'd made Cyborg put in that couldn't be tracked.

He put a hand on his forehead and took a deep breath. This was it. If he thought he was putting on a show before, it would be nothing compared to this. He made sure his surroundings were dark, the only light coming from his wide screen monitor. He hacked into the signal he got off of the Slade-bot he fought for the chip the first time. He flipped the chip between his fingers nervously. He took another deep breath and started the transmission.

Slade picked up rather quickly, which was interesting. Either his base was small enough that he could answer a call on his computer without much hassle or he waited around for a video call. There was also the chance that he was expecting someone else.

"Rumor has it you're interested in this," Robin said, brandishing the chip so Slade could see it. Skipping any introductions and cutting right to the chase. He didn't want to make this last any longer than it had to.

Slade didn't seem surprised by the lack of communication. "I'm interested in many things. Mister…" he let his voice trail off, an indication for Robin to state his identity.

Robin narrowed his eyes. He hated Slade. He didn't know much about him and he already hated him. His voice was so disgusting, silky and calculated. "X. Red X."

"Hmm… Catchy." Robin wondered for a panicky second if he should thank him or ignore the compliment. Slade spoke again before he could do anything, so it didn't matter. "So… are you proposing a sale? Or a gift?"

Who would be stupid enough to gift the biggest threat to the Titans without asking for anything in return? Did this guy really have that much sway that he could even consider getting a present from a thief like that? "A partnership. I give you the chip; you cut me in on your plans."

"Partnership?" Slade seemed interested in that. He paused for a fraction of a second and narrowed his eye coolly. "My, my. We are ambitious," he said mockingly. "But an alliance cannot be forged from one small chip. If you're going to win my trust, I'll require more."

Dammit. Big shot villains were always so theatrical. "Just tell me what you want."

"There's another chip. Identical in shape, but not color or design, to the one you're holding in your hands."

"Another chip? Sounds a little greedy to me." Robin said. Keeping him on the edge. Maybe he'd offer an explanation if he pushed a little.

"Must I remind you that I'm perfectly capable of retrieving the chip on my own?" Slade asked. He didn't sound annoyed, just like he was issuing a necessary reminder.

He flipped the chip in the air and caught it in his palm. "I got this one. You couldn't."

"Yes. It seems that you are quite proficient in taking down the Titans," Slade remarked dryly.

Don't react. Don't react. "It's a talent. I'll get the chip for you."

"It's located in the tech sector." Slade nodded to someone off screen and Robin's screen split in half, a box appearing with an image of the Earth on it. It zoomed in on the United States, then on the West Coast, then on California, then on Jump, and it kept zooming in after that. Again with the dramatics. "Here's your location. 1436 Net Street."

"Got it. You'll have your chip." Robin paused. He should have hung up then, it would have shown authority. But he hesitated.

"I don't expect to have to wait," Slade told him, narrowing his eye until it was a just a slit with a cold glint in it. Then the image blinked out.

Crap. He'd have to do this again. He stood roughly, knocking over the stool behind him. He tore his mask off, swearing inwardly. Using the untraceable signal, Robin looked up the blueprints of the building. Easy. He wondered if they'd ramp up security now that the red chip was stolen. It was probably better to go now to steal it, then. Which just meant he'd be following Slade's orders. He had a strong desire to kick the stool into the wall.

He didn't have time to freak out, though. The rest of the team was back. He quickly deleted any trace of the searches he'd done and the last transmission. He tore off the Red X uniform, glad he'd kept the Robin uniform on under it. It was not only convenient, if slightly uncomfortable, but it felt like a shield from the Red X costume.

He stalked through the halls, agitated, before gathering himself and stepping into the ops room.

Cyborg was standing over Beast Boy with a pair of scissors in his hand. Raven was glowering- not at anything, just generally glowering- and the red X was still around her mouth. Robin bit the inside of his cheek to keep from letting a smug smile slip out.

He looked them all over as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I had no idea Red X would pose such a threat!" He paused. Maybe he was being too theatrical. "I should've been there."

"You bet you shoulda been there. Look what he did to my do!" Beast Boy gestured to his hair, which was covered in red goo, now hardened to the texture of old chewing gum that had been left out in the sun. "I'm looking at two months of bad hair days!"

Raven muttered angrily, unintelligible sounds that only hinted at her annoyance because she was glaring so fiercely.

Beast Boy smirked at her. "I don't know, Raven. That's kind of a good look for you."

Her glare intensified, and before she could actually disintegrate Beast Boy with her stare, Cyborg intervened, leaning across Beast Boy and grabbing one end of the X. "Hold still."

Oh. Cyborg, don't do that. The device used the same tech as Robin's mask, a solution that had an aerosol solvent and would slide right off after getting sprayed. Ripping it off would probably work, because of Cyborg's super strength, but it would hurt and leave a nasty mark.

But he couldn't say any of that, could he? He watched, trying not to look apologetic as Cyborg ripped it off cleanly. Beast Boy shouted in sympathy as Raven's eyes watered, but her expression remained the same. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing her cheek. She turned her attention to Robin, eyes still shining with tears. "Even if you had been there, it wouldn't have made any difference."

Robin lowered his head at her, not quite sure what she meant.

"Dude knew exactly how to bring each of us down," Cyborg said regretfully as he snipped at Beast Boy's hair. "I guarantee he had a gadget with your name on it."

That was stupid. Robin didn't have a weakness like the others. That was the one way not having powers was an advantage- there was nothing to stop. Everything he had was all him. Sure, his belt could be taken away, but he had many other tricks up his sleeve.

There was a pause, probably meant to be filled with Robin's voice- he wasn't sure if he was expected to protest or defend himself or agree or apologize. He was kind of lost in his thoughts, though, and he didn't say anything at all.

Beast Boy cleared his throat after a few moments. "So what'd you find out about big bad Slade?"

His fingers clenched into fists guiltily and he dropped his arms to his sides. "Nothing. Lead was a dead end. I should get back to work." With that, he turned and calmly left. It wasn't as though Beast Boy could possibly suspect anything. He was just curious. And Robin did use Slade as an excuse. It wasn't a big deal.

He retreated to his room and locked the door behind him. He flipped open his communicator and his thumb lingered over the panel uncertainly. He sighed and made the call.

"Robin?"

"Batman."

At least he picked up promptly. "What is it? I put on the cowl for this."

"Sorry to interrupt," Robin mumbled.

Bruce waved his hand. "Did the mission get botched?"

"No. The Titans don't suspect a thing." That had to be the most guilt inducing way he could possibly have phrased that statement. "I don't think, anyway."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, the white spots on the cowl thinning until they were almost swallowed by the darkness. "You don't think?"

He floundered. "Uh… No, I think that they-"

"What did they say?"

"Nothing, really. They just noticed that all the tech seemed specially made to stop them," Robin muttered, regretting calling already.

"Did you mention how easy it is to stop them in the first place?"

"Um… no."

"Why not?"

"…Because I'm not an asshole?"

Bruce sighed and muttered under his breath. "Robin, if you can't handle the attachments of being on a team…"

He glared at his mentor. "That's not fair. I wouldn't want to be an asshole to you, either."

"I wouldn't have guessed that."

Robin sulked and there was silence between them.

"Try the holograms. That'll throw them off."

He sighed. "I have to reprogram them."

"Tough. You have all the tech and you should know how to do it."

"I do," the Teen Wonder snapped defensively.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem."

"Fine."

"And… you know… be careful," Batman muttered.

Robin looked at him suspiciously. "Kay. Ending transmission."

Bruce nodded and Robin flipped his communicator shut. Talking to Bruce about business always made him kind of stressed. He lay back on his bed, giving himself a little break before he had to work on his holograms.

He wondered absently what Starfire was doing now. Where was she staying? He imagined her in a ratty motel with squeaky beds and loud neighbors who came back in the small hours of the morning. But no, Selina would never her let her stay at a place like that. She probably had her own penthouse.

Although how she was keeping her location so secret, he couldn't guess. She wasn't hard to miss. Not, he reminded himself hastily, because of her confusing and likable wonder at everything that went on around her, or because of her hair that swished a little as she walked, or her soft mouth that seemed like it was just begging for him to-

He shot off the bed and exited his room hurriedly, hoping to bury his mind in work. He didn't need much of a break, anyway.

…

He crouched in a corner. He had his Red X mask at his feet and the Red X jumpsuit was pulled down to his hips. He looked like Robin. Which, honestly, was how he preferred it. He clutched the chip, blue this time, in one hand and his communicator in the other. He typed in the code on the tiny keyboard, knowing that the alarm would be going off in the tower.

He took a few seconds to psych himself up for this again. He switched on audio for the ops room.

"Where's Robin?"

"You mean Captain Research? He's probably filling out notecards at the public library," Beast Boy said sarcastically as he stifled a yawn.

Robin grinned. Thanks, Beast Boy. He didn't think of a cover story for why he was out so late until now. Switching on visual, he wiped his face clean of his grin and put on a serious frown. "I was."

Beast Boy shouted, startled, but Robin ignored him and looked at Raven and Cyborg.

"But then I spotted Red X pulling a robbery in the tech sector. I'm on it. Get here as soon as you can." Without waiting for a response, he flipped his communicator closed and pulled on the Red X uniform properly. He gave himself just enough time. He set up the holograms already. One push of the button on his belt would set off the chain reaction of Robins he had prepared.

He could hear the Titans. He wondered if they needed better lessons on stealth, but it wasn't their fault. He was hypersensitive to any noise right now, and he knew they were coming. He was sure Cyborg was being as stealthy as he could; it wasn't his fault that his feet fell a little heavily.

He ran from his holographic self, jumping down from a roof and running across the Titans. He jumped in the air and unleashed a hologram sphere, which unleashed a net that ensnared his other self. Phew.

"I'm fine! Get X! Go!" he heard his own voice shout.

He ran into a subway. Most of the other Titans weren't very good with hand-to-hand combat. Getting them in a small space like a subway was too easy. He activated the cloaking device and waited.

"I've adjusted my ocular implant to scan at multiple sub-harmonics in the EM spectrum," Cyborg explained. Robin would have to talk to him about explaining himself in front of the bad guy, even if it was for the benefit of his teammates.

"Kay… do you come with subtitles?"

"My eye should spot him even if he's invisible."

Robin fell down from where he was perched on the ceiling's support beams and punched him in the face, sending him flying back as his back scraped against the concrete and sparks shot up. He appeared behind him, readying an X to open Cyborg's back panel. He must have updated his security, though, because blue sparks danced around on his back. Robin recoiled.

"You gonna have to learn some new tricks, dawg." Cyborg grabbed him by the chest and tossed him over to where Raven and Beast Boy were standing.

The problem with tossing people by their chests was that it gave them the perfect position to center their gravity. He landed, light on his feet, between the two of them. He tossed an X at Beast Boy, although it was blocked by Raven. While he was distracted, Cyborg came up behind him and tried to punch him. Robin somersaulted out of the way and he could hear Cyborg's frustrated grunt as his fist hit the concrete hard enough to crack it. Robin didn't appreciate having a punch that could crack concrete thrown at him.

Beast Boy changed into a gorilla and Robin flipped toward him, kicking him with enough force to send him flying into Cyborg. He flipped back and kicked Raven into a stack of wooden boxes.

Beast Boy came up behind him as a ram, headbutting him almost across the room. Robin grabbed onto a support beam and flipped around it without losing his momentum, sending the force of Beast Boy's blow back at him. He reared back for a punch and Beast Boy fell onto the tracks. He turned to make sure the other two were down when he heard the train coming.

He turned, expecting Beast Boy to come scrambling over the ledge, but he was just staring at the train, literally caught in the headlights. Reacting instantly, Robin grabbed his collar and yanked him away from the tracks.

"Dude. Did you just save me?" Beast Boy asked, incredulous.

Oh. Shit. "I'm not through with you yet," Robin quipped, then kicked him hard and ran up the stairs.

The Titans didn't pursue him, but he didn't expect them to. He knew they'd be concerned about Beast Boy.

"I'm fine! Get X! Go!" his voice shouted.

That was… weird. The hologram should be two blocks over from here.

"I'm fine! Get X! Go!"

He turned. He had to find the hologram before the others did. All this would be for nothing and he was so close to cracking the case…

Starfire floated down gently. She held the sphere of metal in her hands and she shone the projection against the wall. She landed in front of him, not taking her eyes away from the sphere in her hands. "What are you doing?" she asked without looking up. She brushed her fingers over part of it and he listened as his voice changed in speed and pitch.

"I'mfinegetXgo!"

"Um…"

She brushed her fingers over it again and his voice changed in the opposite direction, becoming deep and slow.

"I'm… fine… …Get… X… …Go…"

He snatched the thing from her hands and held it unsurely. "Um," he repeated.

Her eyes and hands lit up, making her frown seem deeper and her furrowed brow much more aggressive. She shot a starbolt at the device and it exploded. Robin pulled his cape over his face as he dropped the hologram.

When he dropped his arm she was standing in front of him. It was like she had no idea about personal space. There was standing in front of him and there was standing in front of him. She was leaning forward inquisitively and her hair brushed his arm. He couldn't feel it through his uniform and he was glad. It was less distracting that way.

"You can't tell the others," he said strictly, not backing away. He was holding his ground.

"The other Titans?" She dropped her eyes to his neck and he wondered what she was doing, exactly. "I do not wish to speak to them. Perhaps maybe the Aqualad." She flew behind him, eyeing his neck worryingly.

"So it's a secret?"

She came back around to face him. "Yes."

"What are you doing?"

She didn't answer. Instead she tugged at his mask. It lifted from his neck and he tried to grab it and put it back in place, but she grabbed his fingers in hers and pried them away effortlessly. She sighed when she saw his face, covered by his domino mask. "Why do you guard the color of your eyes so fiercely?"

"It's a… secret identity thing."

"You keep so many secrets," she observed.

"I guess so." He reached out and closed his fingers over the top of the Red X mask, tugging it a little.

She didn't seem to notice. "Will you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Robin demanded, annoyed.

She clicked her tongue, also annoyed. "The color of your eyes."

He lowered an eyebrow at her and gaped a little. "No." Especially since she'd already seen them.

"That is not fair. You know mine," she huffed.

"Sorry?"

"None of your friends wear masks," she pointed out sulkily.

"They don't have secret identities."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I do not understand."

"I'm sorry, Star, but I gotta go." He yanked harder on his mask, and she countered by pulling her arms back. He refused to let go and he stumbled a little closer to her.

"Why are you dressing up?" she asked softly.

"Business," Robin snapped. He pulled the mask again and she yanked it again. They were very close now. He didn't know if she used proximity against him- if she knew it made him uncomfortable and distracted and that was the goal- or if she really didn't notice it. Trying to keep his eyes firmly on hers, he leaned his body weight back, tugging at the mask. She didn't seem to notice.

"Do you require help?" Her voice was quiet and worried, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"No-" he groaned as he pulled the mask. "I require-" he let out a grunt as he pulled again, feeling a little embarrassed. "-my mask."

She let go as he tugged it again, which unbalanced him. He almost fell back, but she caught him by the arm. "Thanks," he muttered as he pulled the mask on.

"I do not like the effect that the Slade has on you," she scolded him softly.

"What? How did you know this has to do with-?"

"It is easy to tell. That man is bad. And he makes you moody."

"Do you know anything about him?" Robin demanded, grabbing her arm above her elbow.

She gaped, looking down at his hand on her. "Um… no… only…"

"What?"

"…That hurts…"

"What?" Robin repeated, louder.

She bit her lip. "He once asked me once why I was not in the HIVE and he told me that he would be willing to hire me if I would work for cheaper rates." She paused and the pressure on her arm increased. She winced. "I told him I was not interested in joining a team and that I did not wish to be hired for criminal work… Please, your hand…"

He dropped his hand, exasperated. "If he ever comes up to you again, you need to trick him. Tell him you'll do a job for him so that you can learn about him."

She raised her hand to rub arm. "But-"

"I have to go."

"But-!"

He pressed the teleport button and jumped back to the Tower that way. It ate up some juice, but he needed to be quick, before the Titans got back. He locked himself in the investigation room and connected to the signal he'd used last time.

"I got the chip," he said moodily as soon as Slade appeared onscreen.

"Impressive. Red X. I tapped into the security cameras to catch your performance. You treated the Titans to quite a show." It was hard to tell, but he sounded almost amused.

That was a little creepy. "Glad you enjoyed it. Is the audition over?" he demanded, brandishing the two chips.

"Patience. Trust is easy to destroy, but it takes time to build." Ouch. That hit oddly close to home. Robin kept his face stony and tried not to think of what he was doing to the Titans. "One last task. Prove yourself and we'll meet to discuss your future." Slade ended the transmission there and Robin spun his chair away from the monitor.

"Good." Robin removed the mask. "It's about time we met face to face."

…

He sighed. The last building's security was really tough, but he'd made it through. The green chip floated in front of him, supported in an anti-gravity beam.

"Excellent work." Robin turned and grabbed the green chip from the beam as Slade stepped into a harsh circle of light from overhead. "Honestly, I couldn't have done better myself."

Slade was really quiet. Robin was used to being snuck up on, and he still didn't detect Slade. "So," he said, playing off the fact that he'd been snuck up on coolly. "Do we have a deal?"

"Indeed. You and are so very much alike." Robin couldn't guess how Slade gleaned that. He'd only spoken with him three times. He chalked it up to bullshit. "It seems only natural that we should be partners."

"What are they for? I need to know what we're planning. Partner." He emphasized the last word by curling the chips in toward himself.

"Patience." Robin was really getting tired of hearing that. "You can't expect me to trust you with such sensitive information right away. Can you?" Slade narrowed his eyes. "Robin?"

Shit, fuck, damn, and every other swear word he'd ever heard. The chips were snatched out of his hand by a net from behind him. It was stupid of him to bring all three. The lights around them turned on and they were surrounded by a shit ton of robots, Slade-bots on the balconies and these weird white tanks with arms and legs on their level. Robin did the only thing he could, which was get ready to fight them.

"Titans, go!" It was Cyborg's voice. They crashed through the ceiling- Cyborg didn't seem to be very big on subtlety. They started attacking the white robots and Robin headed after Slade while they were distracted. Cyborg grabbed his cape- goddamn cape, he shouldn't have included one in his outfit, he hated capes- and Robin tried to pull free, but Cyborg's grip was too tight.

"Let go! Stop him!" he growled. But Cyborg wouldn't let up. "It's me!" he shouted pulling off his mask. The three Titans stared at him in shock and he took off. "Slade's getting away, come on!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Slade led him on a chase over rooftops, jumping buildings that seemed to be getting farther and farther apart. Robin threw a birdarang at him, but Slade chopped it and it broke the same way his other one had the first time he fought Slade. Dammit. Slade made a particularly long jump and turned to watch Robin expectantly. Robin made a running jump, jumping on impact and rolling expertly.

"Careful. I wouldn't want you getting hurt," Slade said. Robin couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, everything he said sounded the same.

"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt. Now hand them over!"

"Robin," Slade said, sounding wounded. "I thought we had a deal."

"Sorry. I have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos."

"How very noble of you." Robin could almost hear the sneer in his voice. "But stealing in order to stop me? That wasn't so noble. Two wrongs don't make a-"

"Don't ever lecture me," Robin snarled. "Whatever you're planning, Slade, it's over."

"On the contrary, Robin. It's just begun." And with that, Slade rushed him. Robin jumped over him easily, flipping in the air. They seemed to be at an impasse, ducking and dodging each other's hits until Slade's foot connected with Robin's back, sending him rolling.

Robin threw a punch, which Slade blocked, and as he was holding his fist he elbowed him in the stomach. Robin grunted and doubled over. While he was winded, Slade flung him backwards. Robin's vision was blurry and he was struggling to breathe and he slipped over the ledge of the building. He grabbed onto the side, but the concrete gave way under him and he fell. But Slade's hand shot out at him after a few inches.

"You… saved me?"

"I'm not through with you yet." Slade tossed Robin back onto the beams of the building. Robin jumped down and leaped at him, punching him in the stomach so hard that the chips flew out of his hands. Slade bounced back against the roof where he stopped against the ledge of the building

"This ends now!" Robin pulled his mask off but, like with the other Slade-bot, it was a video.

"Patience, Robin. We'll meet face to face some other time. Oh, and speaking of time…"

The bastard rigged it to blow up in five seconds. He backed away for the blast and when it blew up, he heard Beast Boy say, "Heh. At least he didn't get the chips."

That was the most optimistic thing he heard that night. Cyborg lectured him, Raven gave him a glare and a soft, angry, "Nice." Beast Boy was kind of skittish about the confrontation, but he let him have it with a, "Not cool, dude. Seriously? Working with Slade instead of working with us?" Which wasn't fair at all because he didn't really work with Slade. He never would. He'd die first.

Glider attached, Robin spread his arms so it could catch the wind. He jumped from the Tower, making the now-familiar trip to the shore.

He landed and glanced around. The beach was quiet. There was a couple kissing about fifty yards away, a mother holding her barefooted kid on the sand while the ocean lapped at his feet. Quiet. He walked to the pier, ducking under it. It was dark, and he couldn't even catch the light of the moon from in here. He tapped his mask, activating infrared vision. Her signature was all over this place.

"Starfire, I know you're here."

She poked her head out from one of the supporting beams and he switched to night vision. She approached him warily.

"Hi."

"Greetings," she mumbled. He didn't know what to say and she was looking at him like he was a time bomb. "You are here to do the arresting of me?" she asked.

"What? No. I'm here to apologize."

She looked suspicious now. "Apologize? You seek forgiveness?"

"Yep."

"For what?"

He approached her slowly. "Um… I shouldn't have yelled at you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "No. You should not have."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Is this where you're living?"

"No. Catwoman has purchased a penthouse for me. I enjoy coming here. This ocean smells like salt and I enjoy the noises and the colors when the sun goes down."

He noted that Selina got her a penthouse. She'd be easy to find now. "I like sunrises better."

"Excuse me?"

He blushed. "Um. I mean, the colors are more vibrant as sunset, but I like watching the city come alive and the people start their day. I like watching light come from the darkness."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Plus, I've seen like a billion sunsets already. I used to start patrol in Gotham before the sun went down."

"Oh." She seemed disheartened by that.

"Why are you under here? It's pretty dark."

She looked at him unsurely before grabbing his wrist. She pulled him over to the support beam she was hiding against before and made him kneel. She put her hand on the sand and burrowed into it, coming back up with a fistful of shells. "Your ocean gives me treasures."

He widened his eyes at her. "They're shells."

"They are beautiful. Look how the design on this one swirls!" She held one in front of his face and he took it from her. "Um, yeah."

"This one shimmers." She held one on her lap and turned it, trying to get it to shine. She furrowed her brow and grabbed his wrist again, pulling him out of the pier and into the moonlight. She tilted her wrist back and forth so that it could catch the light.

Robin was half stunned. She was really, honestly amazed at the shells she'd found. She smiled at him and handed him the shell. He tilted his wrist like she did, only half looking at it. "Yeah. It's cool."

She extended her hand to take it back, and that's when he saw it. Instead of giving her the shell back, he grabbed her wrist and held her arm straight. Five purpley-blue marks stood out on her skin like night clouding over the sun. "Robin, what-?"

"What happened to your arm?" he demanded.

She pulled her wrist away. "I would like my shell back, please."

"Starfire."

"That is from you, Robin."

He winced. "Damn. I'm really sorry." She held out her other hand and he pressed the shell into her palm.

"I appreciate your apology." Her eyes were cast at the ground.

"Why did you tell Slade you didn't want to work with him?" Robin asked cautiously. "You need money, don't you?"

"I will not do that sort of work. I know what men like him are capable of doing. I do not wish to be subservient to him." Her eyes had a faraway look. "But, I am still doing the owing one to you for saving me from the Centauri police. So if he asks again, I will agree."

"I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

"I will do it if it helps."

He furrowed his eyebrows, concerned. "Thanks. But you don't have to. And again-" he paused to tug her wrist out so her arm went straight- "I didn't mean to hurt you."

She covered the bruises with her hand. "It is not the big deal. Although we do bruise the same as humans, our bruises hurt less and fade more quickly. In a few hours, all will be fine."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That doesn't make it okay. And if someone does that to you… don't let them. Come and find me, okay?"

She gave him a small smile. "I am capable of taking care of myself."

"I know that. But still." He turned away from her and spread his arms, stiffening out his glider.

"Would you like help?"

"Getting back?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

She nodded.

"Sure. Fine."

She hovered over him and took his wrist in a trapeze hold, lifting him gently into the air. She deposited him on the roof of the Tower. She stood next to him, looking out at the city skyline, dark against the backdrop of the night.

"My offer still stands."

"What offer?" she asked absently.

"Join the Titans."

She turned so the she was facing him and steeped off the ledge of the tower, gently drifting backward. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I do not wish to be subservient to you, either."

"But that's not-"

"Good night, Robin." She dipped down and he watched her as she flew close to the ocean's surface, diving into the water before reaching the shore and emerging with a handful of shells.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 – Thomas and Martha Wayne Orphanage Charity Dinner

Robin sighed. He'd actually remembered his appointment with Bruce this time. Only because it was really important. This was the one for the Thomas and Martha Wayne Orphanage. The annual event was held on the anniversary of Bruce's parent's deaths. Robin would probably go even if he wasn't trying to keep up appearances at home.

The actual event wasn't like the others. There were old men in stuffy suits and the usual VIPs and the business associates, but Bruce always invited all the inhabitants of the orphanage- at least, the ones who could eat solid food- and they sat at a table with Bruce and Dick and whoever Bruce's date happened to be that night.

Robin knew that tonight, Bruce's date would be Selina, and Selina would be bringing her 'niece'. Which meant that it would be the four of them at that table, virtually alone. Well, mostly virtually alone. Away from anybody who would eavesdrop. Which was kind of good. Because Robin still felt like an asshole for bruising her arm and he still wanted to make it up to her, even if she didn't know that he was himself. And he knew how. He had Alfred help him pick it out.

"Why hasn't she been in jail yet?" Bruce demanded as he stood next to his ward in the hallway bathroom. "Selina would bail her out under a pseudonym, anyway. You could at least attempt to keep up appearances.

Robin gelled his hair and spiked it. Bruce glared at him and he smoothed his hair down obediently. "Because. She's my mole." Well, she could possibly become one. In the future.

"Oh, really…" Bruce answered doubtfully.

"Yep. Kinda hard for a mole to operate if she's in prison."

Bruce didn't answer. "You know she's going to be here tonight."

"Really? I guess I forgot." Robin tilted his head back and straightened his tie. This one was dark green.

Bruce narrowed his eyes at his ward. "I really don't care what your relationship is like back in Jump, as long as you're safe about it."

Robin's hand jerked and he pulled the knot on his tie so tightly that it choked him. He slipped the knot looser and panted. "Are you nuts! There is no relationship!"

"Sure. Either way, when you're here, you can't get all lovesick. She doesn't know that you're you, and unless you plan on getting her in the headlines as Dick Grayson's young love, back off."

Robin mimed throwing up. "Trust me, that won't be a problem."

"Good." Bruce inspected Robin and yanked his tie loose before untying it completely, retying it himself.

"I can do that myself," Robin mumbled.

"It was crooked."

"Because you made me slip."

"Of course."

Robin sighed.

Bruce finished with Robin's tie. "Keep your jacket buttoned. If I unbutton mine, you can unbutton yours and roll your sleeves up if you want."

"I know all that by now," Robin muttered.

"I don't usually let you roll your sleeves," Bruce pointed out.

"You don't usually see me roll my sleeves."

Bruce glared at him. "Just go."

Robin stalked off toward the ballroom. Last year, a bunch of the girls from the orphanage asked him to dance with them, and he found that while he didn't really enjoy it, it was much better than dancing with the daughters of Bruce's business associates. They were less pushy and only one of them tried to kiss him, and he thought it was more of a thank you thing than an I-wanna-be-your-girlfriend thing.

People were in the lobby waiting to get in. Bruce motioned to Alfred, who disappeared through the huge wooden doors and came back through them a few minutes later with Selina and Starfire, her eyes and eyebrows disguised once again. "Bruce, honey, I'm so glad to see you." Selina stood on her tiptoes for a kiss, and both teenagers turned away.

Selina wore a red, glittery dress, strapless and with a low back and a slit that stopped at her knee. She accompanied the dress with long white gloves, a gold necklace, and gold earrings. Robin vaguely wondered if she'd stolen those or if they were a gift from Bruce.

Starfire wore a green dress, with one short sleeve going over her shoulder while the other side remained strapless. She had an armlet around the bicep on the arm opposite the sleeve, although unlike her usual one, this one had purple stars engraved into it. Set on the outside of her armlet was the diamond from the Centauri moons.

Selina and Bruce finally stepped away from each other and Selina put a hand on Starfire's back. "Dick, you remember my niece, don't you?" She smiled widely and Robin could hear humor in her voice, like she really thought it was a really great joke.

"Um, yeah. Kory, right?"

"Indeed. My Aunt Selina has told me much about you since we last met," Starfire said softly.

Bruce put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Not too much, I hope."

Starfire furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at Selina, who laughed and said, "Only the amusing stories, Bruce, dear."

The amusing stories? That got Robin a little worried. He glanced at Starfire, who looked a little confused, herself.

"I'm sure there are plenty of amusing stories for her to hear." Bruce paused. "You told her about the children, right?"

"Oh, yes. Kory adores children. In fact, she had a small brother before he left home. Ryan."

Starfire looked down at the ground and there was a little silence.

"Yes, well, we'll be dealing with quite a few children tonight. It would really be best if you watched what you said or did-"

"Now, Bruce. Kory will be on her best behavior. Besides, with Dick watching after her, I know she'll be in good hands." Selina was the only one who looked amused by that.

Bruce forced out a dry, "Of course. Just... be careful." He caught Alfred's gaze and nodded, and the butler opened the huge wooden doors.

The four of them stood, Robin next to Bruce and Starfire next to Selina, and people would shake Bruce's hand, talk to him a little, they'd kiss Selina's hand, they'd remark about how much Robin had grown, and they'd coo over Starfire as Selina thanked them for their compliments. At first, the crowd was the same as always, big names and expensive suits. But then the clothes got a little less fancy, the girls' hair styles looking like they'd been painstakingly done with the help of a friend and hours spent in front of a mirror with a curling iron and hairspray instead of a well-timed, careful but optimal half hour at the salon. Gazes wandered, looking at the orchestra and the raised ceiling and the tapestries and even the huge sconces and the candelabras.

Robin relaxed a little. Now that the rich guys were finished coming through, he didn't have to worry so much.

An older woman with a cane and a tight bun approached them, many smaller children crowding behind her. She hugged Bruce warmly and kissed him on the cheek. They chatted and one boy, around ten years old, tugged sheepishly on Robin's sleeve.

"Don't tell but..." The little boy held two loose ends of his tie out.

Robin kneeled so that he was eye level with the boy. "Ties are tricky, huh?" He did it up for him and almost raised his hand to ruffle the little boy's hair, but he remembered how much he hated that himself and touched his shoulder instead. "There ya go, bud."

The boy grinned at him. "Thanks!"

"No problem."

Robin peeked around Bruce and found that Selina had Starfire by the wrist and they were talking to a little girl, younger than the boy had been, and she was waving a tiara in front of their faces.

The flow of traffic stopped after half an hour and the four of them sat down. Selina and Bruce sat at the edge of the table, which was made for two people, and Robin and Starfire sat all the way at the other side of the table, flanked mostly by children from the orphanage.

She didn't seem that interested in talking to him. Actually, she didn't seem very happy to be there.

"So... Uh, Kory... Is everything alright?" He asked after sitting next to her for a few minutes in silence.

"Hm?" she asked distractedly.

"Everything okay?"

"I apologize. My thoughts are elsewhere."

He paused before gesturing to her arm. "That's quite a gem," he remarked, raising a hand to trace his fingers over the diamond on her armlet, but she moved her arm away from his hand.

"Thank you. My sister gave it to me."

"Selina never mentioned that you had a sister," he pointed out softly.

She went rigid in her chair. "Yes. That is because..."

"She did mention something to me the other day, though," he interrupted her smoothly.

"Oh?" Starfire encouraged, interested in what he had to say.

"She mentioned that you liked sea shells."

"Shells?" Her eyes became rounder and she tilted her head toward him.

"Yep."

"I spend quite some time when I am in Jump collecting shells," she agreed excitedly. "Last week I found a shell that shimmers."

"Yeah, some of them do that. I have-"

"Are you aware that there is a type of small crab that lives beneath wet sand that makes its home in tiny, curly shells?"

"Yeah, hermit crabs, but look-"

"Hermit crabs? They are most adorable. When I first discovered them I was frightened by their claws, but now-"

"Kory," Robin interrupted softly.

She paused.

"Since Selina told me that, I thought you might like this." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bracelet. At least a dozen small shells- and they were real shells, he'd made sure- strung on a thin silver wire, tiny holes poked into the top and a clear shiny shellac over them that was supposed to protect each shell but could have been simple polyurethane for all Robin knew. The shells tinkled against each other as he showed it to her.

She stared at it, eyes wide. "Oh," she breathed, and something about the way that she said that made Robin's mouth curl into a satisfied smile and his pulse shoot in his veins before steadying calmly. He felt almost smug. "It is so pretty." She traced her fingers over the shells delicately.

"Here," he said, pressing the bracelet into her palm.

"I could not take that from you." She shook her head and pushed her palm against his fingers, the shells tinkling.

Robin furrowed his brows. Uh oh. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was just trying to make up for being such an ass and grabbing her arm. Alfred did try to warn him that the sentiment would resonate better if he gave it to her as Robin, but he couldn't do that. Robin wasn't supposed to be nice to Starfire. He didn't have to be mean, but he wasn't supposed to be going out of his way, especially not in uniform, to be nice to her. He guessed that he did seek her out in the first place that night, but he needed to talk to someone that wasn't severely disappointed in him at the time. Maybe that was a mistake, but one time shouldn't hurt. He just couldn't go to her for comfort on a daily basis. She'd notice and she'd try to be nice to him while he was being nice to her and things would get complicated, which was bad because she was the enemy.

But Dick could be nice to Kory. It seemed that they would only see each other at Wayne events, and even if things got complicated- which certainly was not the goal and seemed very unlikely- what did it matter? He'd be away from her until the next event. It wasn't like they had much time to really get to know each other, anyway. …Not that he wanted to get to know her.

"Take it," he insisted.

"But why? Why are you giving me this present?"

That made him swallow convulsively. It wasn't a present. It was retribution. A leveling ground. ...She just didn't know that. "It's not... Um, because..." He wished Wally was here. Wally was much better at bullshitting, especially when it came to girls. "Because you're new here and I thought I could, like... Be nice."

"Nice?" she echoed thoughtfully. Then she muttered to herself, confused. "There is not a word for this where I come from. Why do you wish to be nice to me?" she was peering at him, really, honestly confused and not trusting at all.

"Why?" He blinked, and for some reason he found that he couldn't blink and think at the same time. "I don't know."

"Because of diplomacy?" she offered. "You need something from me?"

"No. Okay, listen. You're not from here and that's scary-"

"Scary?" she echoed, but he ignored her.

"-and I thought it would be nice- I mean that you would enjoy- having that bracelet with you. Because you like shells."

"So it is an act of charity?"

He pushed his fingers through his hair, frustrated. He smoothed it back into place and glanced around the table. Some of the kids closer to his age were trying to hide amused smiles, although Bruce didn't seem to notice them talking to each other.

"Charity is..." He gulped. This could very quickly turn into a faux pas. "Please just take the bracelet and I'll explain later."

She did, thankfully, and clasped it on. She shook her wrist so that the shells tinkled against each other and Robin sighed in relief. That was probably the worst that could have gone.

"Thank you." Her voice came out soft and it shook a little, which was alarming. "It is a... nice present."

There. Now they were even. He didn't have to feel guilty every time he saw her. They were on level ground.

Bruce made a speech, thankfully not so long winded. Robin saw his eyes alight on Starfire's wrist for a brief second, and he wondered what he would have to say about that. The food was brought out and Robin watched warily as a young girl asked Starfire to cut her food for her, which she did while cooing over the little girl's hair and dress.

His phone buzzed once in his pocket and he fished it out discretely.

Stop staring.

Robin flicked his gaze up to Bruce, who was busy ruffling a little boy's hair and laughing.

I'm not staring, he typed. I'm making sure she's being careful. He regretted giving her that bracelet now. Bruce was going to make that worse than it was.

He saw Bruce's gaze drop to his lap and he knew that he was reading the text message. Usually, Robin was forbidden from using his phone, but seeing as Bruce started it, he couldn't get in trouble for texting back.

Robin's phone buzzed one more time and he glanced at it. She's fine. Just worry about yourself. He snapped his phone closed and sighed.

As the desserts were eaten, the children became more and more restless in their seats. Robin was asked, timidly, to dance. The girl was a little younger than him, and she was blushing furiously about it, and he smiled and told her he would. Halfway through the song, he was surprised to find Starfire out of her chair. He glanced around and found that she was dancing with a boy who was maybe a little older than Robin.

Older, sure, but give both of them a bo-staff and see who comes out on top. Of course, not now. Robin groaned inwardly. He had to stop this before it got worse. Maybe giving her the bracelet was a bad idea.

No, it wasn't. It wasn't as though he gave her the stupid thing as a present, or a sign of affection. He did it to apologize. Just because she didn't know that didn't make it less true. And he was glad he apologized to her. He'd do the same for any other girl. He bought Beast Boy Grand Theft Auto after he gave him a bloody nose during training. Well, Beast Boy kind of coerced him into that. But still.

For a few songs, he danced with whatever girl wanted him to, including a cute little girl who couldn't have been older than eight who asked him to be her boyfriend.

It was bound to happen tonight. So many kids running around, dessert in their bellies, sugar running through their veins. Crying. Quickly shushed by an older child, but not silenced. Robin turned away from the little girl and tried to locate the sound. The woman with the bun was pushing her way to the sound and he saw Bruce turn.

Nobody was there faster than Starfire. That worried him. She was alone with him. And talking, a lot from what he could tell. Robin slipped through couples and a few people who turned to look but decided not to go to the child. Starfire was kneeling on the ground, petting a little boy's gingery hair, cooing softly.

The kid wiped his eyes and showed her his elbow. It was scraped. She touched his arm above the scrape and he blinked. His eyes were bright green and sad. Robin stopped. She was looking at him oddly. It wasn't a look he'd seen her give anyone else. It was a raw expression, emotional in a way he couldn't understand. She seemed to be on the brink of tears herself.

The boy wrapped both of his arms around her neck and she touched his back with both of her hands. The woman with the bun gently took him from her and Starfire looked unsettled at the loss of contact. She blinked a few times and Selina appeared next to her, offering a supportive smile and leading her out to the balcony.

Robin jumped at a hand on his shoulder. He twisted to look up at Bruce.

"You're a little distracted."

Robin shrugged, both as a dismissive gesture and to get Bruce to remove his hand. "I guess."

"Everything's fine. You should go back to doing what you were doing."

"I'm gonna get some air."

"Dick," Bruce said, annoyed. "You can't do this."

"It's hot in here," Robin pointed out. "You still haven't unbuttoned your jacket."

Bruce did, moodily, and Robin copied the gesture and rolled his sleeves. "Stay in."

Grudgingly, he did. He danced for a while longer. The kids all left at eleven, the youngest ones already falling asleep in the dining chairs. Starfire still didn't come back in, even though Selina emerged to say goodbye to the children..

Robin ducked out while the kids left, especially since one of the girls asked him for a goodbye kiss. Bruce could hardly blame him for that. He didn't see Starfire out here.

He glanced around furtively and climbed down the balcony into the gardens. Okay, so he could have used the door. But this was faster.

He knew the gardens pretty well. When he was younger he used to walk in here with Alfred. When he wasn't busy with being Robin or schoolwork, sometimes he'd help Alfred maintain it. That was something he kept private, of course.

He paused and listened, picking up a soft sniffling sound. Oh, no. He couldn't deal with her crying. Again. He ran his hand through his slicked-back hair, probably messing it up a little. Maybe he'd get Selina-

"Dick?"

Damn.

"What are you doing out here?"

He glanced around. "Where are you?"

"Up here."

He looked up. Sitting in one of the trees was Starfire. He legs were folded under her and she didn't seem to think anything was strange about her being there. "How did you get up there?"

She tilted her head at him. "I… climbed."

He knew that she didn't climb. She flew. "Can you get down?"

"Of course I can get down," she answered, indignant.

"Okay. Why don't you?"

She paused before letting out a sigh and clambering down. Even in the dress, she was very athletic. The last branch was about ten feet in the air. She dangled her feet and let her shoes drop to the ground. She landed flat on her feet, which made Robin wince. The impact would have been better absorbed with a roll. She stumbled forward and he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"You okay?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine." She gathered her shoes from the ground.

"Bruce and Selina are probably looking for us," Robin muttered, mostly because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I do not wish to return to the ballroom just yet," she answered, walking over to a white bench and sitting on it.

Robin stayed where he was and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Why not?"

"You are full of questions."

"Uh… sorry."

"I had a little brother," she said softly, dropping her gaze to her shoes, which she'd thrown on the ground. "He was so like that child. Bright orange hair and green eyes, full of laughter and curiosity."

Robin swallowed uncomfortably. "What happened to him?" he asked, because it seemed like the thing to do.

She looked up at him. "He went missing." Her eyes were filled with tears.

Robin blinked. He approached her carefully. "It's okay," he mumbled.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Um… I mean…"

"My brother is missing. My parents are dead. My sister detests me," she mourned, dropping her head.

"Look, I don't… I'm not good with…" He cleared his throat and looked down at the ground. "My parents died. When I was nine." She looked up at him, not surprised, but looking concerned for him even as she was feeling sorry for herself. "I didn't have any siblings. But I guess I sorta… almost know how you feel." He shoved his hands into his pockets again and kicked at a loose stone on the ground. "I guess that doesn't make you feel any better. I don't know how recently all that happened to you but… it gets better." He peeked up at her.

Her eyes were fixed on his and he found that he couldn't- or really, really didn't want to- look away. She was still, just looking at him, looking somewhat suspicious. Then her expression softened and she shot off the bench and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing just a little too hard.

"Thank you," she murmured, laying her cheek on his jacket shoulder.

He fished his hands out of his pockets and he let them hover in the air. Robin didn't do hugs. Sometimes Babs would do this thing where she'd loop an arm around his neck and she'd dig her fist into his scalp. He hated that. Every once in a while, Bruce would put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it gently. It was a supportive gesture, and Bruce doled them out only when Robin felt himself on the brink of something terrible- pain, physical or emotional, despair, listlessness. Selina hugged him sometimes, although she was usually mocking him when she did it. Usually with a remark about not getting enough hugs from daddy.

But this… this was kind of nice. Not the way she did it… she was kind of squeezing his throat. The thought behind it was what struck him as nice. She wanted to convey something to him and she thought words wouldn't be enough. She wanted to thank him for his sad attempt at making her feel better and she wanted him to feel better, too. That was what kept him still initially. He noticed that she was warm, and not in the way that having another person pressed against you was warm. She was oddly warm. Although that made sense, considering how easy her heat signature was to track. He didn't know how long most hugs were supposed to last, and this one was getting close to seven Mississippis.

"Agh… St- Kory… I can't really… breathe…" he muttered into her hair.

She released him quickly. "Oh… My apologies."

"Um, no biggie." He straightened his tie, which wasn't really crooked but this way he could furtively rub his throat without hurting her feelings.

"Biggie?" she repeated with a confused tilt of her head.

"Big deal. It's not a big deal."

"Oh."

"We should probably get back," Robin suggested softly. Part of him really wanted her to insist on staying out here with him. Of course, if she did he'd say no. But still.

"You are correct. Selina will become worried about me if I stay out here much longer." She bent to put on her shoes again and he watched her quietly.

They wandered back into the Manor, Robin walking a little ahead of her as he led her through the halls to the ballroom. They passed through the wide double doors and Selina pounced on them.

"Hey there, kiddies!" Robin frowned at her, which made her smile a wide, self-satisfied smile. "What were you two doing?"

Robin glared at her.

"I stepped out because a child reminded me of Ryan," Starfire answered softly. "If it had not been for Dick, I would never have found my way back inside."

Selina looked between them suspiciously, and a little disappointed. "Bruce is looking for you," she said sweetly to Robin.

He sighed. "Thanks, Selina."

"No problem, Dickie," she purred back, taking Starfire by the arm.

He spent most of the night ignoring and avoiding Bruce. When the party came to a close, around midnight, the four of them were alone again. Selina was sitting sideways in a chair, stretching her arms out behind her like a cat.

"You're going to have to start paying me for showing up at these things, Brucie," she said with a yawn.

He just grunted in reply.

"And it must be so exhausting for the kiddies," she mourned, glancing around the room for them.

Robin had been avoiding Starfire as well as Bruce since their hug. He had to think about what exactly he was doing. He'd mostly been sulking since then. He was seated in a chair at the head of a table, leaning back on two legs and taking his foot away from the leg of the table, suspending himself that way. Bruce hated it when he did that.

Starfire was curled up in a chair, doodling on the tablecloth with her fingertip. She looked sleepy, and she was leaning her cheek on her hand, propping her elbow on the table. She really did look exhausted.

Selina vacated her chair, slinking over to Bruce and wrapping her arms around his neck. Robin averted his eyes, as he was sure certain parts of them were touching unnecessarily.

"As much as I would love to stay, dear, I guess I should play mommy."

The sound of them kissing filled the empty room, and Robin banged his chair down on the floor loudly. They separated and Robin could feel them glaring at him.

"Kory," Selina called in a sugary voice, "why don't you say goodbye to Dick?"

Robin turned to glance at Starfire. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arm over her head. "Good night, friend. Pleasant shlorvaks."

Shlorvaks? And he didn't miss the 'friend' part either.

"And good night to you, as well, Mr. Wayne."

"It's always a pleasure, Kory," Bruce said in a voice that didn't sound pleased at all.

Selina helped her out of her chair and Alfred escorted them out of the manor. As soon as they were through the double doors, Robin undid his tie and threw it on the table before him.

"Okay. Spill," Bruce commanded, taking a chair next to Robin.

"Spill what?" he demanded, annoyed.

"You both disappeared for twenty minutes." Bruce narrowed his eyes at his ward.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah. We made out on your bed."

"I don't always appreciate your sense of humor," the Caped Crusader scolded icily.

The Boy Wonder shrugged. "Nothing happened. She went out and I thought she might need help finding her way back in."

"Uh huh," Bruce answered doubtfully.

"If there was something going on between us- which there's not!- I don't see why it's such a big deal."

"You have to be prepared for the risk of any entanglements," Bruce said seriously. "I think you're backing yourself into a corner, emotionally."

Robin sighed. "I'll worry about that, okay? I know what I'm doing." He pushed his chair back, ending the conversation. "I'm going back to Jump after lunch tomorrow. See you in the morning."

Bruce sighed. "Good night, Dick."

Basically, Bruce hates it when Robin is happy. But Selina doesn't! Also, say goodbye to cute Robin for a few chapters. I know; I'm going to miss him, too. Teaser:

A rough hand was pinning her against the wall and cool metal was pressed against the hollow of her throat.

"What are you doing here?" Robin demanded, shouting at her.

She growled at him, her eyes glowing, but he just pressed his eskrima stick against her throat harder. She lifted her chin to relieve the pressure, staring at him defiantly.

"You're working with Slade, aren't you?"

"Robin-" Raven muttered, sounding more annoyed than anything.

She was going to intervene on Starfire's account. Starfire couldn't allow that. "Remove your hand from my person," she commanded, narrowing her lit eyes at him.

"Tell me what you know," he ordered.

She very calmly lifted her hands and grabbed both ends of his eskrima stick, his fingers wrapped tightly around the middle. He resisted, but he was no match for her strength. She let her hands glow and she bent the metal into a curve. He glanced down at it, looking incensed rather than intimidated. "I am not in league with the Slade," she growled at him.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 - Apprentice, Parts 1 and 2

Starfire stretched in the morning light. Her penthouse, on the top floor of a luxurious apartment building, had a skylight cut into the roof above her bed, and wall-length windows that let as much sunlight in as possible. Selina really outdid herself when it came to living arrangements. Apparently, although she had her own penthouse in Gotham, she was currently living with two villainesses in an abandoned animal shelter turned mansion? She'd never been there, so she couldn't be sure.

"Good morning, ocean!" Starfire chirped. "Good morning, Jump City! Good morning, Titans Tower!" She could just see it out of the west side of her penthouse, and she waved at it.

Normally, sunlight would be pouring through the windows, but she'd awoken slightly earlier than usual. The sky was purple in the light of the rising sun, pink and orange just beginning to bleed into the sky.

She dressed and brushed her hair before pushing her skylight open and floating out of it. She flew to her pier to collect her shells that she'd been too tired to carry to her room last night. She'd been hoarding them, and she turned them into artsy decorations around her penthouse- shells glued to picture frames, turned into jewelry, left on her dresser and on end tables, a vase filled with them on her coffee table. Selina was a little alarmed when she saw, but Starfire was unconcerned.

She landed on the sandy beach, her black uniform absorbing the weak rays of the rising sun. She hummed happily as she ducked under the pier, scouring the sand for her hiding spot. She paused and narrowed her eyes. She could hear the unmistakable sounds of battle. And shouting. Lots of very angry shouting.

Warily, she floated up so she was on the pier. She caught sight of a warehouse and inside the warehouse… the Titans.

Robin was putting on quite a show, really. He was attacking with fervor, with blind fury. It was a little frightening. It reminded Starfire of the battle-rage of the great warriors of Tamaran.

He threw an eskrima stick over his shoulder, where it hit one of the men perched on a beam behind him, and he caught it without even looking. He swooped in front of Cyborg and took out the men he was fighting with as much anger.

"Hey! I was gonna do that!" Cyborg shouted, bemused.

He leaped over the green changeling, Beast Boy, using his form- a bull, currently- as a vault. He knew what he was doing. Beast Boy ducked his head and raised his front hoof to cover his eyes as Robin brought the villains down, swiftly and with terrifying efficiency.

He put himself between the dark witch Raven and her opponents, Raven's usually blank face hinting at annoyance and vague concern.

He went on defeating each opponent until he knocked the last one over and proceeded to beat him repeatedly with an eskrima stick. Starfire's stomach twisted, but she noticed by the blue sparks and chipping metal that the men were actually robots. It was still frightening.

"Uh, Robin? I think you got 'im," Cyborg muttered, eyes wide with fear.

Robin continued beating the robot- who, come to think of it, sort of resembled Slade, which explained Robin's anger- until Raven forced the eskrima stick out of his hand with her powers. He stood, glaring at her. "You're just standing around," he snapped at his team. "The detonator's not here and we have no idea where Slade is." He stood and stormed off, the rest of his team exchanging glances and following him.

Starfire floated after them, curious. Detonator? On this pier? So close to her precious shells? That would be terrible. Perhaps she should move them all instead of following them, just in case. But she wouldn't be able to save them all in time.

"Okay," Cyborg said as they walked. "We know the chronaton detonator was here. We just need to figure out where it went."

Starfire gasped sharply. She couldn't help it. A chronaton detonator? She would need to worry about much more than her shells. She clapped her hand over her mouth, cursing herself. The Titans turned to her at the noise. She wanted to stay hidden a little longer.

She didn't have much time to mourn this, however, before a rough hand was pinning her against the wall and cool metal was pressed against the hollow of her throat.

"What are you doing here?" Robin demanded, shouting at her.

She growled at him, her eyes glowing, but he just pressed his eskrima stick against her throat harder. She lifted her chin to relieve the pressure, staring at him defiantly.

"You're working with Slade, aren't you?"

"Robin-" Raven muttered, sounding more annoyed than anything.

She was going to intervene on Starfire's account. She couldn't allow that. "Remove your hand from my person," she commanded, narrowing her lit eyes at him. She hadn't forgotten about how rough he was with her during their last encounter.

"Tell me what you know," he ordered.

She very calmly lifted her hands and grabbed both ends of his eskrima stick, his fingers wrapped tightly around the middle. He resisted, but he was no match for her strength. She let her hands glow and she bent the metal into a curve. He glanced down at it, looking incensed rather than intimidated. "I am not in league with the Slade," she growled at him.

He dug his fingers into her forearm at the sound of his name. "But you know that he's who we're looking for?"

She pried his fingers away from her arm. She could turn her arm and snap the bone. She wouldn't, but she squeezed his arm as a warning. He winced, at least. "Those are his minions, are they not?"

He glared at her before stepping back. "Don't get in my way," he warned. He whirled around and stalked off in the direction he was going before, and the other three glanced at her before following.

"You said you could handle it," Raven scolded him when they ducked around the corner.

She trailed them again. She might have been pushing it, but a chronaton detonator… a literal time bomb. She couldn't just walk away.

"We're wasting time," Robin snapped at Raven.

"Y'know," Beast Boy's voice rang out, "just cuz we're trying to catch Slade doesn't mean you have to act like him."

Robin would not like that. There was a beat of silence, terrifying and deadly and thick with tension.

"Don't you ever compare me to him. He's trying to destroy the city. I'm trying to save it!"

She felt bad for Robin. He really was trying. But he was so angry. She felt her pity ball up in her chest. Ah, on second thought, maybe that wasn't pity. It was something closer to a tickling sensation.

"Ah-CHOO!" She sneezed, green energy bursting from her eyes and hitting the ground at her feet, a mushroom cloud forming over her. Several crates slammed into the walls of the warehouse.

The Titans appeared in front of her. They probably thought she was attacking. Indeed, they were all either looking at her warily or in an offensive position.

"Um, gezundheit?" Beast Boy offered.

"I apologize. I think- ah… ah… ah…" She heard them scuttle away from her. "Ah-CHOO!" She opened her eyes, rubbing her nose daintily and sniffling. Robin had pulled his cape in front of him protectively, the others were out of sight. "I am allergic to metallic chromium," she offered weakly. "There must be a source nearby."

Cyborg loomed in front of her, his arm stuck out and beeping. "Interesting," he muttered urgently.

"Not really," she corrected. "On my world, chromium allergies are quite common."

"No. The key component of a chronaton detonator is a metallic chromium core which means-"

"You can track it!" Beast Boy interjected excitedly.

She lowered an eyebrow at them. "You just attacked me. I do not consort with those who have shown violent tendencies against me."

Raven glared at her. "You know what a chronaton detonator does, right?"

"Of course. But you are the Teen Titans," she mocked. "You should be able to handle this on your own, should you not? In fact, while you are looking for this detonator, I think I will help myself to a few more gems."

"We didn't mean it," Beast Boy told her apologetically. "We're sorry."

"Come on!" Robin shouted, exasperated. "We don't have time for this!"

She humphed and crossed her arms over her chest.

Robin sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? But, come on. It's not like I was unjustified. You're a criminal."

She glared at him. "That was a poor attempt at an apology. But I suppose I will help you. I am still doing the owing of you for helping me with the Centauri police. On Tamaran, we do not let our debts go unpaid."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her, the only indication that he even heard what she was saying. What a confusing boy he was! One minute he was 'nice' to her, talking to her and observing her shells, the next he was causing her physical harm. She was glad she didn't join his team. Dealing with his volatile personality on a daily basis would be exhausting.

The four teenagers looked at her expectantly. She sniffed the air, her head clouding as she turned to the east. She sneezed again, Raven throwing up a shield to block them from her stray energy. Starfire sniffled, already regretting agreeing to help them. "I think it is this way…"

She led them into a sewer. She wrinkled her nose as Raven lifted the manhole cover, but she jumped in, hovering to stay clear of the dirty water, even though there seemed to be a sort of elevated sidewalk, probably so that repair crews could enter the sewers without putting their health in jeopardy.

After a few minutes of walking, Starfire's head beginning to ache as they got closer to the source of her sneezes, Robin let out a quiet, "Um, guys."

The three members of his team stopped immediately, but Starfire took a few more steps forward, half being respectful, half uninterested in what he had to say.

"Um… Sorry. About earlier. I didn't… I just get so…"

Starfire stopped, then, and turned to look at Robin. His eyes alighted on her and he gulped. She narrowed her eyes and turned away from him.

"It'll have to wait," Raven said sharply, motioning ahead of them. Starfire lit a starbolt and held it high, casting its glow far ahead of them. A red speedboat with a great metal cylindrical machine loomed in the distance.

"Titans, go!" Robin snapped immediately.

Starfire crossed her arms as she hovered. She was not a Titan and she refused to answer the battle call. Robin hardly glanced at her as he rushed past her, though. She wondered if she should just leave, although, eyeing the detonator as it started disappearing from her view, she decided that she would like to see the thing dismantled. Not because it would help the Titans, because it was in her own best interest.

"Quick! We can't let him get away fr- GAH!" Robin shouted as a megalithic hand shout out of the wall and grabbed him, dragging him out of sight.

Starfire was alarmed, but the other three members of the Titans looked mostly curious as they peered into the gaping hole in the wall, where Robin was fighting a massive stone-creature.

He looked very annoyed, his teeth clenched and his eyebrows furrowed so deeply and his mask so crushed at the center that it almost looked like his eyes joined at the corners. "Get the detonator! Go!" he barked.

The other three took off right away, but Starfire crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. He was ignoring her completely.

"It's only fair to warn you," he said to the stone creature, "you caught me on a bad day."

She clucked. That was so overly dramatic. It couldn't be past eight in the morning. Although, she supposed he was having a bad day already, if his temper was anything to go by. She took off after the speeding boat after casting a glance at the rock monster. Robin was perfectly capable of defeating such an opponent, just… it seemed convenient.

Raven and Beast Boy were levitating, Beast Boy dive-bombing the robotic minion of Slade, and Raven attempting to coil energy around the boat to moor it. They were hesitant to attack directly, wary of the bomb.

Sighing, Starfire scooped up Cyborg, who flailed a little. "Hey! What's the big idea!"

"I offer assistance," she answered, hovering over the boat.

"Huh. Kinda cool, I guess. Ain't I kinda heavy?"

"I have enhanced strength, compared to humans," she explained.

"Oh. Rob sure knows how to pick 'em."

"Excuse me?" she demanded, not quite sure what he meant but not liking the implication.

"Nothin'. Just keep doin' what yer doin'." She did, and he let loose a shot from his sonic cannon. He twisted in her arms as she lowered herself over the boat. "Thanks for the lift!" he shouted over the noise of the engine, giving her a thumbs up.

She dropped him onto the boat. He landed, surprisingly lithe for a being of his mass. The robot minion at the wheel typed frantically before Cyborg reached him and pulled him to his feet, delivering a punch with such force that he was thrown off the boat. The autopilot had been engaged, though, and Starfire landed to assist him.

Apparently, Cyborg's solution was to rip off the steering wheel, which didn't stop the mechanisms inside the boat from directing it. He typed furiously at the control panel, but that only made the boat's movements erratic, an active attempt to unseat the trespassers.

Her stomach did flips as the boat rocked from side to side, not to mention the fact that she already had a headache and the sniffles from the metallic chromium. "How does one halt this vehicle?" she demanded, exasperated.

"Uh…" Cyborg muttered. He grabbed the control panel, ripping out the circuitry. Surprisingly, the boat eased to a stop.

"Please tell me that's not how you're planning on stopping the detonator," Raven deadpanned as she and Beast Boy joined them on the boat.

Cyborg laughed nervously.

Beast Boy frowned. "You do know how to stop it, don't you?"

"How hard could it be?" Cyborg tossed the control panel into the water. He approached the bomb and Starfire brought her hands together at her chest nervously. The moment Cyborg touched it, the top opened up, elevating about five feet into the air. Which was worrisome, to say the least.

"Whatever we're gonna do, we should do it before Slade decides to trigger this thing," Raven reminded them.

Starfire's eyes widened. "The Slade has the trigger? He may activate this device at any time he sees fit?" she choked.

"Um, yeah," Beast Boy answered, looking worried, himself.

"Do you not think it would have been more prudent to evacuate the city?" she demanded.

"There wouldn't have been enough time for that," Raven said. This seemed to calm Beast Boy, but Starfire was more stubborn.

"You did not think to even try?"

"This was the only way," Raven said firmly.

Starfire wondered if Robin's own passions had clouded his decision making, but she remained doubtfully silent.

"Okay. We need to disconnect the machine from the core. And the core is…" Cyborg ran his hand along the metal until he came to a square box, screwed in at the corners. "…here."

Raven took the screws out with her powers, revealing a red ball, spinning slowly. It looked like the center of many models of atoms she had seen, without the electrons and multicolored middle.

"The chromium core…" Cyborg said softly. His voice was businesslike, but Starfire didn't miss the barely-covered awe. "Very unstable. No sudden moves."

As if that was a cue, Starfire felt a tickle from her throat. "Ah… ah… AH-CHOO!" Starfire sneezed, unpleasantly surprised when her energy literally blew up in her face. A sphere of Raven's energy trapped her blast close to her face, and her hair poofed up annoyingly. She glared at Raven.

"Not so nice to be on the receiving end, is it?" she whispered snarkily, smirking just a little.

Cyborg cut a wire with a laser from his finger, and the red nucleus-type core spun faster. Starfire's eyes widened and she felt her breath hitch as her pulse sped up. She didn't often find herself utterly terrified, but right now that was the only feeling she could use to explain the way her blood ran cold in her solar powered body. Cyborg didn't seem concerned, which calmed her.

"Moment of truth, y'all," Cyborg murmured, brandishing his finger. "Everybody ready?"

Beast Boy bit his fingernails loudly. "I can't watch," he said, probably louder than he should have, and covered his eyes with his hand. After a short moment, he peeked out his fingers. Starfire thought he was amusing.

Cyborg cut two wires and the core turned blue. The boys sighed together, but their moment of relief was short lived. The core turned back to its angry red color and the machine whirred, warning. The tiers on top began closing, with an aerated hiss each time. Red the color of the core flowed around the machine.

Beast Boy shouted; a pitched, undignified sound. "AH! We blew it! We'll be frozen in time forever!" He flailed his arms theatrically.

As he continued to have a meltdown, the bomb suddenly made short-circuiting sounds, blue sparks dancing across the outer hull.

"Um… Not that I'm complaining, but… Why are we not frozen in time forever?"

Cyborg narrowed his eyes at the machine. "Because this isn't a chronaton detonator. It was a fake!"

Starfire furrowed her brows. Behind them, a gun unfolded from the front of the ship and shot a ray four times. She charged starbolts in her hands and let her eyes glow, but it wasn't enough. She could not dodge the ray of light that hit her with such force, she was thrown back into the water. Which was an unpleasant event in and of itself.

"Gluh!" Beast Boy spat in disgust as they surfaced. "So… other than the nasty taste of sewer water in my mouth… I think I'm okay."

"Diagnostics say I'm just fine," Cyborg affirmed as he tapped the screen on his arm.

"Whatever that beam was supposed to do…" Raven muttered, sounding suspicious. "It didn't do it."

"Then… we are victorious?" Starfire asked, unsure.

"'Spose so!" Cyborg answered happily.

"Kinda anti-climactic, don'cha think?" Beast Boy asked.

Starfire rose out of the water and shook her hair out. She grabbed Cyborg, supporting him under his elbows, and heard Beast Boy and Raven emerge from the water beneath her.

"That's weird," Cyborg muttered.

"What?" she asked, mostly to be conversational and not because she was really interested.

"I'm not picking up Robin's communicator anywhere."

Starfire furrowed her brows. "Do you think he has been harmed?"

"No," Cyborg answered quickly. "But even if he was, that doesn't explain why I'm not picking up his communicator."

Starfire felt a pang run through her chest. She'd been so short with him. And she left him to do battle alone with the stone monster. Maybe they weren't friends, maybe they didn't even really know each other, and maybe he alarmed her with his violent tendencies. But she couldn't shake off her interest in him.

They landed on the street outside the manhole. Beast Boy shook the sewer water out of his Titans communicator. She snatched it out of his grip.

"Hey!" he complained.

"Robin?" she called, holding the device close to her mouth.

"Um," Cyborg interrupted. "You gotta press this button to talk into it."

She felt slightly embarrassed, but she did as he instructed her. "Robin? It is I, Starfire. What is your location?" She glanced at his friends, gathered together and looking at her. She turned her back to them.

"Not good," Beast Boy muttered.

"Robin, you must answer," Starfire ordered. She paused. "Why does he not answer?" she demanded of his friends.

Raven was giving her an odd look and Cyborg was tapping on his arm.

She cleared her throat. "Robin?" Still nothing. "Are you sure this flimsy device works?"

"It's not flimsy," Cyborg snapped. "It works."

She grimaced at the black and yellow circle in her hand. "Robin, please," she muttered, annoyed to have been forced to ask nicely. She was the princess of an entire world. She did not beg.

...

Ironically, after all his pestering, it took Robin's absence to make her join the Titans. Not that this was a permanent situation. She just wanted to find Robin with them. She could do it on her own, but she wanted to be included in his friends' discoveries. She wanted to know what they knew when they knew it.

Cyborg had given her a temporary communicator, the colors switched as it appeared to be a prototype of the models they used now. She held the black device to her mouth. "Robin, please. I am doing the begging, now." She paused, as she recognized the fact that he might need time to answer. "Robin, where are you? Why do you not respond?"

"Starfire," Raven's voice cut in, annoyed. "Enough. You've been calling for forty-five minutes."

Starfire gritted her teeth. As though forty-five minutes was a consequential amount of time. She spent years in the Citadel. Minutes, hours, days- even weeks and months- she scoffed at all of them. "Perhaps if I just try for a few more minutes-"

"C'mon, Star," Beast Boy said. The use of her abbreviated name reminded her forcibly of Robin, and she swallowed past a lump in her throat. "If he was gonna pick up, he'd've done it by now. Besides, you're kinda givin' me a headache."

"Robin and Cinderblock definitely went a few rounds, but I can't tell who won," Cyborg reported. "Or where they went."

"No sign of him here, either. I've been monitoring all the frequencies, but… he hasn't checked in," Raven informed them, sounding defeated.

Starfire resisted the urge to throw her communicator on the ground. "We should not have left him," she mourned into the device.

"Yeah, especially since Slade's big doodad was a dud."

Starfire blinked. Beast Boy was her favorite of the Titans- aside, of course, from Robin- but sometimes he spoke such gibberish.

"The chronaton detonator wasn't a dud. It was a decoy to lure us away from Robin. And we fell for it."

That made sharp icicles stab at Starfire's heart.

She heard Cyborg let out a strangled grunt and then the sound of an impact. Presumably, he'd just punched something. Something heavy. "I shoulda known that thing was a fake."

She didn't see the logic behind that statement. It was a very convincing decoy. It even had the metallic chromium in it, and Slade could not have known about her allergy to it. That was alarming, as that indicated that Slade had the power to obtain a chronaton detonator. But that was not the issue at hand now.

"But why?" Starfire demanded. "Why did Slade wish to separate Robin from us?"

"And if the detonator was a decoy…"

"…What was Slade's real plan?"

…

Starfire sighed. She did not dare return to her penthouse, not with this communicator. It had a tracking device in it. She needed to remove the tracker. She would not have Robin's band of heroes tailing her.

She landed atop some neon lettering of a building, the light warming her feet through the soles of her boots. She perched on what appeared to be a giant 'W', crossing her feet at the ankles. She cracked open the communicator and quickly located the tracking device. She was quite adept with technology- Tamaran's was ahead of Earth's, certainly, although Earth's technology was by no means archaic. She flicked it off the roof of the building and closed up her communicator.

She lay against the wide top of the letter. She missed much of the sun's nourishment today, having been underground when it fully came up and having spent the day in Titan's Tower working out their temporary arrangement and receiving her communicator. They offered her a room at the Tower, although now that she removed the tracker, she wasn't so sure she would take it. She could sleep in her penthouse, free from their spying.

She sat up abruptly as she saw a dark shape against the night sky. It kicked a hole in the vents of nearby building, which was quite reckless. She wasn't sure what that building was, but it was heavily guarded. Surely the vents had pressure detectors?

Curious, she landed on the roof and entered through another vent, closer to the center of the building. The person- who she could only assume was a thief- would have to hack the pressure detectors before going through the vents, so she planned on cutting them off.

She gasped as she hovered in the vent, mostly to be safe so that she wouldn't set off the pressure detectors if the thief didn't hack them. She was so surprised, she fell onto her hands and knees. The thief jerked his head- which was topped with spiked-up hair- up at her before pausing himself. It was dark, so she couldn't be sure. But that was…

She squinted. "Robin?" she whispered.

The thief shook his head.

She raised an arm, charging a weak starbolt. That was definitely Robin. Wearing a strange mask and a strange uniform.

"Oh, you are unharmed," she murmured, relieved.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That's more than I can say for you, if you don't move," he growled.

He was threatening her? He should know by now that that didn't get results. "Why did you not answer your communicator?" she scolded. "We searched for you. I called for hours and hours-"

"Move. Now."

Something was wrong. He looked desperate. His voice was harsh, but his expression was pleading. "Robin?" Just a soft, soothing call of his name.

"Please," he murmured.

There was a softness in his voice; some raw emotion that she'd never heard from anyone in her life- let alone from Robin, who was usually so stoic- threw her off. Her eyes widened.

"You have gone rogue?" she demanded, thoroughly confused.

He clamped a hand to his ear, wincing. "I- yes, okay? Move. Go home, Starfire."

"H-home? Do you mean Goth-"

"As far as you can get, just- ungh," he moaned, biting his lip to keep to keep from shouting. She could hear feedback.

She swallowed. "Fine." And she rocketed toward the end of the vent. What was he doing? Could he really have turned evil?

She heard him begin to crawl again, and she hovered ahead of him, in the shadows, out of his sight.

"Oh, Robin," she murmured mournfully. "What has happened to you?"

He kicked a hole in the vents and burst into a room. An odd device latched onto a display case and exploded. Several guards, armed with lasers that she didn't think were lethal but would certainly hurt, ran toward him. Keeping out of Robin's sight and out of sight of the guards, she shot a few with a weak starbolt, giving him a clear getaway.

"Where'd he go?" one of the guards demanded, glancing around.

Starfire blinked. He just disappeared.

She hovered in the air, glancing around as the guards ran off. She heard a soft thud behind her and she whirled around. He was crouching from the impact, looking up at her with narrowed eyes. She clenched her fists, but she struggled to feel any anger to light her starbolts. She was so confused.

She dropped to her feet in surprise as the Titans surrounded them. "Freeze!" Cyborg's voice shouted. Robin narrowed his eyes at Starfire further before running off.

The rest of the Titans glanced at Starfire, but they held their questions in as they followed him. They must not know. She squeezed her eyes closed, forcing herself into the air. She pulled ahead of the Titans, who seemed to have just realized who he really was.

Robin lobbed a disc at her, which exploded as it hit her forearm, which she threw up to protect her face. She was knocked back.

"Yo!" Cyborg shouted.

"What is your deal?" Beast Boy demanded, sounding indignant and baffled.

Starfire put her hand on her head, her eyes pleading.

The other three rushed him, but he used the thermal blaster he'd just picked up and shot the ground, separating them. The smoke billowed up, throwing a curtain between them, and he vanished from behind it.

"No!" Starfire shouted, hovering over the space he'd just blown up, coughing as smoke burned at her lungs. "Come back!" The smoke cleared and he was gone. "Robin…"

…

"Okay. The way I see it, there are only two logical answers. One: Robin has been replaced by a robot double. Two: He's just another innocent victim of zombie mind control," Beast Boy explained, his voice shaking theatrically on the last word.

"As logical as that sounds," Raven deadpanned, not looking amused at all, "if anything was controlling his mind, I would've sensed it."

"And my scanners confirmed his biometrics." Cyborg glanced at his arm. "That was the real Robin. Our Robin." He and Raven both lowered their heads in dismay.

It made her so angry. They had given up on him already! "That is not Robin. That is not my Robin," she snarled at them. "If you think that that was Robin, completely unaffected by anything other than his own desires, then I do not know how you can call yourselves a team. You clearly do not know anything about him."

Raven narrowed her eyes at Starfire. "What makes you such an expert?"

"I have known him longer," she snapped.

"Yeah? How?" Cyborg asked.

She didn't have time to deal with their suspicion. "He… he saved me." Her voice shook with emotion. "He freed me. He and the Batman."

"Woah!" Beast Boy squeaked. "Really?"

"Yes. And I know that he would not betray his team- he would not betray his cause- so completely."

Raven narrowed her eyes at Starfire again, before letting her face slip into a softer expression. "But something made him."

"Three words: disgruntled radioactive clone," Beast Boy said seriously.

Raven smacked the back of his head.

"No matter what the reason- no matter how much we wish it wasn't true- Robin's a criminal now," Raven said harshly. "And just like any other criminal…"

"The Teen Titans have to bring him down," Cyborg finished.

Starfire allowed her eyes to glow. "I am not a Teen Titan."

They were interrupted by the blaring of the alarm. "It's him," Beast Boy told them from the chair in front of the monitor.

"Where?" Starfire demanded.

"Uh… He's at Way- Gah!" Beast Boy shouted as Starfire hip-checked the rolling chair out of the way. She bent over the monitor and studied it before flying off.

She felt like crying, and not just because she was sad. She was so frustrated. Maybe Starfire didn't deserve the Titans' trust; maybe she didn't even deserve Robin's trust. She didn't deserve to be here. But Robin deserved unwavering trust, fierce loyalty, and most importantly, he deserved their help. Something was terribly wrong. She saw the three remaining Titans burst through the door. She preferred to wait for him outside. She glanced up at the big letters, letting the light sting at her eyes. Tears welled in them and it felt like a relief.

The cover of the ventilation system blew off the roof and Starfire ducked behind the fluorescent lettering. Robin ran toward the end of the roof, holding his fingers to his ear. "The device was too heavily guarded," he explained. "I'll have to steal it another-" His voice cut off and he skidded to a stop. He was definitely talking to someone.

"Robin!" Cyborg shouted, snapping him out of whatever he was doing. "Look, I don't know what's goin' on. But I don't wanna fight. We just wanna talk."

Robin did not seem so inclined, as he sent a kick at Cyborg that toppled him over. Beast Boy changed into a gorilla and slammed the roof with his fists.

Starfire felt her knees get weak. Oh, she didn't want to fight Robin. Even when she stole- which, honestly, she hadn't done very frequently- it was more of a way to get him to interact with her in a different setting. Maybe that was Selina's influence. Maybe it was her people, who believed that many things could be communicated through the art of sparring. She was so confused. Why Robin? Why was he, of all people, making her so confused? He was often short tempered and cryptic, and he seemed very annoyed with her as of late. But… but sometimes he'd smile at her, and she just wanted to make him smile like that all the time. She banged her head against the W where the points converged at the middle.

Robin dodged Beast Boy and led him up to the top of the A, where Beast Boy perched precariously. Robin sent a grappling hook twirling around the changeling's wrist and pulled him through the hole of the A, where he became stuck. The A and the W both shook and Starfire crossed around to the other side of the A, thinking distractedly that Robin's skills as a warrior would be most appreciated on Tamaran.

"Please," she said, reaching out a hand to grab his arm, maybe, make him say something to her. Anything.

He jumped past her, aiming a jumping kick at Raven, who put up a shield to block him. That was slightly insulting. Why did he not attack her? At least if he did, she would have a chance to say something to him. Get him to tell her what was wrong. Who was he talking to before?

He was pulling his hits against Raven, attacking close to her hands, making it easy for her to block him. He didn't want to fight them, either. Cyborg joined Raven, ganging up on him. Starfire winced when Beast Boy rammed him in the back as a goat. She gasped, pulling her hands up to her mouth as he rolled dangerously close to the edge of the building. He wasn't even trying to stop himself.

"Dude! Are you okay?" Beast Boy shouted, concerned. He approached Robin, stretching out his arm- which Robin grabbed and used to throw him around. Starfire's eyes widened. That was a calculated move. Cold. Using their concern for him against them. She made a mental note of that.

He tossed Beast Boy into Cyborg and they both toppled.

Raven levitated him with her powers, but he threw an exploding disc at the W, making the light flare up. Raven was not prepared for that and she was dazed by the blinding white light.

Robin was punching at Cyborg, who grudgingly engaged his sonic cannon. Robin redirected the blast to hit the ground at his feet, using the force of the blast to lift him up to the top of the A.

Starfire glanced up at him and their eyes met. He shook his head at her, almost imperceptibly. He took off, running over the thick top of the letters. She walked to the edge of the letters, taking in a deep, preparatory breath. "Stop!" she cried as she floated up so that she was looking down at him, making her expression hard, charging a starbolt and holding it out to him. She had to make up for her inexplicable uselessness in this fight.

"Do. Not. Move," she commanded. He skidded to a stop and craned his neck to look around her. Even when she was literally holding a starbolt in front of his face, he was trying to avoid her! It was as infuriating as it was confusing. Since she showed him her shells, he'd been avoiding her.

Slowly, deliberately, he raised his arm with the blaster coupled to it. She narrowed her eyes at him, unafraid. She could probably absorb much of the heat. It would still hurt her, but she would be relatively unscathed.

She looked at him, his face cold, blank. She felt her control slip. It was the blankness that did it. She'd seen that look before. She'd worn it. When things were bad at the Citadel- when she didn't want to be there, when she hated her own existence- she wore that look. Blank. Removed. Only a little determination- determined to stay blank- showed through. It broke something in her.

Slowly, she let the power from her starbolt fade, closing her eyes in defeat. She couldn't fight him when he was like this. "I will not strike you, Robin. I refuse to." Then, to twist the knife a little, to test his boundaries, to make him feel, feel something besides the suffocating blankness, she said, "If you are truly evil, then go ahead. Do what you must." She expected him to do it. She expected his anger that she'd seen just this morning to turn him into a stranger.

He gaped at her blankly. He let the power fade out of the blaster, and she gaped back. "Starfire, no-" He groaned in pain and raised his hand to his ear and she could hear the feedback from where she hovered in front of him.

"Robin?" she demanded. "Rob-" Pain. Hot. Invasive. Clawing at her insides. Only the pain of acquiring her powers was greater. She gritted her teeth and tried to suck in a breath. So hard to breathe while this much pain flooded her veins. She could hear herself groaning, teetering in the air. She fell. The impact ordinarily wouldn't hurt- they were only twenty, thirty feet tops off the ground. But with this pain ravaging her, she suspected that it would hurt very much.

But something was wrong- the fall was almost nonexistent and the landing was soft. "X'hal," she whimpered. She vaguely recognized that she was being held. She forced her eyes open, looking through a hazy, splotchy film of bright orange and red.

"Stop! Please, stop!" Robin's voice, desperate, begging. Begging who?

She found the strength to force her eyes to focus, just as he laid her gently on the top of the neon letters. The warmth and the slight vibration as power buzzed through the letter was soothing. She didn't let it soothe her into unconsciousness, though, however tempting. She stretched her arm out to Robin, feeling like she was commanding a limb that she'd been sitting on. "Robin," she groaned.

He stared down at her, pained, but that blank look was creeping back into his expression. "I'm sorry," he muttered, the tone he used breaking her heart. It was sorry. Desperately apologetic, but also resigned.

A blast of pain, and those two words echoed around her head as she let herself slip into unconsciousness. She couldn't have been out for long- hopefully not more than a minute or so. "Ooh," she moaned, glancing at the other Titans. They were just starting to stir. She floated gently down to the ground, too weak to really fly and just slowing her descent.

"Okay, weirdness," Beast Boy was saying. "What just-?"

A fierce cry interrupted him and Robin threw himself down at them. Where was he hiding that he could just appear out of nowhere? The ray from the blaster separated them. Robin landed in a crouch, swiping his wrist under Beast Boy's feet and throwing him roughly at Raven. He blasted Cyborg, sending him flying back, as well.

Starfire gulped and charged up starbolts, aiming at him halfheartedly. He twisted so that he was facing her. Was this the wrong moment to notice that he looked kind of good in that stupid, despicable uniform? He planted his feet on the letter behind her and pushed off it. He was moving so quickly she was having trouble just turning to look at him. She couldn't shoot him, not from this close. She tried to imagine herself punching him and she just couldn't. Not like this.

He crouched at the ground, aiming at her. She stopped, staring like a deer caught in the headlights. She braced herself for the impact, wincing preemptively. But he changed his target at the last second, shooting at the letters behind her.

He increased the strength of the beam, shooting at the base of the letters, sweeping his wrist across and making them fall.

"Titans, move!" Cyborg shouted as they crashed down around them.

The smoke cleared and Robin was gone.

"I know where Robin picked up that heat ray, but where'd he learn that hurty, glowy trick?"

"I do not think that was Robin," Starfire said softly, remembering how he begged… someone to stop. She narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps it is Slade who has learned a new trick."

…

Starfire sulked in the corner. They didn't even look for Robin after they fought him. He had to still be around. She understood that he was the Batman's protégé, but people don't just disappear. Beast Boy was in a chair, many sensors and wires on him, and Cyborg was crouching over a monitor.

"I think I found something," Cyborg said urgently.

She raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

"The enhanced sensors are picking up radio inference on the nanoscopic scale."

"Woah," Raven said plainly as Cyborg zoomed in on what looked like blood cells getting hugs from metal, jabby spiders.

"Those things are inside me?" Beast Boy asked quietly, disgust edging at his voice. "EW!"

"They're inside all of us. Billions of 'em!"

"With such technology at his hands, Slade can destroy us whenever he wants," Starfire murmured quietly.

"Unless Robin does whatever he says," Raven added.

"And you guys thought my zombie idea was crazy," Beast Boy sulked.

"We must go to him. He needs us." The three of them just stared at her blankly. She swallowed. "He needs you. He needs the support of his friends."

"But how are we gonna get there? Secret lair is secret, remember?" Beast Boy quipped.

"But… but…" Starfire stammered. She would tear the streets up to reveal the battered earth underneath to find Robin.

Raven tapped her chin and she sat at the monitor, taking down the image of the nanobots in their blood. "That was Wayne Tech, right? Robin told me once that Wayne Tech puts a tracker in all of its merchandise."

"Damn. How'd he know that? The kid's a freak. Do you even know that much about Daytech, Logan?" Cyborg teased.

"Shut it," Beast Boy snapped. "I know that Daytech could make robots that make you look like a toaster!"

"Cyborg, not robot, grass stain."

"Got it," Raven called. "The blaster's here, underground, beneath the old clock manufacturing warehouse."

Without waiting, Starfire scooped up Cyborg and flew out the window, Raven and Beast Boy struggling to catch up to her.

"Woah, easy, princess," Cyborg puttered, grabbing her wrist out of fear.

"I will not drop you," she assured him.

He paused. "So, are you and him, like… you know…"

"I do not."

"You're not his girlfriend, are you?" Cyborg asked, sounding embarrassed.

"I am unsure as to whether or not I should consider myself his friend. He is most strange about our affiliation."

"Affiliation?"

"I think he dislikes what I do. He wishes to change me. I will not allow that, however."

"Okay, let's put it like this. Remember that thing you did when you first met? The kiss?" Cyborg pried.

"The language transfer."

Cyborg snorted. "Yeah, okay. That was a one-time thing, right?"

"Of course. The language transfer is necessary just once," she explained, confused.

Cyborg seemed satisfied with that. They landed, entering the warehouse. Raven uncovered a flight of stairs and urged them to be stealthy.

Starfire could hear voices. She ducked through an arching frame that might have, once, held wide doors, like the ones that led to the ballroom at Wayne Manor. As she stood in the archway, she could see Robin stand in front of Slade, looking defeated.

"And… from now on… I'd like you to call me Master," Slade sneered at him.

She couldn't take it. How dare he talk to him like that? She'd had years of calling worthless men Master, she would not allow the same thing to happen to Robin. With an incensed shout, she loosed a starbolt at him. "Leave. Him. Alone," she commanded, narrowing her glowing eyes.

"Robin," Slade muttered, and Starfire could tell that his mask was cracked over one eye, "attack."

"Go!" Robin shouted desperately. "Get out of here! You don't know what those beams did to y-!"

"Dude."

"We know," Raven intoned.

"And we don't care," Cyborg informed him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We are not leaving without you, Robin," Starfire said softly.

"How very touching. But Robin isn't going anywhere any time soon." Slade stepped out of the shadows, appearing at Robin's side.

He tapped a button on an odd control panel on his wrist. That same pain filled Starfire, but she bit her tongue and refused to cry out. She couldn't stop her knees from buckling, and if she didn't bring her fists to her stomach, she thought she would throw up. But she looked up at Slade and Robin, refusing to close her eyes. Looking up gave her something to focus on other than the pain, even as her vision blurred and colors swam before her eyes.

"This is the price of your disobedience, Robin. Now do as I command. Attack!"

"No," he growled, and Starfire could make out the black and orange blur of his form running across the room to a glass sphere.

Her eyes bulged. "N… no! R…Robin! Stop!" she moaned weakly, but he could not hear her. Could not, or would not.

"Robin!" Slade snarled.

He groaned as he put his palms on the glass orb. His body glowed and Starfire let her eyes drift shot. All was lost. A master did not value the life of his slave. Slaves were easy to come by. She wanted to go to him. She didn't want him to die looking at Slade's hateful face.

"New deal, Slade. If I lose my friends, you lose your apprentice. And I know how you hate to lose."

To her shock, Slade glared at him for a few seconds before ripping the control panel off his wrist. Blue sparks danced across the surface of the control panel and her ears buzzed in the din of the peace that settled around her.

Robin pushed himself onto his feet and Slade aimed an angry kick at him. Robin caught his foot with a self-satisfied smile. "Titans, go!" he commanded. And this time she didn't hesitate.

Working together, the five of them managed to bring him down. Robin delivered the final kick, shattering the cracked mask. Slade scampered away after that, looking truly frightened, but not before engaging a self-destruct sequence. The lights dimmed and a red light that did little to offer any actual illumination flared into life. It blinked on and off, terrifying as gears began rolling around, threatening to crush them. Cyborg grabbed the glass orb that infected them before leaving.

"Let's go home," Robin said as he opened the door, white light stinging at their eyes. He ushered them out, touching them on the back or shoulder as they ran out before him. Starfire lingered in the blinking red light, feeling incredibly awkward. He reached his arm out to her. "You too."

She slid her fingers into his hand and he yanked her toward the door as a bit of the ceiling fell where she was standing seconds ago.

…

She flew Robin back to the Tower, Beast Boy as a pterodactyl carting Cyborg through the sky.

They landed on the roof, Beast Boy gesturing to the glass orb and Robin listening to Cyborg. Starfire stood at the edge, rubbing her arm at the elbow.

"Look," Raven grumbled to Starfire, "I… guess I owe you an apology."

Starfire just blinked. "Oh! Go on, then."

"I'm an empath. I sense things. I didn't sense any inherent evil in you." She paused. "Although, more often than not, inherent evil doesn't have to do with someone's status as a liability." Raven looked down at the ground thoughtfully and Starfire shifted uncomfortably. "You were right. Robin needed our help. And I'm glad you were here to help us." Raven offered her a small smile. "If there's ever anything I can do for you…"

"Oh, no," Starfire interrupted. "Please. I am still doing the owing one to Robin."

Raven gave her a quizzical look. "I thought you paid that off by helping us with the detonator?"

Starfire widened her eyes at Raven. "Oh, no. That nearly got him killed. Or worse. That was no favor."

"Um, yeah. Whatever. I don't think he blames you, though. He's probably grateful that you were willing to help."

Starfire sighed. "I think you for your apology. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"You're not going to hang around?"

She touched the black communicator at her belt. "No. I do not belong with the four of you."

"I wouldn't say that. We took down Slade together. All of us."

Starfire shook her head. "No. Thank you. But no."

Raven sighed. "All right." She glanced at Robin. "Are you sure you don't want to-" Raven closed her mouth. Starfire was gone.

Starfire stop that you are not in the Batfamily!

About the Daytech thing: Steve Dayton (Mento) is Beast Boy's adopted father. He is also mentioned a few times as being the fifth richest man in the country. He owns Daytech, which has its own labs and other projects like. Their exchange makes the most sense if you assume the Titans know Beast Boy's civilian identity, but not Robin's. Which I do, even though in the fifth season it's implied that they didn't know his real name. Headcanon is greater than canon.

I think I'm getting into a better groove with these rewrites. First chapter from Starfire's point of view! Maybe it's just because I'm a girl, but this chapter was easier to write than ones in the past have been. The Starfire chapters are going to be few and far between, but I really didn't want to do Apprentice from Robin's point of view. And I'm in charge here, so I do what I want, basically. Do you guys like the Starfire POV?

"Past, present, future. It's all written in stone, my boy. And nothing you do can ever change it."

Robin's whole body went numb, his stomach roiling. Warp chuckled and plucked the regulator out of Robin's loose grip. As the thief turned to walk away, there was an incensed yell and he was whisked away in a blur of purple and red. Warp hit the wall of an alley nearby, landing heavily in the snow on his hands and knees. Red shapes whizzed past Robin into the alleyway, landing and igniting in a burst of flames. The flames swirled around and licked into the cold air, blocking Warp from Robin's view. Warp's blue shield expanded, pushing the flames away.

Starfire fell from the air, intending to smash him on the back with two fists, but as she was falling Warp calmly said, "Another time, perhaps," and sank into the ground with the regulator in his grasp. Starfire's fists hit the snowy ground with a loud crunch, and snow melted around her flaming hands.

Robin turned to see who had thrown the exploding devices. "Really, Kori?" a familiar voiced asked. "This is what you were making such a big deal about? A traffic light kid with hair spiky enough to poke someone's eye out?"

Ignoring the insult, Robin squinted at the silhouette. "No," he murmured, his eyes wide and his heart stopping. "You're can't be-"

"Red X," the villain confirmed, stepping into the light of a streetlight directly overhead, his tattered cape brushing his ankles. "I guess I should thank you for the suit."

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 – Forever Ends Now

It was one of those days that Robin wished he hadn't formed a team in the first place. Bruce was right. He hated it when Bruce was right.

It was Bruce's fault anyway. Robin'd been preened to work with one person and one person only. He didn't mesh well with Beast Boy's perkiness or Cyborg's constant second-guessing, and even Raven's sulkiness and refusal to speak in anything but cryptic sarcasm was wearing on his nerves.

The two boys had been fighting over a video game. They always fought. Whether they insisted on fighting over meat or tofu- he really didn't understand why they had such a big problem with the other's dietary habits- or what to watch or when to play video games. Robin was about to send a birdarang through the damn television just to shut them up.

Raven hadn't been helping, putting in sarcastic comments and nasty remarks. And of course she completely turned on him when he tried to shut them up.

He revved the R-cycle's engine as he put on a burst of speed, pulling ahead of Cyborg's car competitively. Cyborg didn't indulge him, though. He got kind of touchy about speeding in it. Robin didn't need a race. He was happy to blow off some steam by driving ridiculously fast without adding the possibility of racking up a win, anyway

He glanced back at Cyborg, who shook his head at Robin's competitive nature. He looked back at the road, swore violently, and jerked the handlebars to the side. The T-car continued past him. The AI kept the R-cycle from toppling, but he did spin out, stopping just before he hit the wall of a building. He let his forehead touch the body of the bike between the handlebars, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"What is this odd hat?" the curious voice belonging to the person he'd just narrowly avoided hitting asked as a tan hand rapped its knuckles on his helmet, apparently completely unbothered that he almost smashed up his bike and possibly- although, th is wasn't likely- himself.

Robin sighed again, his breath fogging up the reinforced plastic on his helmet. "What are you doing?" he snapped.

Starfire looked wounded. "I noticed that you and your team-" she flourished her hand at the T-car, which was disappearing down the street, its driver and passengers unconcerned for their leader- "were on your way to the mission."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah? And?"

She tilted her head at him and narrowed her eyes right back. "I am still doing the owing of one to you."

He gaped at her. "Um. Oh." Owing of one? "You owe me one?"

She waved her hand arbitrarily at his correction. "Yes, that."

He glanced over to where he could still hear the T-car's engine going. He had to hurry to catch up. But… "Why do you think you owe me one? I'm not… holding anything over your head, or anything."

He frowned as she actually glanced above her head briefly. "You saved me from the Centauri police," she said dully, like it was obvious. "It would be remiss of me not to do the favor for you in return."

"That's not why- You don't owe me. No one I ever help out is gonna owe me, ever. I help out because I like it."

She rolled her eyes. "I cannot allow you have the 'hand that is upper'."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't-! I wouldn't-!" He sighed for the third time. "You wanna help out?"

She nodded.

"Ya know you could just j-"

"Just this once. I do not intend to join your team any longer after this," she interrupted.

"Fine, whatever," he mumbled, somewhat embarrassed at her constant rejection. He shook the feeling- which was stupid and unfounded- away. "Get on, hurry."

Her eyes widened in confusion. "What?"

"Get on the bike!"

She wrinkled her nose at it, narrowing her eyes and tilting her head. "Oh. No, thank you."

"No?" he spluttered. It was like she was just rejecting him for fun, now. "But I'm trying to get to-"

"I am capable of flying up to the speed of sound," she snapped. "I will follow in the air."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine." And with that, he took off, forcing himself not to crane his neck to make sure she was keeping up. The T-car was parked and Robin pulled up next to it. Cyborg was just finishing locking it up- Robin had been pestering him about finding a faster way to secure it when they were on a mission, or else he'd consider it a liability- and the half-robot glanced at Starfire questioningly.

"She… owes me one. Or something," Robin mumbled.

"Well, alright," he said approvingly. Robin wasn't sure if he liked what Cyborg was implying, or even if he was really implying anything and it was just Robin's own paranoia kicking in.

They joined Raven and Beast Boy inside, slipping into the shadows. A man in an odd suit made of what looked like sturdy bronze with an odd, thin mustache waved his arm at two guards, who froze. Literally. They became encapsulated in ice. Which was worrying. Robin started calculating as he watched, holding up a hand to his team to indicate that they weren't going to attack just yet. How much power did that take up? Robin wanted to be sure that he couldn't just freeze all five of them in one spot.

"I didn't journey back in time one hundred years to squabble, I came to steal," the villain told the now-frozen guards. Huh. That was interesting. The villain turned his gaze to the clock in the display case before him, predatory. "The Clock of Eternity," he said to himself. "Valuable in the past. Priceless in the future." He stretched his hand out toward it and Robin threw a disc at him. He couldn't risk any more time observing.

"But for the present," he growled, "you'll keep your filthy hands off it."

"Ah. The Teen Titans. This is a treat." As he spoke, panels opened up on his shoulders, looking suspiciously like lasers. "I read all about you in the historical archives. And now you're all history!"

Ignoring the slightly creeped out feeling he got, Robin let out the command as two red beams shot toward them. "Titans, go!" He heard Starfire make an unappreciative noise behind him, but he ignored her.

The villain continued shooting beams, which Robin deflected by spinning his bo-staff. He wasn't lying about coming from the future- the beams snapped his staff in half, which was almost unheard of. He groaned in surprise, but green starbolts shot over his shoulders, followed by a red and black blur.

Starfire's bolts were deflected simply by the villain sweeping his arm back at her, hitting her squarely in the chest. She let out a squeak, sounding more surprised than pained, and she dropped. Robin chucked the two pieces of his bo-staff to the side and stretched out his arms to catch her. She thudded against his chest, and he peered down at her to make sure she was all right. She shook her head once to jar herself and he placed her back on her feet, ignoring the look she gave him, which was something between a curious glance and a scowl.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Raven brought his attention back to the criminal, who had a lion-shaped Beast Boy caught in an electric field from the hourglass-shaped device on his wrist. He dropped the changeling as he simply knocked the display stands Raven had levitated at him to the sides, then shot a blue beam at her from a white circle on his forehead. She crumpled.

Blue light shot toward him, followed by a triumphant, "Booyah!" Robin squinted into the dust, only to find the villain had thrown up a forcefield and was completely unscathed. He threw a device at Cyborg's chest, which swathed him in white light. Cyborg groaned, moaning, "It's draining my power cell." He fell to his hands and knees.

"You cannot defeat Warp; I am from the future." The villain reared his arm back and threw a heavy disc. Robin countered with three of his, thoroughly annoyed at this point, but Warp's disc ripped through his three, continuing to explode behind him. He saw Starfire hit the ground in a roll. "And you relics are one hundred years out of date." With that, Warp simply reached his hand through the glass, which turned somewhat liquid as his hand passed through it, and snatched snatched up the clock.

"Ta-ta, Titans. I've enjoyed our time together, but I have a very bright future ahead of me." He pressed a button on his chest and a black wormhole opened in front of him, white light emanating from it with a flick of Warp's wrist.

Starfire was crouching in front of Robin, and she charged up starbolts in her hands. Uh oh. Robin really didn't want to get mixed up in time travel. Yeah, the clock was important, but time travel was dangerous and it was more important that the Titans- and Starfire- stayed safe. She let out an angry shout and pushed herself onto her toes. Robin acted quickly- he was her leader, at least temporarily, and he wasn't about to let her risk herself. He tackled her, getting a face full of soft, red hair as they tumbled. Starfire twisted in his grasp, confused and annoyed, and she pushed him off her.

Right into the wormhole. He heard her frightened shout of, "Robin!"- then everything went dark.

He hadn't meant to follow Warp, but there was nothing to do about that now. He might as well get the clock. Besides, the Justice League or whatever variant of it that would be around in a hundred years would just beam him back. He wasn't worried. He grabbed Warp's wrist, their strangled grunts echoing around them.

"Let go!" Warp grunted, putting a foot on Robin's stomach in an attempt to kick him away.

"Give me the clock!" Robin countered.

"Stop!" he said sternly. "If you damage the suit before we reach my future-"

That wasn't a bad idea. Maybe they'd just reappear in the present. Well, the past. Robin's present. He closed his fingers around the circular device on Warps chest and yanked it off. Immediately, Warp fell through a hole that opened up in the blackness. Robin could only watch in surprise, lifting the circle to his eyes to inspect it.

He didn't have much time to look at it before he started falling as well. He didn't know how high up he was or how bad the impact would hurt or even where he was. He grabbed at his belt, reflexively palming his grappling hook gun and putting the device in his belt in an empty compartment. He shot it at random and he felt the line pull. He flailed his feet, pedaling the air to try to feel for a foothold. He swung and his line snapped, and he fell maybe five feet before landing in-

"Snow?" he murmured to himself, wiping the cold substance away from his face with a gloved hand. He closed his cape around his shoulders. It was a meager comfort. He glanced up and his breath hitched. Titans Tower was in ruins. "What the hell?" he asked himself, running a nervous hand through his hair.

For a hundred years in the future, Jump looked pretty much the same. Snowier. He wandered up to the front door of the Tower, where there was a bundle of newspapers. That meant someone had to be there. He brushed snow off the soggy front page of the one on top. That couldn't be right- this paper indicated that he'd only traveled forward twenty years.

At least that left him more options. He sighed. He'd have to do it. Digging through the compartments in his belt, he palmed another device- a bat-shaped device with a button in the middle. It should still work. He pressed the button and his heart plummeted when nothing happened. His eyes were wide, terrified behind his mask. It should have lit up. Beeped. It was an emergency signal that connected to Batman's belt- time travel shouldn't have affected it. Even if he updated the technology, the device should have connected to the Batcave.

He pulled the front door open manually, the metal creaking as it slid into the wall. "Hello?" Robin shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth like a megaphone. The sound echoed in the empty foyer. It was freezing in here. Still with his cape closed in front of him, Robin padded through the Tower. It was so familiar, but so not at the same time. It was dark and depressing.

The ops room would just depress him. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew just by the fact that the elevators weren't working that it would be a husk of what it had been. No technical updates, no Beast Boy and Cyborg arguing over video games, no Raven attempting to be social by being there in the first place, but ultimately hiding behind a thick, dusty book anyway. He felt a pang of guilt. They really had been fighting more lately. Maybe he was taking them for granted.

He went straight to his room, which was mostly untouched. All pictures of himself were gone, though. Not that he had many, but a picture of him and Batman- capes flowing in the wind, hands on their hips- used to be perched on his desk next to his laptop, which wasn't there right now. His bed was made nicely, his uniforms folded in his closet. He'd come in here for his laptop. He must have left it in the interrogation room, and it was weird that it hadn't been moved. He wondered if anyone had gone in there since he left.

Something caught his eye as he turned to leave. The hinge on his walk in-safe was broken . He opened the door, which yielded under his touch without the electricity keeping the lock in place. The only thing that should be in here was his Red X suit. He saw the containment field he'd made for the xynothium core- but the suit was gone.

Robin felt misplaced anger. His whole room was untouched, who'd come in here and take that, of all things? He was angry with himself, mostly. That stupid thing was such a mistake. All of it- the deception, the embarrassingly futile attempt to trick Slade… where was he, now, anyway? While he was here, he might as well look into it.

He went into the hall, heading for the investigation room. If he could get on the Batcave's frequency with it, he'd have his ticket to Bruce and the JLA. He'd be home free, easy-peasy. Of course, only jumping ahead twenty years and not a hundred might mean that they didn't have time travel yet… but he didn't think about that. He'd get home. He'd find a way. He always did.

He stopped in front of an unfamiliar room, the door half-open. An odd, circular bed stood in the middle of the room. This definitely was not some weird, touched up version of Raven's room. Regardless of how much one might change in twenty years, he knew definitively that Raven would never deck her room out in so much pink.

Robin approached the dresser and pulled open a drawer. Empty. Another- empty. All empty. On the dresser, he found half of the picture that was on his desk. Just Batman, though- it had been cut carefully in half. He picked it up, wondering what was going on.

Tink. Tink. Tink. Tink. Whirrrr.

Grabbing in his belt for his bo-staff, he turned. A spider-looking creature with a glowing red eye looked up at him. He recoiled. It stepped closer to him and he smashed it with his bo-staff. Two more entered the room, and he smashed those, as well.

"Yo!" a familiar, yet strange voice shouted, and he jumped. "Who's in here, smashin' up my-"

"Cyborg?" Robin demanded.

It had to be. But he looked… he looked horrible. There were bags under his eyes and these terrible, thick wires poking into his back. He wrapped both hands around the pipe he was holding and brought it to his chest. "No way…"

"It's me. Robin," he said nervously.

"Damn, kid," Cyborg muttered, his eye wide. "You… you haven't aged a bit."

"What happened here?" Robin demanded, strangely on edge.

Cyborg walked over to the dresser and pushed the drawers Robin had pulled open closed. "About nineteen years of disrepair?"

"You lasted one year without me," Robin concluded dully.

"We tried, man. Especially Star. But-"

"What?" Robin's throat tightened as Cyborg used his usual nickname for her.

"Oh, yeah. Starfire joined after you left. Said you would've wanted her to."

He gulped. "Is this her room?"

"Yeah," Cyborg said fondly.

Apparently, Cyborg slipped into his memories, a small smile on his face and a faraway look in his eye. "Um, is she…? Are the others…?"

"Not here," Cyborg answered with a shake of his head. "BB and Rae went to Azarath after… Huh, probably shouldn't tell you about that. Just in case."

"Together?" Robin asked, scrunching his eyebrows together. He so couldn't imagine that.

"It was me and Star with Speedy, Bee, and the twins for a little while. But she… she changed. Her memory started slipping. She got so distant. I tried to help her. She went back to Tamaran and got married." Robin ignored the way his stomach twisted at that. "But she came back here here in the end. Now she hangs with Arsenal and Red X."

"Red X?" Robin demanded.

Cyborg chuckled. "We thought he was you. It wasn't until Star-" Cyborg cut off. "It's a lot to take in at once."

"What happened to you, Cyborg?" Robin asked softly, firmly pushing alien princesses to the back of his mind. Where they belonged.

"What, you mean all this?" Cyborg clarified, gesturing to his back. "I'm obsolete. Technology got better and I… I just didn't. You can't play the original Call of Duty on Gamestation 12." Cyborg glanced at Robin, who was unimpressed by the analogy. "That's how I had to explain it to Beast Boy."

Robin was vaguely annoyed. "You can't crack jokes about this kind of stuff. I can help you."

"It's too late, man. Doing an overhaul of all my systems would-"

"No, I mean when I go back. We'll prepare for this."

Cyborg looked at him doubtfully. "How do you plan on going-?"

Robin brandished the piece of Warp's suit. "I have this. He'll be needing it. If I can find him, I can make him take me back."

"How are you gonna make him take you back? Don't you think he'll just jump to the future and leave you?"

Robin cracked his knuckles. "I have ways. It would probably be easier if you could help me. Find him with your sonic-"

"I can't. I can't leave this Tower, Robin. I'm draining all the power into my generator- I can't help you. I'm sorry."

Robin crossed his arms, trying to think of something else.

"I can tell you where Star is. I can get you contact with Beast Boy and Raven, but they haven't left Azarath in fifteen years."

…

Robin was speeding through the empty streets on a stolen motorcycle. He was going to love bikes in twenty years, assuming he got back. Which he was. The R-cycle was more advanced than this motorcycle, with the AI and the interfacing. But this bike was more streamlined, and it drove smoother, and it was pretty awesome looking. He couldn't even imagine what his own tricked out motorcycle would look like.

Cyborg called her and told her where to meet Robin. He wondered vaguely what had happened to her. Married? And something about Red X and Arsenal. Cyborg wouldn't tell him anything in great detail. Something about time paradoxes.

He released a grappling hook from his gun after parking the stolen bike. He felt kind of bad about stealing it, but when he went back, this future would be rewritten, anyway. No harm, no foul. The grappling hook wrapped around a streetlight, and he pulled himself up to land on the roof of the building closest to it. She was supposed to meet him here.

He was slightly cold, and he wrapped his fingers around his elbows. "Victor?" he turned, recognizing the voice at once. It was less innocent, less hopeful than the voice he was accustomed to, but undoubtedly hers.

"Starfire?" he asked as he turned. "It's me, Rob-"

She landed on the roof, and his shoulders stiffened. She wore a purple metal bikini bottom with a red stone placed between her hips, and her top… if you could call it that… was little more than metal strips. Odd, metallic plating covered her shoulders and neck, a similar red stone set at the hollow of her throat.

"Um…" Robin stammered, quickly trying to determine how old she would be now. "Hi."

"Please, where is Victor?" Her eyes passed over him suspiciously.

"He's in… he can't leave…"

"Oh, yes, that is correct. I forget sometimes." She studied him. "While he does sometimes acquire other people to conduct our meetings, they are usually older."

She didn't remember him? That annoyed him. He'd remember her, he was sure, if their situations were switched. He crossed his arms. "I need help."

"I do not know how I can offer you any. You have the 'hit' on someone? You need an enemy disposed of?"

She seemed to be losing focus in their conversation. "What?"

"I am unsure of our rates- Jason usually handles the monetary exchange. Or Roy."

"Roy?" Robin echoed, annoyed. "Roy Harper?"

"Yes! Are you looking for him? You appear to be friends."

"No! I was looking for you. We're friends." Or something like that, anyway. Robin's expression and voice softened. "We were. Twenty years ago."

"Twenty years ago?" she echoed, confused. She tilted her head. "Friends?" Something sparked in her eyes. Recognition, maybe. "Today is Blorthog!" she announced, smiling. "The festival of friendship."

"Um," he stammered. That wasn't what he was expecting.

She frowned. "Although something happened on this day a long time ago. Something not nice." She tapped her chin.

"Can't imagine what that was," Robin muttered.

"Kori?" a voice called.

"Roy! I told you that I was not to be followed," she scolded, apparently forgetting all about Robin as she turned.

"Yeah, I know, but I know that today's… the day…"

"Blorthog?" she asked excitedly.

"No, hon, not Blorthog. It's- Holy Boy Wonder!" Robin crossed his arms moodily at the exclamation.

Starfire spun, remembering Robin excitedly. "Yes! This is my friend! His name… uh…"

"Roy? Speedy?" Robin spluttered. He'd known Roy back then. Not well, not as well as Wally West or Donna Troy, but they'd met a few times.

"It's Arsenal now," he corrected. Arsenal had gingery hair that fell to his shoulders, underneath a grey baseball hat with the bat symbol on it. He wore jeans, sneakers, and a green zip-up hoodie that emphasized his unmasked eyes.

Robin stared at the bat symbol on his hat. Arsenal turned it around self-consciously, the brim sticking out over the back of his head.

"What happened?" Robin asked, more emotion than he wanted slipping into his voice.

Arsenal winced, and Starfire hovered in front of him, leaning forward with her feet tucked behind her in the air so that she was at eye-level with Robin. "Are you lost?" she asked softly as though he was a little kid. He ignored her.

"You disappeared, dude. Your Titans… they networked. Me, Karen Beecher, Garth… Wally, eventually… But then Batman retired the cowl and it-"

Quicker than he'd ever gone before, he lunged at Arsenal and grabbed his hoodie in two hands. "Retired the cowl?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Easy, kid," he soothed.

Robin was so tired of being called that. "He wouldn't. He would never."

"He thought you died," Arsenal said uncomfortably, trying to pry Robin's fingers away. "And then… the Robin after you died…"

Robin felt like someone punched him in the stomach. "The Robin after me?"

Arsenal winced. "I… I'm sorry. But he nodded a new Robin. If people found out Dick Grayson and Robin died at the same time…"

"Dick Grayson?" Starfire asked, tilting her head and scrutinizing Robin.

"In a minute, Kori," Arsenal said without looking at her. "He tried to continue. But… that Robin died, and you died, and Barbara…"

He gulped. "What happened to Barbara?"

"She didn't die. She retired, that's all. And then one night, the Joker broke into her house. He was going to kill her, too. Bruce… he couldn't do it anymore. He shut it down."

"Shut it down?" Robin echoed dully, the words rattling around his head even after they left his mouth.

"No more Batcave. He blew it all up."

"What happened to Gotham?" Robin demanded, too stunned to stop Arsenal from finally prying his fingers away from his shirt.

"We did. The three of us… That's me, Starfire, and…"

"Red X," Robin finished.

"Um, yeah. It was pretty bad, at first. We had to use a lot of lethal force-"

"You what?" Robin snarled.

"I know how it sounds. But you weren't there. Scarecrow and Joker gas poisonings were killing hundreds of people every day. Black Glove had the city's narcotics ring wrapped around his finger. We were needed."

"This is so screwed up," Robin groaned. "It's not supposed to be this way!"

Something was tugging on his cape and he turned to yank it back. Starfire's eyes were boring into his mask, curious with some raw emotion quivering behind them. "Please. What is your name?"

"I already told you. Robin. It's Robin, okay?" he snapped.

"No, your true name," she pressed.

He threw his arms into the air. "What the hell, there's no use hiding it anymore if there's no Batman. Dick Grayson. My damn name is Dick Grayson."

She looked as though he'd hit her. She glanced up at Arsenal and when she brought her gaze back to Robin, she had tears in her eyes.

He instantly regretted how short he'd been with her. "Um, I'm sorry."

"I… you… You are here?"

Robin glanced at Arsenal. "Roy?"

"Sh. She's remembering."

Robin winced. Starfire rocketed away from him suddenly, her hair flaming behind her as she left. "What?" Robin muttered, confused.

"That happens sometimes. I don't know what's wrong with her. After the Titans split up, especially after Raven went back to Azarath after defeating Tri-"

Starfire returned, and she landed between them. She unfolded something and showed it to Robin, who took it distractedly. He took a cursory glance at the paper she gave him before returning his gaze to Arsenal, then double taking.

It wasn't a paper, it was a picture. The picture of him, the one that had been on his desk next to his laptop. It was the other half of it. "That is you," she said, pointing rather unnecessarily.

"Yeah," he said, unsure of what she was doing. She squinted at him before rocketing off again.

"Where's Bruce now?" Robin asked softly.

Arsenal stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We don't know. There are speculations. Jay- um, Red X thinks he might be in France. Or maybe it was Italy. With Selina."

At least he had someone with him. "Oh."

And Starfire returned again, this time dropping something into his hand. His throat constricted as he closed his fingers around the sea shell bracelet he'd given her. He examined it wordlessly as she scrutinized him, judging his reaction.

"You gave me that."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled.

"That was… so long ago." She gave him an experimental poke in the shoulder.

He shrugged.

"You… you are alive." She stood, towering over him. She'd gotten even taller. "You are here." She put her hands against her mouth and her eyes pooled with tears. "You are so young."

"I time-traveled," he offered as an explanation.

She sank to the ground, her legs sprawled around her in an M. "Oh, Robin, I am sorry."

He glanced up at Arsenal before looking down at her. "Why?"

"It was my fault!" she squeaked, tears leaking over hands, which were still pressed to her mouth. "If I did not jump after the Warp-"

"Oh, come on. It's not your fault," he told her, somewhat exasperated.

"It is!" she wailed.

"Come on, Kori," Arsenal soothed, bending down so he was at eye-level with her. "Remember what I said last time? It wasn't you. It was Warp."

She growled, then jumped up. "Warp! If you are here, that means he is here as well, yes?"

Robin blinked. "I think so. Actually, that's what I need your help with, I-"

"I will kill him," she growled, curling her hand into a fist.

"What? No!" Robin shouted.

She didn't listen to him, as usual, and she flew off. Robin gaped after her.

"Don't worry," Arsenal said. "I'll watch her."

"She can't kill him. I need his tech," Robin explained gruffly. "I know that's how you do things, apparently. But it doesn't work all the time."

Arsenal crossed his arms over his chest. "I won't let her," he said in a clipped tone. "I'll find her, you'd better track down Warp."

Robin sighed. "Fine. I just have to make a call."

Arsenal looked at him curiously, but Robin took out his Titans communicator and switched the frequency Cyborg gave him. Arsenal took a fold-up bow out of his hoodie pocket and shot an arrow across to another building, using it as a grappling hook and repelling down the side of the building.

Robin sighed and sat down cross-legged on the rooftop. "Raven?" he muttered into the communicator.

It took a minute, but there was an answer. "Cy?" Beast Boy's voice, somewhat gruffer but unmistakable.

"No. Not Cyborg."

"Are you watching home movies? Cuz that really sounds like-"

"It's Robin." He winced as he heard the microphone crackle and plastic shatter.

"Azar!" he heard. The plastic cracked back into place and the microphone stopped sending so much stack through. "Robin? Is it really you?"

"I need help," he said, ignoring Raven's frantic question.

There was a long pause. "We're in Azarath."

"So? You can't help a guy out?"

"Raven, we should go. It won't be for very long," he heard beast Boy say.

"What do you need help with?" Raven demanded.

"I… I need to get back. Fix this."

"I can't," she answered sternly.

He frowned. "Why not?"

"I know that things seem bad. But Robin, something happened. Something I can't risk not happening."

"Oh, come on, Rae! We'd beat Trigon even easier if Robin was there!" Beast Boy shouted, exasperated.

"Quiet!" Raven hissed. "You don't know that. Anything could happen. We can't risk it."

There was silence. "I… Robin, I'm sorry," Beast Boy mumbled.

"We both are," Raven said softly. "And we're glad you're okay. But, Robin, things have to stay the way they are. It's too delicate to mess with."

"What about Cyborg? He can't leave the Tower!" Robin reminded her.

"But he's alive," Raven answered stubbornly.

"Starfire? She can't remember anything that's not in front of her face."

"Robin, stop," Raven ordered. "It's better than the alternative."

"Look," Robin hissed into the communicator. "I don't know what cataclysmic event happened or didn't happen that you're so anxious to preserve. But we have to fix it. All of it. You know that this isn't how it's supposed to be."

There was silence. "Hello?" Robin called. No answer. He stood angrily and chucked his communicator over the side of the building, where it landed in a snowdrift. He panted angrily, his breath fogging in front of his eyes. As the anger ebbed away a desperate feeling filled his chest like a weight. He pressed his hand to his eyes over his mask, unfamiliar pressure stinging at them. What if he couldn't get back? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts and swallowing until the pressure behind his eyes faded, he jumped off the rooftop and stuck his hand into the snowdrift to retrieve his communicator, snow stinging at his wrist as it slipped between his glove and his skin.

He was shaking out his wrist when two beams hit the ground right in front of his feet. Caught off guard, he was blown back several feet and he only just caught himself in a handspring. He landed heavily, the snow on the ground messing with his acrobatics- he'd been away from Gotham for too long.

"What's the matter, boy?" Warp demanded from the balcony of a building. "Have I come at a bad time?"

Not in the mood for banter, Robin grabbed his trusty bo-staff and performed a few flips through Warp's fire, pushing off sides of buildings until he was level with the villain. Warp seemed unconcerned, putting up a blue shield that glowed brightly when Robin punched or kicked it. It was unfair- Warp's blasts passed through shield easily. Robin felt his breath hitch as he was encapsulated in solid ice. Actually, it wasn't really ice. He was frozen, and he seemed to be surrounded by thick material, but it wasn't cold, and when he hit the ground, it shattered around him. If he was really in ice, that would have been a problem, as parts of his body could have shattered with it. But as it was, he was sprawled on the ground, catching his breath as he had gone a few seconds without air.

He was disheartened and found himself wishing for Beast Boy's light humor to make him feel better. He heard Warp's footsteps crunching toward and his hand lingered over his belt. He looked up into the villain's face, surprised to find wrinkles and other signs of ageing.

"You… you aged," Robin stammered, confused.

"That's what happens when someone steals my vortex regulator," Warp snapped. He held out his hand expectantly. "The regulator, if you please. I really must get back to my future."

"If you want the regulator, you'll take me back. I need to fix this." He grabbed the regulator from his belt and gestured with his other hand, indicating this whole bleak world.

Warp gave him a genuinely confused look. "Fix it? Foolish boy. There's nothing wrong with the past. One cannot damage history, because history cannot be changed." He brandished the Clock of Eternity, his expression annoyed. "I went back in time to steal this because history says it disappeared. And history says it disappeared because I went back to steal it. Past, present, future. It's all written in stone, my boy. And nothing you do can ever change it."

Robin's whole body went numb, his stomach roiling. Warp chuckled and plucked the regulator out of Robin's loose grip. As the thief turned to walk away, there was an incensed yell and he was whisked away in a blur of purple and red. Warp hit the wall of an alley nearby, landing heavily in the snow on his hands and knees. Red shapes whizzed past Robin into the alleyway, landing and igniting in a burst of flames. The flames swirled around and licked into the cold air, blocking Warp from Robin's view. Warp's blue shield expanded, pushing the flames away.

Starfire fell from the air, intending to smash him on the back with two fists, but as she was falling Warp calmly said, "Another time, perhaps," and sank into the ground with the regulator in his grasp. Starfire's fists hit the snowy ground with a loud crunch, and snow melted around her flaming hands.

Robin turned to see who had thrown the exploding devices. "Really, Kori?" a familiar voiced asked. "This is what you were making such a big deal about? A traffic light kid with hair spiky enough to poke someone's eye out?"

Ignoring the insult, Robin squinted at the silhouette. "No," he murmured, his eyes wide and his heart stopping. "You're can't be-"

"Red X," the villain confirmed, stepping into the light of a streetlight directly overhead, his tattered cape brushing his ankles. "I guess I should thank you for the suit. Although you can't take all the credit; I've made some important adjustments." Red X pushed the material of his cape away, revealing a gun holster at either hip, although they were empty currently.

Robin narrowed his eyes at Red X. "You stole the suit?" he demanded.

"It's not like you were using it," the thief reasoned.

"I was-!" Robin started, but he stopped. Dead? Lost in time? "When do you steal it?" he demanded instead of continuing that statement.

"Ah ah. If I tell you that, I'd have to kill you." Red X pointed his fingers into a gun shape and mimed shooting him. "Just cuz I don't have my gun on me now doesn't mean you get a free pass."

"Enough of your prattle," Starfire scolded from behind him. "Roy?" she called. "You have succeeded in planting the tracking device?"

Arsenal jumped down, rolling as he hit the snow near the back wall of the alley. "You got it, princess." He reached into a pouch on the strap of his quiver and pulled out a touchscreen, which was blinking softly.

Red X narrowed his eyes at Robin. "Kid, we're gonna get you back."

"Don't call me that," Robin snapped.

"You're a real barrel of laughs, Chuckles," Red X remarked.

Arsenal ambled over to them, glancing between Red X and Robin. "Guys?" he demanded, waving the touchscreen in front of their glaring eyes. "Hello?"

Starfire sighed. "This is male competition, yes? Neither wishes to give up the glaring first?" She stepped between them, pushing them each back a little with her hand on their chests. "We must make with the haste if we are to catch the Warp before he journeys back to his own time," she told them.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." Red X narrowed his eyes at Robin aggressively before stepping back. He and Arsenal mounted sleek, streamlined motorcycles, and Robin couldn't help but look at them longingly.

"Wanna hop on?" Arsenal asked kindly.

Robin shook his head quickly, not wanting to put himself in the rather vulnerable position of riding on the back of Arsenal's bike while Red X rode behind them.

"Very well, Robin, I shall carry you," Starfire offered as she hovered above him. He glanced up at her unsurely, but Arsenal and Red X took off, Arsenal slightly ahead and driving with one hand as the other gripped the touchscreen. He took Starfire's wrist and she reciprocated, grabbing his in a trapeze hold. The familiarity of the grip made Robin swallow, but he cleared his head of all thoughts except stopping Warp.

The four of them tore through the streets of Jump, Starfire taking high into the sky to follow Arsenal and Red X easier, the two of them weaving through traffic and going the wrong way on streets. The civilians didn't seem very fazed by this. The two on the motorcycles pulled up to the Metro Arts Technologies building. Starfire landed, hovering low enough for Robin to comfortably drop from her hold before standing next to the older men.

It was a replay of before- the four of them entered on the high railing, Warp stood down below, two guards frozen before them. Robin hoped those were different guards than the ones that had been frozen when all this started.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock," Warp hummed to himself. "Just a few seconds more and I shall finally-"

He shouted as an X-shaped shuriken hit the back of his hand, and he dropped the tool he was using to weld the regulator back onto his suit.

"The future will have to wait," Red X said as he caught the shuriken back in his hand.

"You just ran out of time," Robin finished, extending his bo-staff with a click.

Warp let out an angry shout and released beams from the panels on his shoulders. The group scattered. Robin flipped off the railing, throwing a few explosive discs. Starfire rose in front of him and unleashed a volley of starbolts. She landed in a crouch next to Robin and they watched as his blue shield flickered and faded.

He continued to fire at them until an explosion pushed him forward. Arsenal stood behind him, nocking another explosive arrow. Warp turned toward Arsenal, who managed to block one of the twin beams with his bow but was knocked back by the other. Red X jumped over Arsenal as he rolled toward him on the ground, throwing three shuriken. Two of them were sliced in half by Warp's beam- still vastly superior to even their technology- but one lodged directly in one of the panels. While Warp was turned toward Red X, Starfire hit him from the back, leaning over him, hands and eyes aglow. Robin's heart jumped- she was going to kill him. While Warp was cowering under her, she teetered slightly. "Wha… Where am I?" she asked weakly, putting a hand to her temple.

Robin raised an eyebrow at that, and Warp shot her point-blank, knocking her back and into Robin. He tumbled under her weight, and as she scrambled off him after a heavy impact, she stared at him with wide eyes. "Who-?"

He knocked her flat on her back as another beam shot at them. She didn't seem to appreciate that, but she was too busy looking at him to voice her protest. Arsenal shot an arrow at Warp's feet and it exploded as it hit the ground. Arsenal took the opportunity to appear at Starfire's side.

"What's wrong with her?" Robin demanded.

"I told you- something's wrong with her memory," Arsenal muttered as he turned Starfire toward him, his hands on her shoulders.

"But it just comes and goes like that?" Robin asked, half concerned, half irritated.

Red X grunted and slid toward them on his back with his arms crossed in front of him, presumably just having been either shot or kicked back. "Annoying, isn't it?" he demanded. Robin scowled at him.

Warp's gaze flicked to the roof above them and Robin just had time to pull his cape over himself and Starfire, seeing Red X do the same for him and Roy as a beam of red light made the ceiling collapse over them. Robin could just barely hear the Warp pick up the soldering iron to weld the plate on his chest back into place, and then a familiar whirring shot over them, followed by Warp's grunt.

Starfire, either snapping out of her spell or being aware enough of her surroundings to take action, shoved a large piece of rubble off them and they scrambled out of the debris.

"Booyah!" Cyborg said proudly. Robin glanced back to see Warp sprawled out on the ground, although he was recovering.

"Cy!" Robin shouted, literally never happier to see anyone in his life.

"Who said y'all could start without me?" was all Cyborg had as an answer. Robin rushed over to his side.

"So sorry," Warp said sarcastically, now on his feet. "Perhaps I should finish you first."

There was a fierce growl and Robin smiled as a green lion appeared, charging at Warp. He raked his claws over Warp's chest, making the vortex regulator come alive with sparks, apparently damaging it. Warp threw his arms up, bent at the elbows to to put the most amount of space between his hands and the sparks while also trying to see how badly damaged his suit was.

Warp was engulfed by black energy as he reared his arm back to reveal another projectile weapon. He was thrown back against the wall, and Robin scanned the room for Raven's signature raven. It appeared, much bigger than he'd ever seen it before. When she appeared, he noticed that she was decked out in white robes. "Keep away from my friends," she warned as she levitated over to the other three ex-Titans.

Warp narrowed his eyes at them. The device on his chest had stopped sparking, and apparently the few seconds of welding he got in before Beast Boy attacked him were essential, because he tapped the vortex regulator- which was perfectly intact in spite of the claw marks on it- and he opened up a white portal, making adjustments as black light engulfed it.

"I'm over this," Red X muttered.

The futuristic thief threw a weapon for good measure, but Red X threw a weapon of his own. One that Robin had not included on the suit. It seemed to be honed on the edges, like a metal cutter, and it was tipped with lasers between the tips of the X. It sliced through Warp's disc and cracked the vortex regulator on his chest. An anguished cry left the thief's lips as the weapon lodged into the ground. Sparks danced around Warp's suit and Robin watched with wide as he started to shrink. The regular stopped sparking and the suit lay on the ground, unmoving.

Starfire leaned forward, squinting at it. "He is… dead?"

Beast Boy approached it warily and opened the hatch on the chest, revealing a baby which started crying immediately. "Okay," he said, eyes wide, "I am not changing any diapers."

The black portal started sinking. "We gotta get you home, come on," Cyborg said to Robin. The tone of his voice made it very clear that Cyborg took over as leader in Robin's stead, and he was suddenly glad for all the times Cyborg second-guessed him. He had good traits for a leader. Cyborg plucked the vortex regulator off Warp's suit and attached it to his sonic cannon, rewiring his system around it and shooting a white beam at the black hole. He caught it before it closed and it opened obediently under the beam from his cannon. "I'm redirecting the wormhole," he shouted, concentrating. "Robin, go!"

He stepped up to the wormhole, hesitating and turning around. "I'll fix this. I will." His team stared back at him, eyes wide. He flicked his gaze over to Red X, Starfire, and Arsenal. "Things'll change. It'll be better."

"There's no time for this," Cyborg shouted, sounding strained.

Robin nodded and took a step forward, clutching the Clock of Eternity in two hands.

"Wait!" Starfire shouted, and everyone turned to her, except for Cyborg who settled for looking out the corner of his eye. "I remember! You cannot leave again! You are the one I-"

"Kori, don't," Arsenal interrupted. She gaped up at him, her look pleading. "Go, Robin."

He backed up but didn't take his eyes off her.

"She'll be fine," Arsenal promised.

He found that he couldn't move, and he felt something cold push his shoulder back. Raven's palm was out to him, a strip of dark energy pushing him back. He was enveloped by the darkness of the time stream, and he clutched the Clock of Eternity tightly, afraid of what might happen if he let it go.

"Ta-ta, Titans. I've enjoyed our time together, but I have a very bright future ahead of me." That was Warp's voice, echoing around him.

There was a pause, then he heard Starfire's frightened shout. "Robin!"

"Um," he heard Beast Boy stammer. "Where did he-"

A portal opened in front of him and he went through it, tumbling on the ground and landing in a crouch with the clock clutched to his chest.

"Dude!" Beast Boy shouted, shocked.

"Woah," Cyborg added.

"Robin," Starfire said, sounding relieved. She crouched in front of him. And all he could do was smile at her. Unfortunately, that seemed to alarm her. "Are you damaged?"

"Everything's fine," he murmured, looking into her green eyes, which had a clarity that was missing in her older self. "Everything's gonna stay fine."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Robin?"

"Starfire?" he asked, ignoring her. "You don't owe me anymore, okay?"

…

Robin slid his door closed before flopping onto his bed on his stomach. He was so tired. He did get about half an extra day in with no time to compensate for him. It was like jetlag. The others wanted to know what it was like, but he didn't tell them. It would all change, anyway. There was no point in bringing up Cyborg's disrepair, or Starfire's forgetfulness, and he certainly couldn't bring himself to mention that Beast Boy and Raven were apparently together. Or something.

He squinted at the reinforced door next to his closet, behind which the Red X suit was locked up, preserved on a mannequin. Maybe he should give it to Bruce. He really didn't want to part with it, though. He was kind of attached to it. Yes, it was a mistake, and the repercussions were bad, but he was kind of proud of it. The weapons in it were all of his own design, and even though the suit was pretty simple, it was all his. Maybe that said something about his personality, or the line between heroes and villains, but he was too tired to think about that now. He'd already checked on it a dozen times. He sighed as he flipped his position so that he was resting his head on his pillows and lying on his back.

Deciding he'd just take a quick nap, he unclasped his cape from his uniform, removed his gloves, and took off his belt. Something rolled out of it onto his mattress, and as he squinted at it as he put the belt on the floor.

It was a bracelet, a little worn and discolored, but so familiar to him. The one he'd given Starfire at that stupid dinner. He held it between his fingers and groaned. He really didn't need something of hers with him now. He stalked over to his dresser, forfeiting his comfortable position on the bed for his own sanity, and yanked open a drawer before tossing the bracelet in it. He snapped it shut and settled back on his bed. He rolled on his side so he was facing his dresser and drifted to a tired sleep, peppered with images from his odd adventure that didn't quite morph into dreams.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 – Date with Destiny

Starfire glanced around surreptitiously. She hadn't been out in a while, and Selina had just last night, over the computer program called Skype, teased her about how Robin was getting to her. Which was not the case at all. She had been busy, with one eyed madmen and the excitement of trying to get Robin to tell her about time travel.

Robin had been treating her oddly lately. If she thought it was bad after she'd shown him his shells, he was even worse now. He'd look her up and down once, make eye contact, and look away from her. That's what he did after he emerged from the time portal, anyway, and she hadn't seen him much since then.

Well, she'd seen him. He hadn't seen her.

He'd apparently been serious about his desire to expand his team, if the blonde earth-moving girl that she'd seen hanging around them briefly was any indication. Starfire made the mistake of informing Selina about that girl, and the result had been unpleasant. Selina insisted that she was jealous. She wasn't. Really. She just… didn't like this girl. Selina asked her why and she pretended that her internet connection was too poor to continue the call.

But the girl seemed to have disappeared. Starfire also noticed quite extensive damage had been done to the video store, but only because she was on her way to the beach during that particular skirmish.

She alighted on a rooftop, unseen. For one who absorbed the sun's energy as nutrients, she was oddly fitted to the night. Her eyes were much more suited to seeing in the night than a human's. She found that, naturally, she placed her feet more carefully carefully than humans, creating less sound. Her hearing appeared to be slightly more in tune with her surroundings. Selina- who never seemed to tire of pointing out that at some point in the Tamaranean evolutionary tree, she shared a common ancestor that resembled in appearance and habit Earthen felines- insisted that it was her "inner kitty".

Starfire made to jump into the air, but she cut herself off with a surprised, "Oh!"

She'd been on Earth for a few months, now, and she was beginning to think that she was getting good at hiding her curiosity about humans. So many skin tones, height that varied much more than on Tamaran- some people were amusingly, adorably short, although she learned that this was rude to point out- and the different styles of dress that never ceased to intrigue her. This was, however, the first time she'd seen a human with a cranium that resembled a spider.

He was scaling the side of a building, feet sticking to the bricks as he carried various jewels and jewelry in his extra legs and in both hands. She flew beside him, her interest piqued.

"Greetings!" she chirped politely.

The spider-boy turned his compound eyes toward her, narrowing them suspiciously. "Did Kitten send you?"

She tilted her head at him, confused. "A kitten?"

"She wants to see if I'd hit on you, doesn't she?"

"Hit on me? You wish to bring me harm?"

"I won't. I'm not an idiot. I know what she'd do to me," the boy said, not sounding amused at all.

"Kitten is a person?" Starfire asked.

"Maybe she didn't send you." The boy appraised Starfire in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

She blinked at him. "I am always free. No one owns me." He narrowed one eye at her in response. Starfire blinked again. "Did you just proposition me?"

"Proposition?" the boy asked, obviously confused.

She sighed, frustrated. "I do not believe I wish to talk to you any longer."

"Whatever. Let me know about that date," he said, sounding distracted.

"Date?" Starfire echoed, tilting her head curiously.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, I'll see you around. Take this. I gotta go." He pushed an admittedly pretty necklace into Starfire's hands. She just stared at it, slightly baffled. She stopped flying beside the strange boy and watched him scurry away on two of his four spindly legs, the other two laden with stolen goods . He was dodging a now-familiar blue blast as he went. Starfire looked down to find all four Titans chasing after him on the ground- Robin on his motorcycle, Raven and Cyborg in their car, and Beast Boy flying in the shape of a hawk over them.

Unfamiliar blue blasts, these rounded and individualized unlike Cyborg's constant stream, shot just after the arachnid-themed villain, made her look down. Robin's motorcycle was equipped with blasters. She thought the Titans were against 'unnecessary violence', and she vaguely wondered what would happen if she was hit by one of the blasts.

Cyborg pulled ahead of Robin, shooting a rocket out of the car that the thief again evaded. It was amazing that the Titans were not bankrupting the city with property damage.

Disgustingly, the villain turned and let a gray, viscous substance loose from his spider's mouth. He moved his head back and forth, creating a barrier that the car and motorcycle would not be able to get through.

Raven let black energy loose from her hand and the street cracked, enabling them to leap over the web. The villain let more of the grey substance spray at the Titans, succeeding in covering the windshield of the car. Cyborg halted it, temporarily blinded.

Robin's motorcycle proved more adept at dodging the gobs of gray matter, probably because it was smaller, and he and Beast Boy continued forward. The villain jumped onto an overpass, and frighteningly, Robin followed. He performed a trick by using a car as leverage to make his bike fly over the railing, then he released a grappling hook. His bike activated jets that made it land safely on the ground, which impressed Starfire. His grappling hook landed on a building that the spider-boy was climbing up, and as Robin leaped up for him, he turned and shot two pink rays out of his mouth.

Robin froze, turning a sickly gray color and freezing as he fell through the air. Starfire clapped her hand over her mouth. She didn't think she'd be able to catch him from where she was perched, spying carefully on the Titans.

Beast Boy, in the shape of pterodactyl, snatched him out of the air before any harm could come to him, the spider-boy forgotten. Beast Boy dropped Robin out of his talons into Raven's arms. She attempted to tilt him so that he was standing on his own, but he couldn't balance and he teetered forward before Cyborg stopped his fall with a hand on his chest.

Starfire crept closer so she could hear what they were saying.

"…the venom's effect is only temporary," Cyborg assured Beast Boy.

"Getting away… we hafta… go after him," Robin mumbled before teetering forward again.

Starfire let an affectionate smile pull her lips up at the corners. She didn't understand Robin's obsession with defeating bad guys, but he was certainly very invested in it.

"You mean we have to go after him," Raven corrected sternly.

"You need to chill 'til that stuff wears off," Cyborg ordered, an amused smirk pulling at his lips.

"But…" he protested weakly.

"Dude," Beast Boy interrupted, "we can handle it. The guy's got a spider for a head- it's not like he's gonna be hard to find."

Raven took hold of his wrists, which were stretched above his head. "I'm gonna teleport you back, make sure you're comfortable, and then meet up with the boys again. Okay?"

"Fine," Robin grumbled, sounding like he wanted to protest but obviously unable to make a sound argument.

Starfire perked up. She could have fun with this.

As Raven and Robin disappeared into Raven's black energy raven, Starfire streaked across the sky toward the Tower. She peeked through the front window. Robin was spread out on the couch, laying down with the remote within reach, although he probably couldn't move his fingers to change the channel anyway. Starfire landed at the entrance to the counter and she scanned her black communicator in front of it. The door clicked open- she'd discovered that accidentally when they returned from a mission while she happened to be on the beach.

She slipped inside quietly, although she'd hardly hovered two feet forward when the alarm went off. She was expecting it but it still startled her. She shot up the elevator shaft to the ops room, where Robin, unable to move, was still on the couch.

"Greetings!" she chirped, as though her walking in on a frozen Robin were an everyday occurrence.

"Wha- Starfire?!" he demanded angrily. "How did you-?"

"Do not worry- I did not break anything," she assured him.

Raven's face flashed on the screen in front of them. "Robin? Is everything-" she stopped as her eyes alighted on Starfire. "Why's she in the Tower?"

Robin sighed. "I honestly have no idea," he grumbled.

Raven looked off screen. "Okay, well… As long as you're not under attack… Raven, out."

Starfire hovered in the air, smiling widely with her hands behind her back.

"Um…" Robin muttered, "I'm kinda… You're… What?" he asked weakly.

She turned upside down in the air, mimicking the position of his head so that he wasn't looking at her at such an odd angle. "Do you require assistance?"

"I just need to wait for this to wear off," he said. He paused an added, "You'd better be gone when it does."

She gave him a sweet smile and batted her eyelashes at him, pretending to be confused. She was very satisfied with how flustered he became. It was hard to tell at first, but after a second he made a strange gurgling noise and she counted that as a success. "Or what? You will do the arresting of me?" She giggled, purposefully trying to push his buttons. "I invite you to try."

Robin didn't answer and she hovered quietly for a moment. "I do not rescind my offer of assistance, even though you have been the rude."

"Assistance?"

"Tamaranean acupressure. There are few problems that it cannot solve."

"I don't take help from thieves," he snapped.

Starfire righted herself and crossed her arms over her chest, still hovering. "Again with the rudeness. If you accept my assistance, you will be unfrozen and able to resume the catching of the bad guys."

"…Fine."

"Pardon me?" she asked sweetly.

"I said fine."

"I am unsure." She landed on the ground, putting one hand on her hip and tapping her chin with the index finger of her other hand. "You were quite rude to me before. Perhaps you do not want my help?"

"I'm not doing this," he snapped.

Starfire shrugged and walked casually out of his line of vision.

"Wait!" he called. She didn't answer, and since he couldn't turn to look at her he had to call her again. "Starfire?"

"Oh! I am sorry, Robin, is there something you require of me?" She floated so that she was just barely in his line of vision.

He made that gurgling noise again before biting out, "Will you help me?"

She smiled broadly. "Can you not ask in a more polite way?"

"Come on, Starfire," he groaned.

"Was that rudeness?" she demanded severely.

"…Please?"

"Oh, dear X'hal!" Starfire gasped. "Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans, has deigned to use the word please? Without first being threatened?"

Robin did not seem as amused as she was.

"Certainly. I will commence with the acupressure. Do not be alarmed," she warned him as she floated over to him, landing just in front of the couch by his ankles.

"Alarmed?" he demanded. "What do you mean al- ah!"

She grabbed his ankles and pulled his stiff frame off the couch so that he was upside down, his feet pointing away from her. She pulled at his legs the way Galfore had shown her once, vaguely hoping she was doing it correctly and that Tamaranean acupressure did not have an ill effect on humans.

He groaned as he seemed to regain mobility and she bobbed him in the air a few times. "Better?" she asked, curious.

"Much. Thanks."

"I welcome you," Starfire chirped happily. "Do you see what occurs when you are polite?"

"Don't push it," Robin grumbled as she continued to bob him in the air. "Now I can focus on solving my other problem." He grabbed his communicator from his belt as Starfire set him on his feet. "Titans," he said as he flipped it open, "Report. Any luck finding our jewel thief?"

"We found something worse," Raven said. That was alarming. Buzzing like hundreds of flying insects filled the speakers, and Starfire peeked over Robin's shoulder to see.

It was, in fact, hundreds of flying insects. But not in the way one would expect to find flying insects. They were all about the size of a housecat each, with long legs and large wings. They seemed to eat metal, if the supports on the bridge were any indication. The buzzing swelled and Starfire imagined a dramatic black cloud of insects appearing on the horizon.

"Uh," Cyborg muttered. "We're gonna need backup?"

"I'm on my way," Robin told him as he started running toward the door.

"Don't bother," a voice said. Starfire lifted her eyes to the screen to find an anthropomorphic moth glaring at her. She blinked. Was this another form of human? "Even if you defeat a few of my children, you won't be able to stop me from releasing the entire swarm!" His camera zoomed out to show black wriggling bodies, presumably more moths, each with glowing blue eyes. Starfire never realized how intimidating that was. "Unless you want your city reduced to a moth-eaten wasteland, you'll do exactly as I say."

Starfire crossed her arms over her chest. There was no way Robin was going to-

"What do you want?" Robin demanded through gritted teeth.

Starfire turned to him. Just like that, he was going to give up? She didn't know what he could do- it wasn't her problem, after all- but giving in to threats didn't seem like a good idea to her.

"My demands are simple. The city will declare me ruler, the Teen Titans will surrender and Robin… will take this lovely young lady to her junior prom."

Starfire raised an eyebrow at the screen, completely lost.

"Hi, Robbie-poo," a blonde girl crooned, wiggling her fingers at Robin.

"Um… what was that last part again?" Robin asked, his voice more calm than he looked.

"Who is that? She is your friend? Why does she refer to you as 'poo'?" Starfire asked, utterly confused.

"Her name is Kitten. And you will take her to prom!" the villainous moth said, shaking his fist.

"This 'prom' is some manner of duel, yes?" Starfire asked, floating closer to the girl on the screen. She didn't seem dressed for battle, and she didn't look very menacing. "Robin accepts."

"Starfire!" Robin spluttered. He sighed. "It's not a duel. It's a date."

She tilted her head at him. "A date?"

"Yeah," Robin admitted.

She tapped her chin with her finger. "That is interesting. You are the second person today to use that word. Date has many meanings, including the numbered year, day, and month on the Earthly calendar and a type of fruit. I am unsure as to what you would do with the fruit of a date palm. Is that all the Kitten desires? She is lacking in the essential Vitamin of C? She is in danger of contracting scurvy?" she asked, trying to put the pieces together.

Robin's cheeks turned pink. "Ah… no. Um, a date is…" He broke off and rubbed his neck. "Why don't you… um… come back with me. I'm gonna need a second," Robin said to the screen as he walked into the hallway. Starfire followed him confusedly.

He palmed his communicator.

"Wait!" she said, touching him on the wrist before he could flip it open. "I am confused. I… I do not have the knowledge…" She was suddenly very embarrassed. Everyone knew what a date was except her. She must seem very stupid. "Will you please explain to me the date?"

He gave her a soft look, which was a bit hard to describe as there was no trace of a smile on his mouth and she couldn't see his eyes to gauge his reaction that way. "Yeah. Um. A date… it's when a boy takes a girl- well, I mean usually it's like that unless- ah, it's when two people who like each other a lot go out and-"

She blinked as he floundered, then interrupted him. "Oh! It is the establishment of mutual preliminary sexual desires!" For some reason, saying that made Robin cough and turn bright red. "Courtship, yes?"

"Yeah. Courtship."

Starfire furrowed her eyebrows. "You should not be coerced into courtship!" She paused. "Unless… do the superheroes of Earth often become betrothed to the offspring of powerful enemies and allies?"

"B-betrothed?" Robin spluttered. "I am not betrothed to that… that… Kitten."

"Then to whom are you betrothed?" Starfire asked, realizing she was going off on a tangent.

"I'm not betrothed to anybody!"

"Oh! I apologize," she muttered. He seemed to be getting quite worked up.

He sighed, apparently relieved to be finished with the conversation. He raised his arm to flick open his communicator when she touched his wrist again. "Is not the purpose of courtship a preliminary establishment of mutual attraction for the purpose of marriage?"

His mouth opened and closed a few times. "Sh… shouldn't you talk to Catwoman about this?"

"You are uncomfortable?" she demanded.

"I… don't have time." He flourished his communicator in front of her face.

"I apologize. Continue."

"Cyborg. Report. How bad is it?" Robin asked his communicator once he'd flicked it open.

"Bad. We can't hold 'em off much longer. If you're gonna do somethin', do it quick!"

Robin sighed. "I have no choice."

She tilted her head at him. Very clearly, he did not want to do this. She understood his willingness to sacrifice himself in this way- she would do the same in a heartbeat if the safety of Tamaran depended on it. "I am sorry," she murmured, her voice more emotional than she intended.

Robin gave her an odd look. "It'll be okay, Star. One date won't kill me." He made the doors slide open, which revealed Killer Moth and Kitten, who was preening in her own screen. "Ah… probably," he added under his breath.

She lingered behind him. An odd wave of emotions hit her as he began walking back toward the screen. That was the first time he'd called her 'Star' since she'd shown him her shells. What made him do that? She must have done something right. She liked it when he called her that. It made her heart flutter in her chest.

As that feeling washed over her, it was followed almost immediately by the twisting claw of jealousy, hot and insistent in her stomach. She gulped. She was enraged by the action of this girl… this Kitten. Forcing Robin on 'dates' when he clearly did not want to go on them. Stealing him away, monopolizing his time. Starfire blew out air from her cheeks. Not that he really spent any time with Starfire. But usually when he was not spending time with Starfire, he wasn't with other girls, either.

Maybe she should talk to Selina.

She entered the ops room, standing far away from Robin.

"Do we have a deal?" Killer Moth demanded.

"I'll take the girl to prom," Robin muttered through gritted teeth.

"Don't tell me. Ask her." Kitten's box enlarged.

Robin seemed to be visibly forcing himself not to smack himself in the forehead. "You gotta be-"

"Do it."

"…Kitten, was it?" Robin asked, his voice sounded strangled. But, Starfire noted, not the kind of strangled it got when he interacted with her. It sounded angry-strangled.

"Meow," the blond girl crooned, curling her hand into a claw and raking it through the air.

"Right." Robin turned his head away from Kitten, but also away from Starfire. "Will you… go with me… to the prom," he mumbled.

Kitten gasped theatrically. "Oh, Robbie-poo! I thought you'd never ask!"

"Arrive at the prom at six o'clock. Kitten will be arriving by limo. Don't be late," Killer Moth growled before the signal blipped out.

"I never thought I'd ask, either," Robin grumbled in response to the last thing Kitten said as he reached for his communicator again.

Starfire sat on the couch, her arms crossed angrily. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. This Kitten was using Robin in a way Starfire didn't want to see anyone ever be used again since her time as a slave for the Citadel. Plus, if Robin should be taking anyone on dates, it should be a girl he showed interest in… a girl he called by a nickname, perhaps, with whom he observed shells.

"I bought you some time," Robin said into the round device. "Killer Moth. He's controlling the mutant insects. Find him and stop him. Start your search with her." An image of Kitten appeared on the screen.

"Who is she?" Raven asked.

"She is a manipulative gremplork," Starfire answered automatically from where she was sulking on the couch. She glanced up after she said it, the three other Titans all giving her a strange look. She glared down at her lap and willed herself not to blush.

"Name's Kitten," Robin answered as though nothing happened. "She's got some kind of connection with Killer Moth. Find the connection and I bet you'll find him."

"What about you?" Beast Boy demanded. "Aren't you gonna help us?"

"I can't," Robin muttered. "I have a date."

Robin was looking away so he didn't see, but all three of the other Titans looked wide eyed from Robin to Starfire and back again. She gave them a collective glare, which she made sure sank in before Robin snapped his communicator closed, ending the transmission.

He crossed his arms and turned to her. "You know, since you're here, you might as well help."

She leaned back on the couch stubbornly. "You are not in charge of me."

"Well, no. But you are sitting on my sofa, and I do have orders to arrest you on sight."

She raised an eyebrow at him challengingly. "Again, I invite you to try."

He narrowed his eyes at her, and for a minute it looked like he was going to reach for his belt. For some reason, that made her heart flutter and her stomach flip. But he put his hands down at his sides. "I don't have time for this. You can't stay in here. Either go home, or find the other three downtown. It's your choice." He stalked out of the ops room.

Starfire sulked on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest tightly. Robin could not order her around. She pushed the window open and zoomed through the sky to her own living quarters. She opened her pink laptop, which Selina had advised her to purchase with the money she got with her half of the gems from Gotham. She clicked on the video chatting icon and scrolled down to Selina's name.

She waited a few moments before she got an answer.

"Hiya, pum'kin!" a blond woman with pigtails and bright blue eyes said cheerily.

"Oh! Greetings!" Starfire answered, suddenly uncomfortable.

The blond woman clambered into a seat that was stationed at the desk. "You're Kitty's kitty, huh?"

"I suppose I am. What is your name?" Starfire asked politely, even though she wanted to talk to Selina and not engage in what promised to be pointless blathering with this odd woman.

"Oooh, you're so polite! Harleen Quinzel, ay-kay-ay Harley Quinn." The woman twirled a pigtail around her finger absently.

"It is a pleasure speaking with you."

"Heh! Lighten up, kid! What do ya call yourself?" Harley asked around her gum, which she was smacking on quite loudly.

"Starfire. May I inquire of the whereabouts of Selina Kyle?"

"Sure thing, kid!" Harley spun around and, cupping her mouth with her hands like a megaphone, she screeched in a high-pitched and terribly loud voice, "HEY KITTY! STARBURST IS ON SKYPE FOR YA!"

Selina appeared behind Harley, shooing her away with a flick of her wrist.

"Bya, Starburst! I'll talk to ya some other time, kay?"

"Did you enjoy your chat with Harley?" Selina asked, smirking at the screen.

"I… believe so? She is quite an oddity."

Selina laughed at that. "What's wrong, dearest? You seem upset."

"It is Robin," Starfire informed her with a frown.

"That Slade guy again?" the older woman asked, sounding a bit bored.

"No. It is a girl."

Selina perked up considerably. "Really?"

Starfire found it odd that she would be more interested in Robin's girl problems than the possibility of his being kidnapped, but she didn't mention it. "He is attending a social event known as prom."

Selina choked. "What? Really?"

"Indeed. This girl Kitten has threatened the city and it will be eaten by metal-devouring flying insects if he does not attend the prom with her." Starfire picked at her skirt as she talked, not looking at the camera.

"She a redhead?"

Starfire raised her eyes to the screen. "Pardon me?"

"Is her hair red?" Selina clarified, although Starfire understood the question the first time. She just didn't understand how it was relevant.

"Um, no. She is blond."

"Oh, then don't worry about it, dearest." Selina gave her a smile like she'd just offered her a great source of comfort, but Starfire was only confused.

"I was wondering what it is I should do," Starfire mumbled, leaning her chin on her palm.

Selina smiled even brighter. "Ooh. Dress up and go to the prom, too."

"Pardon me?" Starfire asked for the second time.

"Hm. What about that pink dress? The sparkly one!"

"Do you not need a date to attend this prom?" she asked nervously.

"Of course not. But I'm sure you can find one there. Or maybe I'm thinking of clubs…" Selina flicked her gaze off screen, pondering.

"Will going to the prom prevent the Kitten from manipulating Robin into being with her?" Starfire was slightly confused.

"Well, no. But it might manipulate him into being with you."

"What?" Starfire spluttered, her face heating up.

Selina narrowed an eye at her. "Isn't that what you want?"

"I… I am unsure. I wish to remain unfettered."

"Oh, honey. You have a lot to learn. Messing around and having a little fun doesn't make you fettered," Selina said kindly.

"What about love? Like you and the Batman?" Starfire asked softly.

The older woman narrowed her eyes and glanced away. "That doesn't make you fettered, either. If you keep it in check."

"In check?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, dearest. Just go and have fun."

Starfire glanced toward her closet, where the dress Selina mentioned was hanging. "Oh… very well."

Harley popped in front of Selina, grinning into the camera. Selina glared at her. "Let's see the dress, Starburst!"

"Um… Certainly." Starfire flew to her closet and took the dress from the hanger. She floated, holding it in front of herself.

"Ooooh! Pink AND sparkly!" Harley exclaimed joyfully. "C'n we go over there and help her get ready for the prom, Kitty? Please? Puh-leeeeez!"

"There's not enough time, Harley," Selina muttered, pushing her away from the camera.

"Oh, come on!" Harley stamped her foot on the ground childishly. "She's basically your brat now, an' you gotta be a good mom and be there for her big night!"

"I am not her mother," Selina snapped.

"Whatever! Her big sis, then!"

Selina's frown only deepened. "Starfire, go and have fun. Call me tonight and let me know how it goes, okay? I'll leave my computer online." With that, she vacated the chair.

"Thank you for the advice, Selina," Starfire called after her.

Harley eyed the chair, which was spinning from Selina's hasty departure. She glanced after her friend, a hand on her chin thoughtfully, before shrugging and sitting in the chair. "I'm gonna help ya, kiddo!"

Starfire floated back to the chair. "Truly?"

"Sure! I'll be your big sis, tonight! I always wanted a little sister. Just got my lousy brother, ya know."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Go put on the dress, then come back and show me. We still got shoes, hair, and makeup to do, and I'm gonna want pics a' this!" Harley informed the teenager, ticking things off on her fingers as she mentioned them. "Ooh, ooh, don't forget about nails!"

Starfire tilted her head at the computer screen, wondering if she was making a mistake. "Oh, of course. Th-thank you for offering your assistance."

"No problemo! Now hurry!" Harley squealed excitedly.

…

Nails lacquered, hair curled, makeup applied, and holding a pretty, dead flower, Starfire stood nervously. Her shoes were quite intricate, decorated by straps. They were completely impractical, which seemed to be the point. If it wasn't for her flight, which she applied just a little to keep herself from stumbling, she would have fallen several times.

"Starburst, lemme see!"

Starfire flicked her gaze down to her bracelet. She wanted to wear white, satiny gloves with her dress- she was most comfortable with arm coverings, plus she thought that it would conceal her skin tone a little- but Harley had insisted that she wear a disguised bracelet that actually had a screen in it, with an earpiece so that she could talk to her. Sure that she was going to regret it, Starfire didn't have the heart to say no. She wore the bracelet the boy at Selina's party had given her on her other wrist, feeling oddly sentimental about it.

She tried to subtly move her wrist so that she could pan it across the prom, which appeared to take place on a boat. Harley cooed approvingly, although she made a noise when she saw the sign.

"What shmuck rented out a whole boat for this shindig but couldn't get a real sign out here?"

"Please, what is a prom, exactly? A date, yes, but I do not have a date. Is it a festival?" she asked her bracelet.

Harley looked slightly confused. "Gee. Kitty said you didn't know about a couple things, but you are one hot mess. A prom is a party!" At the last word, Harley spread her arms out wide. "I never got to go to my prom. My pop got arrested that night and I was his emergency contact cuz my ma wasn't answerin' his phone calls after he-"

"Sh! Harley! Robin has arrived!" Starfire interrupted, her heart thumping in her chest.

"Ooh! Lemme see!"

She complied, since Robin was facing away from her and couldn't tell that she was holding her wrist awkwardly.

"Ooh. Love a man on a motorcycle. I mean, usually. He's a little young for me. But ya got good taste, kid!"

"What do I do now?" Starfire whispered, suddenly frightened.

"Aw, how cute, yer nervous! Kay, give 'im the corsage," Harley instructed.

"The dead plant?"

"Um, yeah. But call it a corsage."

Starfire walked over to him. He was muttering to himself and she tapped him on the shoulder. He tensed up and turned around, and as he did his mouth fell open in surprise.

"Starfire? What're you doing here?"

"On such occasions, I believe it is customary to wear a dead plant?"

"It's a corsage, Starburst! Jeez, Louise, I told ya that like a million times."

Starfire gulped at her mistake but attached it to his lapel. She glanced up at him nervously and he was giving her a small smile.

"Um, thanks. You really couldn't go help the other Titans, could you?"

He sounded serious, but he was still smiling at her a little. She hoped he was glad she was there. "Yes, well, I shall assist you in the investigation of this girl. Besides, you may require saving! This Kitten is perhaps some form of ooze monster in disguise. She certainly is ugly like a monster, yes?"

"Okay, Starry, tone down the crazy just a l'il." Starfire glared down at her bracelet, but Robin didn't notice. A horn honked and he turned his attention to it.

A pink limo rolled up and Kitten stepped out of it, wearing a pink headband, shoes and dress. "Yoo-hoo! Roobie-poo! Your kitten has arrived! Meee-owwww!"

"That her?" Harley asked in her ear. "I wanna see!"

"Maybe I will need saving," Robin mumbled as he started walking toward her.

Starfire took the opportunity to brandish her bracelet at Kitten. "Oooh, she's wearin' pink too! But don't worry, kiddo, yours is sparkly. She got nothin' on ya!"

"Thank you," Starfire bit out between her teeth.

"Hey no problem!"

"Oh! Robin! My date, Robin! Don't you look handsome!" Kitten shouted, hanging on his shoulder.

"Harley, it would be inappropriate of me to attempt to disintegrate human flesh with a starbolt, would it not?" Starfire asked, seething.

"You can do that?"

"I do not believe so," she admitted, "but I could possibly burn off her hair."

"Nice dress," Robin muttered almost inaudibly.

"Oh, Robin, you're such a gentleman! Not like my worthless ex-boyfriend, Fang!" Kitten shrieked, her voice increasing in volume as she spoke but somehow decreasing in pitch.

"Oh, Starburst, don't worry too much about her. It's classic! She's just usin' Robbie to make her ex jealous. If we're lucky, we might catch the fistfight on video an' we c'n upload it on Youtube! Can'tcha just imagine that on the featured videos section?" Harley chuckled in Starfire's ear.

"It is still despicable of her to force him into such a situation as this," she growled.

"Well, yeah, but it could be worse," Harley pointed out brightly.

Starfire crossed her arms and glared daggers, visibly fighting to keep her eyes from glowing as Robin took Kitten's arm and brought her up onto the deck of the ship. She brought her fist down on the closest thing she could find, which happened to be the hood of Kitten's pink limousine in a pleasing ironic twist.

"Um… Starburst? You okay, hon?"

"I am just fine, Harley, thank you very much for asking," Starfire answered sweetly.

"Didja know that ya just punched that innocent limo?"

"Yes, Harley."

"Just checkin'. Now get yer patootie on that boat! You got songs to dance to and boys to woo and-!"

"I do not wish to do any of the dancing, and I do not wish to interact with any boys except-"

"Awwwww, c'mon, kid, don't be a wet blanket!" Harley whined. "Yer gonna have enough fun for the both of us, and you're gonna like it!"

Starfire sighed. "This was the bad idea. Maybe I should just- gah!" Starfire winced as a high pitched buzzing filled her ear. She glanced down at her bracelet to find Harley blowing into a whistle.

"Listen up, Starburst! You're gonna get on that boat toot-sweet! And you're gonna have fun and save Robin while yer doin' it! Cuz it's what Jesus would do, ya know?"

Starfire grudgingly walked up the ramp onto the deck.

"Besides, it'll be fun! Everyone loves fun!" Harley added.

Starfire did dance, although Harley proclaimed that she was doing it wrong and only with the 'dweebs', which she assumed was yet another form of human. She wasn't paying much attention, anyway.

"Oh, Robin, of course, I'd LOVE to dance with you!" Kitten crowed, giggling as she twirled in circles with him.

Starfire and a redheaded boy with curly hair twirled around near them, always keeping within earshot.

"Kiss me," she heard Kitten murmur during one of the dances. Starfire shoved away the boy she was dancing with and turned toward them.

"Harley," Starfire growled, "remind me; have we already established that it is wrong to disintegrate human girls with a starbolt?"

"Mmmmm, yep, but she's kinda askin' for it, ya know?"

"Sorry. I don't like you that way. Matter of fact, I just don't like you," Robin said smugly.

"Oh, that is a relief," Starfire murmured.

"Yeesh, the kid's not very good with lines, is he?"

"I think he is quite clever," Starfire answered automatically.

"Well, yeah, but you got it bad."

"I have what?"

"Nothin'. Just keep doin' what yer doin'."

"WHAT?" Kitten demanded.

"Killer Moth's being taken down as we speak," Robin answered coolly, brandishing his communicator. "We're done here."

"No we are not!" Kitten snarled, ripping her corsage off and letting the petals drift away, revealing some kind of detonator. "Daddy's not calling the shots tonight, Robbie-poo. I AM!"

All that Robin seemed to be able to muster in response was a quiet, "Daddy?"

"And unless you want me to let those nasty bugs out for a late night snack, you better pucker up!" Kitten shouted, grabbing Robin by the collar. He appeared too shocked to resist.

"An' I thought you were kinda nuts. No means no!" Harley drawled.

"Not even if you paid me," Robin said, snatching the detonator from her.

"I better get some popcorn! This is gettin' good!" Harley chirped, excited.

Somehow, while they were struggling for the detonator, Robin ended up holding Kitten in a dip. Starfire crossed her arms over her chest sulkily. Her eyes widened as she recognized the spider-boy from earlier.

Kitten seemed to recognize him, too. She gasped delightedly. "Fang?"

Robin stared up at him. "That's your boyfriend?" He was so shocked that Kitten was able to grab the detonator from his hand, which was quite sloppy of him.

"Man oh man," Harley muttered, barely containing her laughter. "I would love to see this chick's psych profile!"

"Get your hands off my girl," Fang called, swinging at Robin with his spider's limbs. Robin blocked two hits before getting hit and thrown into a table.

Starfire charged up a starbolt and lobbed it at Fang. "Keep your legs off my boy!"

"Oi. I can see why ya think he's so clever."

"Robin, are you injured?" Starfire asked, concerned. She wasn't sure how sturdy humans were, but getting thrown into the table probably hurt him.

He stood up and brushed himself off. "Best I've felt all day," he said with a smile, ripping off the tuxedo and revealing his uniform underneath.

"What," Harley deadpanned.

"Oh, Fangy-poo. You really do care!" Kitten gushed, pulling him into an embrace.

"Let's never fight again, baby," he said rather dramatically, showing her various necklaces and assorted jewelry that hung from his spider's limbs.

"Oh, Fang!" Kitten cooed.

Starfire humphed. "He gave me a necklace just this morning."

"Um, kid, ya ain't jealous, are ya? Cuz I gotta say… You can do better."

"No!" Starfire snapped. She pulled her dress over her head, revealing her uniform underneath. She placed her shoes and shell necklace on top of it, stowing it under one of the tables and pulling on her boots. "I simply desire for the Kitten to know that she is not special like this boy is attempting to make her believe."

"The more we're talkin', the more I like ya, Starburst," Harley said approvingly. "Agh! Tilt the bracelet away! I can't believe she's kissin' that thing!"

"You know, you two make a really bad couple," Robin interrupted them.

Fang launched himself at Robin, shooting gray gunk from his mouth at Starfire.

"Ew! What the cheese is that?" Harley demanded, her voice high pitched.

Starfire grabbed the stuff off her face, ultimately melting it away with her starbolts.

She heard Kitten gasp. "Isn't it romantic? They're fighting over me!"

Finally pulling the gray gunk off, she bristled at the girl. "They are not fighting over you!"

Kitten jumped on her, pushing her onto the buffet table.

"That's right, Starburst, you tell 'er! Oooh, cake in the face. Let me see! Use yer wrists more!" Harley shouted as the girls rolled on the table.

She pushed Kitten down the length of table. "Harley, if you do not do the shutting up I shall throw the bracelet into the Ocean of Pacific."

"Jeez. Somebody's crabby. Hah! Get it! Crabby! Cuz crabs live in the ocean!"

Starfire jumped at Kitten and Kitten held her face down in the bowl of punch. This was a badly calculated move, as Tamaraneans were capable of holding their breath for longer periods of time than humans. Starfire wrapped her legs around Kitten's waist, throwing her into the tiered cake that was next to the punch bowl, eliciting a series of cheers from Harley, which made her smile a little.

Kitten gasped in horror, standing and trying to brush the chocolate cake off her dress. "YOU RUINED MY DRESS!" she wailed in horror, pressing the detonator. Robin would be mad at her for that.

"Everyone's got a berserk button, kiddo. Ya gotta know when to push it," Harley advised.

"Thanking you for the tip," Starfire grumbled.

Kitten ran at Starfire wildly. She stepped to the side and shot a carefully aimed starbolt at the detonator in her hand. It clattered to the floor and rolled, only stopping when Robin placed his foot over it.

"Consider yourself dumped," he growled as he crushed it under his boot.

"Okay, okay, I admit, that was a good one," Harley commented.

…

"Nobody dumps Kitten! NOBODY!" Kitten shouted as two patrol officers led her to an armored van. "You're going to pay for this, Robbie-poo! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!"

"Crazy chicks always have a thing for dramatics," Harley said, and Starfire sneaked a glance at her bracelet and saw that she was shaking her head. "Trust me!"

"So," Cyborg said, turning to Robin. "No second date?" Robin just glared at him.

"You know, now that nobody's makin' 'em all mutatey, these little guys might actually make good pets!" Beast Boy cooed over a larva. Starfire couldn't help but agree- it reminded of her of a less furry version of a Tamaranean dror.

"Don't even think about it," Raven growled with glowing white eyes.

Robin approached a couple that had been hit by Fang's paralyzing venom. "Okaaay, sorry we kind of… ruined your prom.

"Are you kidding? This was the best prom ever!" the boy shouted happily.

"Even if I still can't feel my legs!" the girl added.

"Freaks," Harley muttered.

"Yeah… that'll wear off," Robin said, waving to them as they were carted away.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for… The king and queen of this year's prom are… Robin and Starfire!" an amplified voice called through the speakers.

"But… How could… A queen?" Starfire stammered.

"Oh my gawd!" Harley squealed happily. "Shut it, Starry, ya get to dance with the Birdie Boy!"

"I guess one more dance wouldn't kill me," Robin said, holding his hand out to her.

She smiled and slid her fingers into his hand. He pulled her against him.

"Um," she muttered, "I do not really know how to-"

"S'okay. Here, just follow my lead," he said, taking her hands in his.

"Awwww, Starburst, I got tears in my eyes. This is a real Hollywood ending!" Harley said, her voice certainly sounding as though she might be crying.

Starfire glanced at her bracelet. She put her elbows on Robin's shoulders as he gently pulled her in circles, which made him blush as his hands slid to her waist. She switched the visual feed on her bracelet off behind his head.

"Hey!" Harley's voice came in through her earpiece. "Oh, fine. But you better call me when you get back, I'll be waitin'! Remember ta use protection!"

That last part confused Starfire, but it wasn't as though she could ask Harley about it now. Under the pretense of brushing her hair behind her ear, Starfire tapped the earpiece, switching off the audio feed.

"Thanks for the help," Robin said softly as he pulled her in circles gently.

"Do not get used to it. I am beginning to think that you cannot function without me," she teased.

He smiled a little at that. Oh, his smile made her stomachs flip. "Got it. Hey, I guess I owe you one, now."

"I suppose you do. Perhaps I will take you up on that. You never know when my sister will be paying a surprise visit."

"That's not something that would actually happen, right?" he asked, narrowing one eye at her.

She shrugged, sliding her hands to his shoulders. "Anything can happen. I believe that the two of us dancing together is proof of that, do you not?"

"You know, this had a better chance of happening than you think," he muttered, an odd smile on his lips.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing. So that bracelet you were wearing?"

She tightened her hands around him, which he noticed and glanced down. "Bracelet?" Playing dumb, she tilted her head to the other side. "What is this bracelet of which you speak?"

He looked amused, and a smirk tugged one side of his mouth up in an attractive smile. She hoped he didn't know. "The seashell bracelet. Not the disguised video-chat bracelet."

She blushed. "Oh. Um, what about the seashell bracelet?"

"It's pretty," he said simply.

"Oh. Th-thank you. It was a present, actually."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. From one of my many suitors," she joked, just to see what kind of reaction he would have.

He tightened his hands around her waist. "What?" he choked.

"Oh yes. Dozens of men from across the universe lavish me with presents daily. I am the princess of a planet, you know," she teased.

"Oh." His hands loosened around her. "You're kidding."

"Mostly. That really was a present. Although the boy who gave it to me is my friend, I think. I am unsure. I do not really see him very often, and I am uncertain about the Earthen parameters of friendship."

Robin was quiet for a moment, and she only realized that the music stopped because he halted. "I'm sure he is."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Thank you for the thought, but you would not know."

He coughed and it sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "Oh, I might know better than you think."

"You are confusing me," she said, stepping away from him. Embarrassingly, she floated without meaning to.

He didn't seem to notice. "Sorry. I'll see you around, Star." He waved at her as he turned to join his friends.

She hovered over to her dress, shoes, and bracelet and she streaked back to her penthouse, landing through the window happily.

She took off her bracelet and laid it on the counter in her kitchenette. She opened her laptop and perched in front of it, selecting Selina's Skype name and calling her.

"Hello, dearest," Selina answered after a few moments. "I suppose I should apologize for earlier. Harley told me that I wasn't being very supportive." Selina paused. "You look very pretty. What happened to your dress?"

"It is a long story. Will you get Harley so I can tell you both simultaneously?" Starfire asked with a smile.

Selina nodded and called Harley over, who squealed happily and pulled up a chair.

"Ooh! Wait, Starburst, 'fore ya start tellin' the story, lemme get me and Kitty some drinks first. That way it'll be real girl talk!" She paused. "You can't have none, cuz yer underage or somethin', and as yer big sis I can't condone underage drinkin', young lady. But go get a tub of ice cream from the freezer and a spoon."

Starfire did as she was instructed and settled into her chair, licking ice cream off her spoon as she twirled a curl around her finger.

"Okay, start from the beginnin'," Harley urged her as she handed Selina a scarlet drink.

Starfire smiled and obliged her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 - Transformation

"Watcha doin', Kitty?" Harley asked, chewing on a chocolate chip waffle that just popped out of the toaster.

Selina took a bite out of her fruit, which she plucked out of a white bowl perched on her lap as she leaned over her laptop. "I haven't spoken to Starfire in a couple days." As she said it, her mouse hovered over Starfire's Skype icon, which was offline.

"Aw, she's a teenager. Who knows what she's up to? She's probably just havin' some fun." She licked melted chocolate off her thumb.

"No, Harley, she's not like that. Starfire's a good kid." Selina drummed her fingers on the desk, thinking.

"If she's so goody-goody, what's she doin' with chumps like us?" The blond took another bite of her too-sweet-for-breakfast waffle. "Huh?" she prodded with her mouth full.

"Harley, what do you say we take a trip to California?" Selina pushed herself away from her desk, resigned.

Harley gasped. "You an' me, loose in Cali? You betcha! How many bikinis should I bring? What about club outfits?"

"Just bring your suit, Harls. Maybe a change of civilian clothes and some PJs."

"Okay, whatever. But if it turns out we need some dresses for goin' out, you're buyin', Kitty." Harley flounced toward her room.

"You're going to watch after your pet?" Ivy asked, sulky.

"Yep. Want in?" Selina asked cheerily.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Of course not. What would your toy possibly have to offer me?"

"California sun's nice and hot this time of year," Selina offered, trying to sound tantalizing.

"No. You go. It'll be nice to get the house to myself. My babies can roam free in your absence."

"Gee, Ivy, Starburst is a great kid. Real polite, y'know?" Harley called from her room. "Us girls gotta stick together!"

Ivy narrowed her eyes. "No. You two can play the giggling older sisters if you like. I hardly have enough patience to put up with the two of you; I don't need something new to wear on my nerves."

"If you insist, Ivy." Selina turned to her room to pack her own bag.

…

ONE WEEK EARLIER

Starfire settled on the top of a building. The wind had a bit of a chill in it; not that Starfire really noticed. Her body warmed her up like a built in space heater. Besides, coldness was relative. The Citadel was the 22nd planet from the Vegan sun; it was always very cold there. No, this could only really be called a chill by one who was used to lazy sunshine and warm breezes.

Starfire was slightly concerned that she was. Too much warm weather could make her weak. Lazy.

Perhaps that was why it had been so long since she'd been on a pilfering spree.

It could possibly be that she wasn't as interested in the 'pretties' as Selina was. Not that she didn't appreciate them. She just wanted them for different reasons. Set a few in jewelry, maybe, but she liked ones that sparkled. That reflected the light in prismatic patterns.

Yes, Starfire was much more likely to admire her gems by rolling them around in the windowsill so that they caught the light than to put them in jewelry and wear them around. Selina remarked that she was rather like an Earth cat that way, and Starfire just shrugged.

Honestly, Selina pointed out Starfire's evolutionary heritage much more often than she would have liked. She didn't go around and point out all the ways that humans were similar to primates. Selina said that this was different, that primates were ugly and stupid and cats were brilliant and seductive and fierce. She thought she was paying Starfire a compliment, and Earth cats were a bit different than the creatures Tamaraneans were truly descended from. So Starfire shrugged it off.

She crouched at the lip of a building. She heard Robin's footsteps, very faint, each one very precise. Yes, she'd waited for the night that it was his turn to do the 'solo patrolling'. She couldn't be blamed for that. She didn't like getting hit with Cyborg's sonic blasts. And Raven's dark energy radiated an unpleasant coldness. Beast Boy's shapeshifting amused her, but he would not take offense to her actions. No, this was a game best played with Robin.

His footsteps faded and she could hear his grappling hook deploy from his gun, and she caught sight of him briefly between two buildings before he melted back into the shadows. He was headed away from her.

She flew gently, soundlessly, slow enough not to leave a trail of light after her, down to the ground. She ambled down the street, walking leisurely. Starfire had been studying this particular jeweler's for a few days. It seemed that all she had to do was take out the power and get rid of the backup generator. The safe had battery operated emergency backup, but she wasn't interested in any of that. Take a few from the display cases to make a point, but she much preferred the uncut gems. With her strength and powers, she could manipulate their shape easily, either by compressing them and adding heat or concentrating her starbolts into a thin line like a laser and cutting them.

She took out the power so the alarms wouldn't go off and picked the lock the way Selina showed her. She slipped inside, a bell tinkling over the door that scared her quite badly. In a fit of misplaced anger, she tore the bells off the door and crushed them under her foot. She might have been overreacting, but she didn't care much.

She scooped up her satchel and a red stone in her fingers. She should really learn the names of these Earth stones if she was to possess them. She arbitrarily dumped a few in the bag before sauntering over to a clear case. She charged a starbolt and concentrated its power, melting through the glass. She snatched a stone the color of blood, another the color of a tasty Earth fruit called 'pomegranate', another the color of the second Tamaranean moon as it set over the peaks of the mountains of the east. These she placed on her person- never keep all the loot in one place, Selina told her. After secreting a few more gems, she sensed it.

Indeed, her senses were better than most Earth people's, and she was expecting it. He was watching. An extremely faint rustle of material, the smell of whatever he put in his hair. She scooped up a few more gems and placed them in the bag- a showy gesture- and she purred, "Greetings Robin."

Silence for a moment, then he dropped down. "What are you doing, Starfire?" he asked, sounding vaguely annoyed. She didn't know if it was because of what she was doing or because she knew he was there.

"Amusing myself," she answered without looking at him.

Sullenly, he asked, "You're going to make this hard, aren't you?"

"Amusing," she corrected him. She turned around finally. He was silhouetted nicely, looking rather cross. "You know, for one who dresses in such bright colors, you can be quite intimidating when you wish."

"Give me the bag, Starfire." He reached a gloved hand out to her.

"Well, alright." She reached into the bag and pulled out a handful of jewels, then tossed him the empty bag.

He didn't seem to think it was very amusing. He snatched her wrist, which she allowed him to do, and he tried to pry open her fingers. He became quite annoyed when he did not succeed in this venture.

"How are you doing that?" he snapped.

"I believe my people are several times stronger than yours," she informed him sweetly.

He dropped her wrist. "Fine." With a click, he extended his bo-staff. She had to block his blow with her gauntlet, pausing before she put the gems down on a counter.

He swung at her again and she floated, bringing her heel down on the staff, snapping it in half and grabbing the part she'd broken.

He raised an eyebrow at it. "You're not supposed to be able to do that" he muttered.

"If it makes you feel any better, it pained my heel a little," she offered. She brandished her half of his bo-staff at him. The weight balance was terrible, but his half shouldn't be much better. She swung at him and he blocked her, their pieces of metal forming an X.

"You put the jewels down. Can't you just leave it at that? Do some community service or something? If you stop now I probably won't have to incarcerate you."

She gave her impromptu staff a fierce push and he slid back, his feet sliding over the ground until he was back against the wall. She held the staff at his throat and leaned forward, her bangs brushing his forehead. "No, I do not believe I can."

He narrowed his eyes at her, which was a shame because she could almost see the color of his irises through his mask from this close. He lifted his leg to aim a kick at her, but she braced his legs with her knee over both of his.

"Oh," she cooed, "I am sorry. Are you stuck, perhaps?"

"Nope," he said calmly, and he dropped his bo-staff and grabbed something from his belt. "But you'll be."

Before he could drop the disc, she aimed a starbolt at it. It exploded over his hand, pink sticky goo enveloping his hand. Starfire recoiled, disgusted. He tried to follow her away from the wall, but he was stuck by the goo.

"Now you are even more thoroughly stuck!" she chirped, hovering back over to him. "Perhaps we could have some of the fun with your predicament."

His eyes widened and a blush crept over his cheeks. "F-fun? What's that mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "For example, while you remain captive to your own device, perhaps I could regale you with the Tamaranean Song of Victory. It has four thousand stanzas, and-"

"No," Robin interrupted quickly.

She glared at him, then leaned forward again, putting her fingertips against his chest and lowering her eyelashes. "What, then, did you have in mind?" Starfire purred.

The blush returned and she smirked at him. His mouth worked furiously, but no sound came out. He reached for his belt with the unstuck hand and he dropped a spherical device.

Smoke exploded up at her and she backed away, waving her hand at the air in front of her mouth and coughing. She stumbled back, completely disoriented, and she clutched at the door. The front door was still locked, so she ripped it off by its hinges and stumbled outside.

She glared back at the door, holding her head which was suddenly paining her. It must be from the smoke. She jumped into the air, but a birdarang arced in front of her before returning to its owner.

She turned and glared. "I tire of this," she snapped at him, landing.

"Yeah, see, that's the problem with attempted larceny. You gotta commit." Robin lunged at her, kicking, and she blocked it and aimed punches at his torso.

She was more used to fighting in the air, but they fell into a sort of rhythm. She swiped at him and he fell into a back handspring, which he turned into a forward roll and completed by springing up at her. She caught him by the forearms and threw him against the wall, and he landed against it in a crouch.

She felt something on her head between her eyebrows, and looking at her reflection in a store window, she spotted a huge bump. That definitely wasn't there before. She hovered in the air, about to flee, but before she could move she felt rope wind around her torso, held in place by the grappling hook at the end. She was yanked out of the air, and when she was close enough, Robin grabbed her wrist, which was pinned down at her side. He tugged her back so that it was almost touching his front- he couldn't see her face, thank X'hal.

He gave her wrist a tug, and very softly he said, "Gotcha, Star."

Her heart zoomed around in her chest, flying in erratic patterns the way she did herself when she was too happy to contain herself. He was playing the game, finally. And what terrible timing.

She heard the sound of a chain on metal and she knew that he was getting out handcuffs. She rolled her eyes- she tore through the last set like paper. Although, if he was trying it again, that probably meant he'd updated them. Curses. Almost regretfully, she strained her arms and legs, lighting starbolts in her hands to help her cut through the rope, and she burst out of them. Without turning, she shot a starbolt at her feet. The shot cratered the ground, knocking them back. Starfire used the momentum to propel herself skyward while Robin fell some feet away. Knowing that he wouldn't give up, she pushed her speed, flying much faster than she would normally at this altitude.

She entered her penthouse through the sunroof, quickly closing it behind her and locking it. She drew all the curtains shut and locked all the windows in the penthouse.

"Ohhh..." she muttered nervously. She paced around a little before remembering the jewels she had secreted on her person. She took them out- she only had enough to fill her cupped palm- and observed them. After she had calmed a little, she entered her bathroom.

Everything in there was white and clean, with a fluffy purple bathmat outside the porcelain tub, matching the fluffy purple toilet seat cover and her towels. The shower, on the opposite corner of the bathtub, was decorated with frosted glass. Starfire looked at the pretty design before turning to her shiny, clean, perfectly-reflecting mirror.

She shrieked as she got a clear view of the lump on her forehead. She tried to cover it with her hand, and even used some of Selina's make up to see if that had any effect, but it was entirely the wrong shade and just made the lump stick out even more.

According to a device on the Google called Yahoo! Answers, Starfire determined that she was afflicted with... a zit. It appeared to be a common Earth disease among adolescents and pubescent teenagers. Remedies included facial cream, which Starfire discovered Selina had in the back of her medicine cabinet. She slathered on several creams at once and occupied herself by observing her shells and watching her favorite television show, World of Fungus.

Waiting for the face cream to work, she watched World of Fungus marathons until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

She woke up in a daze, confused as to why she had fallen asleep in such a dark place. She brushed her wrist against her cheek as she stretched and it came away... slimy.

"What the..." she murmured, confused. And then she remembered. "Oh X'hal, no!" she gasped.

She floated over the couch and rocketed to the bathroom, bending over the sink and wiping her face with a towel. She looked even worse than she had yesterday! And her neck was itching her.

She hovered over to her laptop and ventured back to the mechanism known as Yahoo! Answers. Frantically, she typed a message describe the odd lump on her forehead and her itchy neck and waited for kind strangers to solve her mysterious medical ailment.

The first reply she got indicated that she was undergoing a transformation into a monster that was so ugly, it had to live in the sewers to avoid frightening the people on the surface. (1)

Her stomach tightened into a ball. That was it. Selina would never want to see her again. She would never go to one of Bruce Wayne's fancy parties ever again. And Robin... Tears pricked at her eyes. She didn't want to live in the sewers- her journey into them when she joined the Titans in searching for the chronaton detonator was unpleasant. She needed the sun! She couldn't spend the rest of her life hiding from the Earth's surface.

Miserable, she sank to the cool tile floor of the bathroom, her legs sprawled in an M, her fingers pressed against her eyes.

…

Robin sighed. It had been a week since his run-in with Starfire. He shouldn't still be thinking about it.

The Titans had a rough night last night- a jailbreak from one of the non-meta inmates who inadvertently awakened Plasmus, who went on to destroy half the prison . Robin was in his room with the blackout curtains drawn, trying to catch up on his sleep. Normally, he'd just stick it out with coffee, but that was one of the benefits of having a Cyborg who could recharge in a pretty short amount of time on the team.

He was exhausted. He really needed the sleep. Except he couldn't get to sleep, and damn it, it was all her fault. How did this happen? He was supposed to be distancing himself from her. Stupid prom. Stupid jewel thievery. Stupid teenage hormones. Wasn't there a cure for that?

If only she wasn't so... bubbly all the time. And her eyes weren't so bright. With these oddly thick, long eyelashes that he only noticed when they'd danced at that stupid prom. And only because the lights were coming from overhead and they cast shadows over her cheeks. If only she didn't seem so interested in him, he was sure that he could stop thinking about her. And it wouldn't hurt if her legs were a little shorter.

Not that he'd been looking.

But it wasn't just that. What was with her thieving habits? She seemed to become fixated on certain colors. Probably just chosen at random. Maybe she only stole the gems because she liked the colors? She certainly didn't seem interested in their monetary value. No, with Starfire, everything seemed to have some kind of sentimental value.

It was okay to be thinking about this. It was what he did. He'd done it with Slade- posted pictures around his investigation room, done Internet searches... He imagined tacking pictures of Starfire from newspaper clippings or posts from the Internet around his room, and the thought made him blush. He was letting his stupid crush... It wasn't even a crush! He just thought she was kind of pretty, and come on; it wasn't like he could blame himself for that... get in the way of his professionalism. He had a job to do, and damn it, he was going to do it. Even if that meant tracking down alien princesses.

He rolled over moodily. His bed was too hot. He kicked at the end of blankets, untucking them from the end of his bed. Why did he ever agree to dance with her? What was with him? It wasn't like he needed to. But the spotlights were on them and he was just so used to it from Bruce's stupid events. Thank god he'd been letting Robin start skipping out on them.

It wasn't as though he'd actually enjoyed dancing with her- really, he hadn't. It was weird- he'd danced with a bunch of girls before, but that might have been the first time he'd actually held a girl while dancing with her. No, it was definitely the first time, because he hadn't initiated it. She stepped up so close- of course, she was only doing it so that she could mess with her video-chat bracelet without him knowing- and he just kind of... put his arms on her waist as a reaction. It wasn't his fault, and it didn't mean anything. And the fact that he was thinking about it now didn't mean anything, either.

Ugh. Stupid, annoying, senseless-

He shot straight up in his bed. He narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't right. Throwing the covers away and slipping his feet into his boots, he walked over to his curtains and grabbed them, took a breath, and jerked them away. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn't Catwoman and Harley Quinn hanging from a line and smirking in at him. He stumbled back in surprise and gaped at them stupidly, and Selina knocked on his window once.

He glared at her and opened it, and she and Harley swung into his room.

"What are you doing here? What the hell is she doing here?" he spluttered.

"Hello to you, too," Selina answered, moving her goggles up onto her forehead.

"Hiya, kid! This yer room? Not very exctin', is it? You could use some feng shui," Harley babbled, glancing around.

Robin continued to gape at her.

"Aw, don't look at me that way, Bird Boy!" she whined. "I'm a pretty nice gal, after all! Tell 'im, Kitty!"

Selina shrugged. "Harley is tolerable when she's not with the Joker."

"Great," he mumbled sarcastically. "I'll try to remember that the next time you try to kill with an oversized mallet."

"Aw, shucks. I wouldn't kill ya, kid. Yer just a kid! Hospitalize ya, maybe..."

"What did you do to the alarms?" Robin asked Selina.

"Let's just say that when you give Batman clearance, you give Catwoman clearance."

"What're you here for?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're going to help me with something," Selina informed him, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Am I? Batman's not here. You can't make me do anything," he snapped.

Selina narrowed her eyes at him further and fisted his tunic in her hand. "You'd be surprised," she purred, trailing a diamond tipped claw over the side of his face.

"Threatening me won't work." Robin wasn't afraid of Selina. Harley, a little, but right now she didn't pose much of a threat. But Selina would never let anything happen to Robin, much less cause him real harm. In fact, he could safely bet his life on her. It wasn't that their relationship was great, really, but Bruce would never forgive her if something happened to him, and Selina would never allow that.

"No. Threatening you won't." She released him from her grasp. "I've heard your teammates are a weak point, though. And your city. I could release the Joker's special brand of neuro-toxin into the air. Or fear gas. I could have Ivy swoop in and put your teammates into a plant toxin coma. I could hold your mayor ransom. I could hold the governor of this whole damn state ransom."

Robin glared at her.

"But I won't do any of that. Do you know why, Robin? I think you're going to want to help me," Selina purred, tilting her head at him.

"Why's that?" he grumbled.

"Have you seen Starfire in the past week?"

That surprised him and he gaped at her again.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently.

"I- yeah, course I have!"

"Where?" she asked, eyes wide and hopeful.

"Um, a week ago she was robbing a jeweler's."

A fond smile crossed her lips. "She was?"

"Hold it right there, kiddo. She makes a Skype call to us every night, and she stopped a week ago, right when you claim to have seen her last!" Harley informed him, getting in his face and poking him in the chest. "There somethin' you wanna tell us?"

Robin glared at her.

"Hmmm?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes at him and poking him harder.

"Harley," Selina scolded sharply, like she was calling a dog to heel. "Have you seen her since then?"

"No. It's not like I've been looking. She could disappear and I probably wouldn't notice," Robin snapped defensively.

Selina just rolled her eyes, but this seemed to incense Harley. "Now look here, bucko!" she snarled at him, advancing on him again. "It's when guys say stuff like that that really gets me-!"

"Harley," Selina called again, and Harley crossed her arms sulkily and glared at Robin. "He's not here," Selina said softly. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone."

He sighed. "I'm not. I just- I haven't seen her, okay? Why? You think something happened to her?"

"I don't know. I mean, she's probably fine, but she gets so confused."

Robin rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again. "Yeah, I'll… I'll help you look for her."

"Good. We checked the penthouse and she wasn't there. If you know of any other of her usual haunts-"

"Wait. Robin can't be seen hanging around Catwoman and Harley Quinn."

Catwoman narrowed her eyes at him. "We'll we're not just going to hide out while you do all the field work."

"No, just... Hang on." Robin stepped away from the women- Harley was now openly observing his newspaper clippings- and opened his walk-in safe, shielding the keycode from their eyes.

The Red X suit. This is why it was better that he kept it. Undercover missions could pop up at any time. He slid the outfit on and stalked back out.

Selina raised an eyebrow at him. "That's new."

"Ooooh! You clean up nice, kid!" Harley chirped, rubbing the tattered ends of his cape between her thumb and forefinger.

Robin pulled the cape away from her, not deigning to answer.

"What's the name?" Selina asked.

"It's Red X," he said.

"Catchy. Are you done playing dress up? We have work to do."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't forget I'm doing you a favor."

Harley scrunched her brow at him. "I thought we was all doin' Starburst a favor?"

"Let's just go," Robin said, opening his window and taking hold of Harley and Selina's lines that still hung from the roof.

They landed on the beach across from the Tower.

"I told ya we were goin' ta the beach!" Harley exclaimed excitedly, twirling on the sand.

Robin tapped the side of the Red X mask by his temple, activating infrared vision. "That's weird."

"What?" Selina demanded. Harley had dropped to her knees some feet away and was sculpting a sandcastle.

"That's the first time in months that I've been here and it was completely cold," Robin muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Selina demanded impatiently.

He started walking toward the pier so he could duck under it. "She's got some kind of obsession with seashells."

"That why you gave her that bracelet?" she demanded, her tone innocent.

Robin blushed, glad of the full face mask. "She hoards the shells here and brings them back to wherever she's staying." He put his hand on one of the support beams and sank to a crouch. He dug around in the sand, but nothing was there.

"Can't the two of you focus long enough not to play in the sand?" Selina snapped.

"I'm not playing. This is where she kept the seashells, but they're not here. Are you sure she didn't leave?" Robin asked as he clapped gritty sand off his hands.

"Yes. She wouldn't go back to Tamaran without talking to me first."

"Are you sure?"

"Reasonably."

Robin sighed. "If you're not sure then I don't know if we should be looking."

"Dick," she softly, and Robin glanced warily over at Harley. "She's scared of everything."

Robin snorted. "No she's not. She almost seems like she doesn't know enough to be scared of anything."

Selina grabbed his shoulder and made him face her. "Don't you get it? She's so scared of everything that she acts like she's scared of nothing. A hermit crab scared her witless when she first saw it, but she couldn't show her fear because no one else seemed bothered by it. She's had practice masking what she's really feeling. Except when she's talking about-" She stopped suddenly and dropped her hand from his shoulder. "Never mind. Where else might she be?"

Robin scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. If we can get to a vantage point, I might be able to see if I can recognize a heat signature from her. Your goggles have infrared, right?"

"Of course."

"Here. Let me give you the exact readings of her signature."

"Think she's hot, huh, Birdie Boy?"

Robin jumped as Harley appeared at his left shoulder. "Her internal body temperature is higher than in humans," he snapped at her.

"Suuuuurrrrre," she replied in a singsongy voice.

He glared at her.

"Y'know, I always wondered, what's the sitch with you an' Batgirl?" She paused and looked thoughtful. "Like gingers, do ya?"

"Selina!" Robin choked helplessly, extremely flustered.

She smirked and sighed. "Come on, Harley. Leave the poor kid alone. He doesn't want to be reminded of his unrequited crush on Batgirl."

"It wasn't like that!" he spluttered. "Can we focus here?"

The women exchanged a satisfied glance.

"If we can get up high enough, we can try to see if her heat signature is anywhere."

"Lead the way," Selina said with a gesture of her arm.

Robin led them downtown and extended a hook from his X-shaped grappling hook gun, trying to figure out how he ended up in his Red X suit with Bruce's girlfriend and the girlfriend of the guy who tried to kill him more times than he could count and got further from succeeding with each try. He stopped thinking about it after a few minutes because of the massive headache it was giving him.

"There," Selina said, pointing.

"Where?" Harley demanded, leaning precariously over the ledge of the building they'd picked as their perch. "I don't got no fancy-pants heat vision."

"That can't be right," Robin muttered, following Selina's line of vision.

"What?" Harley probed, bouncing excitedly. "What is it?"

"Looks like she went down into the subways," Selina told her, narrowing her eyes.

"So what?" Harley asked, confused at Robin and Selina's consternation.

"Har," Selina said, trying to be patient. "Why would she need to go to the subway? She flies."

Harley narrowed her eyes. "Maybe she got tired or somethin'?"

Robin's mind was spinning. Maybe she got dragged down there. Maybe someone had her. He couldn't imagine who would be able to kidnap the girl who could pick up a car with her foot and hurl it at someone like a hackey-sack.

"Well, whattaya two waitin' for? Let's go check it out!" With that, Harley spread her arms out and arched her back before letting herself lean forward so far that she fell off the building.

Robin quickly tapped the side mask, deactivating the infrared vision and scrambled to look over the ledge, grappling hook gun in hand.

Selina let out a dry laugh. "Take it easy, Dick. She's fine."

Harley was tumbling down, using various ledges from windows and acrobatic tricks to keep her fall controlled.

He should've expected that. "She's just… I don't know, she seems so…"

She gave him a little push. "I know what you mean." She offered him a small smile. "You know, I think Starfire's the same way. They make you want to protect them. Keep them out of trouble…"

Robin went quiet. He knew Selina's ulterior motives for living with Ivy and Harley (2). He didn't know if leaving the three of them together was such a great idea, personally.

"She told me you wanted her to join your team," Selina said softly, throwing a leg over the ledge of the building to begin scaling it.

Robin blushed again. Selina didn't seem to be making fun of him, though. She seemed… understanding. He tried not to think about that too much. "Yeah. She didn't seem to thrilled with the idea." Robin shrugged. "I just thought… I mean, she's got really good potential. Strength and flight are always useful. And she has those starbolt things."

She shot him an amused, knowing smile. "I'm sure your motives were completely altruistic." And she disappeared over the ledge.

He scowled after her, sulking for a minute before craning his neck to see the street and pushing the button on his belt to teleport. Man, he loved the teelporter. It took up a lot of juice, and it was the main reason he needed the xynothium, but it was the best part of the suit.

Harley jumped as he shimmered into existence next to her. "A little warnin', maybe!"

He shrugged. "Sorry."

Catwoman landed next to them in a crouch. With a nod, she indicated that they were to begin their search. Robin jumped ahead, teleporting to the subway's entrance and down the steps. The subways in Jump were usually only busy around the work hours or when schools were letting out. There weren't many people around here, and the citizens of Jump were used to sharing the streets with those who chose spandex and masks over the usual clothing. Red X wasn't very well known as a villain, so the civilians that were straggling in the station weren't very alarmed. That would probably change once Catwoman and Harley showed up.

Activating the infrared vision, he could see the remnants of her heat signature. How long had it been since she'd been here? It certainly wasn't as warm as usual. It trailed off over the side. She must have gotten on a train. Starfire on a subway. The thought seemed too ridiculous. He tried to picture the six foot tall, cherry-haired, orange-skinned, solid green-eyed alien princess with the flaring temper and odd speech pattern riding the subway among normal people, dressed in normal clothes, doing normal things. He drew a blank.

People around him stared and shuffled hastily toward the exit.

Selina eyed the ground where Robin had just stared at it, and her mouth flopped open in surprise. "What?" she asked herself.

"What, what?" Harley asked curiously. "Is it awful? Did someone drag her onta the tracks an'-"

"No! Nothing like that, Harley. She just… went on the subway."

"Oh." Harley deflated a little. "That's kinda anti-climactic, huh?"

Robin glared at her. "I… How are we supposed to find her, now?"

Selina sighed. "I brought these, just in case." She held out her hand, palm up. Three earpieces glinted in the harsh lights of the subway. "We're going to need to split up. Check every subway station."

"Awwwww!" Harley moaned.

"Don't worry," Robin said quickly. "There's not as many as in Gotham."

Selina nodded. "So we'll split up. I'll go north and east from here; Harls take north and west; Ro- Red X, you're taking south. Should be quicker for you with your teleport." Annoyingly, she jabbed a finger at his belt, pressing the button and making him shimmer away only to reappear a few feet away.

Robin didn't like taking orders, especially from Selina. He narrowed his eyes at her, but his communicator started ringing. He glanced down at his belt. "Yeah, fine, go," he muttered, palming the communicator.

The older women scattered and Robin pulled the mask up over his mouth, resting the neck on the bridge of his nose so that he wouldn't be speaking through the voice-modifier. He pressed the talk button without opening it so that he wouldn't be seen.

"Yeah?"

"Dude, where'd you go?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm…" He paused. "Shouldn't you be trying to get some sleep?"

"Can't. We haven't gotten an actual alert, but a bunch of people have been reporting suspicious activity."

"What? Oh. Don't worry about that."

There was a long pause. "Don't worry about it? You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I… I couldn't sleep. So I went out."

"Out? Out where?"

"Just around. For a walk. Until I got tired enough to fall asleep." Robin rubbed the back of his neck as he talked. He hated doing this. But he really didn't want to explain all this to them. At the very least, he'd get made fun of for a few weeks. Teaming up with criminals to help his crush. Not that that was what he considered Starfire, but Cyborg seemed to think differently. "I looked into the activity. It's nothing. Just seem kids making noise."

"Okay. I'll let you know if the alerts keep up."

"Thanks."

"Later."

Robin sighed. He pulled the mask all the way down and opened his communicator, revealing a very small, oddly rounded keyboard. He hacked the Titan's system, turning off the ability to get any sort of alert. He rerouted the alarms to go to his communicator, just in case something cataclysmic happened.

He flicked his gaze to the entrance to the subway station and teleported, then shot a grappling hook to swing over the streets, landing on top of a building. He used his infrared vision along with zoom-ins to make the work expedient.

"Harley. X."

"Kitty!"

"I'm on Third Street and 42nd Avenue."

Robin blipped across rooftops, not really worrying about the drain on the suit. He didn't plan on using it much after this.

He dropped down in front of Selina. Harley was already there.

"Heat trail goes into this apartment. We just have to break in-"

"Not necessary." The building had glass front doors. Robin just needed to teleport inside, then open the door for the two women. Selina looked unimpressed.

"What's a matter, kid?" Harley scoffed. "Bats never teach ya ta pick a lock?"

Robin ignored her. He followed the heat trail… to the elevator. "Dammit. Looks like we're going to have to split-"

"Just a minute, Red." Selina entered the elevator and looked at the buttons. "C'mere." She curled her finger in toward herself, and Robin grudgingly followed.

"Ya know, we could probably hit all the buttons and-"

"Don't touch," Selina snapped. Harley folded her arms behind her back innocently.

"No residual heat signature," Robin observed.

"Scan for prints?"

Robin narrowed an eye at her. "If there's not residual heat, there's not gonna be-"

"Just do it."

He glared at her but tapped his mask again. Imprints of fingertips glared out at him, and his mask took each one and scanned it, peeling away layers. A red swirling pattern glowed in front of his mask on the button for the fourteenth floor. He squinted at it. "That's weird." Selina raised her eyebrows at him. "It's a non-human fingerprint, but it's not Star's. Starfire's!" He corrected quickly, blushing when Selina's expression changed at his usual nickname for her.

"Try that."

"You think an alien got 'er?" Harley asked, sounding alarmed for the first time. "Ya think it's one of those bad guys she was tellin' us about? The Gorbs?"

"No. I don't think it's those. They wouldn't have been so sneaky about it."

Robin pressed the button and they rode the elevator up, Harley rocking from her toes to her heels anxiously.

"Kitty?" She asked softly. "Ya think Starburst's okay?"

"Of course I do," Selina snapped. Harley withered and Selina sighed. "I think she'll be fine, Harley."

Robin allowed Selina to lead them through the hall until she stopped at a door, presumably where the heat trail ended. She rapped on it and leaned on the doorframe.

Shockingly, a white woman answered the door, leaving the chain done. Not a Caucasian woman. A white woman. Everything about her was startlingly, flawlessly white, except for her eyes, which were bright pink with odd black waves instead of pupils or irises.

Selina didn't seem intimidated. "Hello. We're looking for someone. We were wondering if you could help us."

The woman smiled at her, and Robin felt an odd sense of tranquility pull at him. He shook his head to clear it. Selina noticed too- she seemed to be glaring harder at the woman than before.

"No," she said, her voice silky and soothing. "I'm sorry. I don't leave my apartment much."

"Great!" Harley chirped, her smile wide. "Then you won't mind us comin' in!"

The woman frowned, and for some reason it was terrifying.

Catwoman brandished diamond-tipped claws and sliced the chain in half, pushing open the door. The unlikely group poured in, Robin tapping his mask to activate his infrared vision. Starfire's heat signature was everywhere, blazing at its fullest unlike the weak trail they'd been following.

"Oh yeah," he said, "she's definitely here."

"Where is she?" Catwoman growled at the woman.

The woman closed the door calmly and an odd growl emanated from her throat, her form changing drastically. A huge pink and white creature towered before them, front jaws sharp and long, thick pincers in front and four legs keeping her up.

"You are looking for the girl," it snarled. "You're just in time to watch me devour her!" In one swoop, it knocked the three of them painfully against the wall, knocking the wind out of each of them before knocking back furniture, revealing a green… giant chrysalis. Which was unexpected, to say the least.

Shaking his head and forcing his lungs to gulp in a fresh breath, he teleported next to the chrysalis and threw a sticky X right into the monster's mouth. It screamed, the sound oddly muffled, and swept its giant arm at Robin. He performed a set of acrobatics, avoiding the arms, which were pointed at the edges like blades. One of them ripped cleanly through the sofa. He wished he had his bo-staff to have something between them, but he hadn't included one in the suit. It was too much of a giveaway to his real identity, at least to the Titans.

"I got her," he said to the two women, "you get Starfire out of here!"

"But… Where is Starry?" Harley asked, confused.

"Um…" Her voice came out of the chrysalis, muffled but clear. "…In here…"

"Oh, Starfire," Selina murmured, sounding both relieved and very confused.

The creature knocked Robin aside and advanced on Starfire as Selina and Harley reached her. They were forced to scatter. "The girl belongs to me now. You can have her back once I finish digesting her," the creature snarled.

Selina jumped at it, only to be knocked back as well. Harley pulled out her mallet that Robin hated so much, and Robin leaped at the creature. He was knocked back, too, but he distracted it enough for Harley to get in a hit with the mallet. The creature stumbled, dangerously close to stepping on Starfire, roaring angrily.

Selina coiled her whip around its face, yanking it back roughly. It snapped its jaws at the whip, taking hold of it and arcing it around so that Selina was thrown into the ground. Robin jumped over Selina, who was on a collision course with him, and hurled three explosive discs at the monster. It was forced back, hitting the wall from the force of the blast but seeming relatively unharmed.

The three of them advanced on it, but in a show of surprising agility, it leaped over them… toward Starfire. It landed and was dipping its head at her, teeth bared and jaws snapping. Robin slid toward her, one leg stretched toward the chrysalis, another bent behind him, leaning back as he slid beneath the creature's legs. He pushed Starfire out of the way just in time, the creature's teeth snagging his tattered cape.

He stood as the creature advanced on him, keeping himself firmly between the chrysalis and the monster that wanted to devour it, and was only saved when Harley threw her mallet at the back of the creature's head. "Pick on somethin' yer own size!" she barked at it.

It growled furiously and advanced on her. She ducked behind Selina. "I ain't nothin' close to your size, lady!"

As the creature stalked toward the two women, blade-like arms cutting through the air, Robin crouched over the chrysalis. "Starfire? You okay?" There was no answer, except for a little gasp. "Hang on, I'm going to get you outta there." He started pulling it apart between the eyes where it was already cracking.

"No!" she cried desperately, and it snapped shut. "Please go. I do not wish to be seen this way," she explained in a small voice.

"Jeez, Star, come on." He glanced back at the creature, which was taking a strike at Harley that was blocked by her mallet. "It's alright. I don't care how you look. I wanna help you." Not giving her any time to protest again, he pulled the chrysalis open at the crack. He let a relieved smile cross over his face. She had her eyes squeezed shut tight. "Besides. You look fine to me." He gave her a shattered piece of mirror that had been damaged in the fight as proof.

She gasped happily and took it from him, floating into the air and spinning. "Oh! I am normal!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, two beams of energy shot out of her eyes, reducing the mirror into glass dust. She turned to Robin, eyes wide, mouth in a grimace. "…mostly!"

He flinched as Harley was thrown against the wall roughly, where she slid to the ground and crumpled. The creature held Selina in its pincers, growling furiously. "Since you have stolen my meal, I shall devour you instead!" it screeched at Selina.

"Devour this!" Starfire shouted angrily, hitting it in the chest with her eyebeams. She hurled starbolts at it furiously, the creature screaming in pain as they exploded on impact. Starfire gave a determined cry as she hit it with eyebeams again, and the creature slammed into the wall so hard, it cracked the drywall. It changed form, back into a woman, where it lay unconscious, feet sticking out of the wall, head lolled lifelessly.

"Whadda we do with 'er?" Harley asked, and something in her voice struck Robin as sadistic.

"Um… Justice League. Green Lantern, I think. I don't usually call them, but… this is over my head."

"…You know that you can talk to me about anything," Selina was scolding Starfire softly.

"I… I was just frightened. I did not want you to… think any different of me."

"Aw, Starburst, we love ya cuza your weird personality! Long as ya don't start actin' all stuck up, you'll be fine."

She flew at Harley and grabbed her around the neck for a hug, which Harley returned with a huge grin.

Starfire tilted her head at Robin as she stepped out of Harley's embrace. "Why are you wearing that?"

Robin glanced down at himself. "Oh. It's a long story."

She stepped up to him sheepishly and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you for assisting me."

This was a good day to be wearing a full face mask. "Heh. Yeah. No problem."

"Do not think that I could not have freed myself," she said sternly, pushing him back suddenly.

"Course," he said, smiling.

"I could have!" she insisted.

"Yeah. I believe you."

Robin's communicator beeped. But it wasn't the Titans' frequency. His eyes widened. "Um…" he muttered, grabbing it reflexively and holding it as far away from himself as he could.

Selina smiled at him. "Is that who I think it is?" she purred.

He nodded wordlessly.

She held out her hand for it, and figuring that he was going to get in trouble anyway, he handed it to her. She flipped it open.

"Catwoman?" Batman demanded. "You are in Jump."

"Yes. With Harley and Starfire."

"Where's Robin?"

Selina perched on the arm of the sofa that had been split in two. "Now, darling, is that any way to greet me?"

Harley and Robin made varying unappreciative faces while Starfire batted her eyelashes like she was watching a romance movie.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 - X

He wasn't always a 'bad guy'. He has never, ever been a bad guy. He was a victim of circumstance.

He grew up in a crummy apartment building. The hallways smelled like weed and the guys in long coats hung out in the hallways and asked him if he wanted to buy a 'cut' before he even knew what it meant. Not that it mattered. He never had spare money.

Dad left when he was young. He left for a pack of cigarettes one night. He hadn't come back with them. He left eleven years ago.

His mother worked the night shift at a hospital in Metropolis. She was always so tired when she got home. She slept all day, cooked a TV dinner in the microwave, and left for work.

But it was all okay. Because he didn't need any of that stuff- money, a nice apartment building, attentive parents. All he needed was a monitor, a keyboard, and internet connection. After a while, it didn't matter whether or not the connection was locked. He became a pro at hacking into secure connections.

He was always good with computers. He didn't need high quality stuff, wither. the computer he got when he entered high school- a crummy, used one that his mother got him off of e-bay- was more than enough.

But when you spend enough time doing something, you're going to want nicer stuff. It's only natural. So when the 'e' key fell off and the shift button stopped working, he devised a plan.

Hacking. He'd hack. He started out small, but by the time he turned sixteen he was in the business. He'd hack into businesses and corporations and mess up everything. Fuck it up beyond repair. Well almost beyond repair. Then he'd send a message, politely explaining the favor he'd just done the company by pointing out the flaws in their system, showing them how easy it was to hack. And they were lucky he'd done it first, because for a fee, he'd fix it all up the way it was before and for another fee, he'd even update their system.

He made enough money to get himself a fancy laptop with the newest edition of Curtains (1) and Macrosoft Word. That helped for school a little. And yeah, he was pretty good in school. He liked school. It got him out of the house.

He crossed the line, though, when he hacked into LexCorp. He hadn't done it before, since that was right in Metropolis and he was afraid they'd be able to find him quickly. Plus, he didn't trust himself to hack the big guns, like Wayne Enterprises or Daytech or LexCorp.

But doing that turned out to be an okay decision.

Oh, he got his money from LexCorp. And while he was checking his bank account, congratulating himself on accumulating all those zeros, he heard a click. To this day, he's not sure what would've happened if he hadn't turned around.

A merc was standing in his bedroom, pointing the biggest gun he'd ever seen at him, balancing it on his shoulder.

He played it cool. He acted like he didn't care. And it wasn't hard to convince himself that it really didn't matter if he lived another day or not. Life was kind of just something that was happening to him. Day by day, with little variation.

"This can be the last thing you ever see," the guy with a the huge gun said.

But it wasn't. The deal was, fill out a two year contract with Luthor or die. It wasn't a hard decision. He told his mom the he got an internship at LexCorp as a low level tech guy, and she actually cried when he told her that. She said how proud he was that he was doing something with his life.

Really, he was hacking for Luthor. Stealing information from other companies. Sometimes he messed with money, not that Luthor was strapped for cash. He messed with DayTech science records, with Wayne Enterprises security records, he crashed rival companies at the source and Luthor even had him hack the FBI once or twice.

He never really liked it. This was different than what he was doing before. He didn't always know what he was hacking, but the records at DayTech were almost definitely medical stuff. Something about the Sakutia (2) virus.

The jobs were kind of scummy, and he didn't get paid one cent, so on top of doing Luthor's dirty work, he'd had to continue his hacking gig. He stuck with smaller companies, even though Luthor would probably handled any hits on him.

He learned a lot in those two years. Luthor had one of his special ops guys train him in fighting so that he could put him in the field. Send him right to his enemies' computers when hacking from LexCorp offices wouldn't be enough.

He liked the training. He was good at it, which was unexpected. He'd always been a quick learner, but he didn't think that would help him. Luthor was very pleased with him.

The his contract expired, Luthor tried to worm his way into more free computer-lackeying. He said the old contract was expired and that he was more than just a hacker. He was part computer genius, part special ops. The old contract was worthless.

After a tough fight that he almost didn't make it out of, he packed his bags. He burst into his apartment, all bloodied and bruised, and he hit the coast. The West Coast, because the East Coast was too obvious. He couldn't go to Gotham. Everybody on the run went to Gotham. He went to a little city called Jump, and he was more surprised when Jump became known as the base of the Teen Titans. It was convenient, if anything, because he would have four more pairs of eyes watching out for criminal activity. He was still waiting for Luthor to find him.

There were a few rumors. Hard to find rumors, mostly whispered among the students at the HIVE- he kept an eye on them, too, in case Luthor decided to hire them out to find him- and the rumor was interesting. Really interesting.

The Tower wasn't all that hard to infiltrate. The security system was weirdly similar to Wayne Enterprises stuff, with DayTech mixed in and some of the cyborg's own tech, too. That was the hardest part to get past, but not impossible.

The suit was amazing. It had all these weapons- exploding, ice, some that sprayed this weird red goo- he had to play around for a week and a half just to use all the weapons. The suit itself was pretty awesome, too. The cape was made of titanium-alloy, and it was a hundred times stronger than steel, not to mention it was insanely fireproof. The mask had infrared vision, zoom in capabilities, x-ray vision, night vision, and lenses that blocked out light that would damage his eyes. Not to mention, the most awesome part... a teleporter. It was a line-of-sight teleport, morning he looked at a place and he could teleport there. He could also pre-program coordinates into the belt, although this one limited to one location. There was also a cloaking device. It wasn't quite invisible, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

The only problem was that the thing ran on xynothium. Who builds a suit out of xynothium? Could you cancer from that stuff? And playing with the suit for so long was really draining it.

Red X blew air out from his cheeks, a little nervous. He shouldn't have a ver ard time defeating the Teen Titans. That's what this suit was designed to do, anyway.

Besides, he wasn't stealing money. (Yet.) He was just taking a scanner. Maybe he'd sell a stick of xynothium or two on the black market. He was living in an apartment as dumpy as his last one. He wanted to graduate to a nicer building. Besides, he was thinking of going to college or something. He's need the cash, and he was reluctant to do the hacking gambit in case Luthor was monitoring for it.

But first, he needed the scanner. He'd already disabled the building's alarm systems, but he knew that along the way something would happen- a neglected security camera, a hidden trip, a silent alarm- and he would have an audience.

He stood and flipped down to the roof, crouching to remove the vent after double checking that it was offline.

Crackling green glowed at his feet. That wasn't good. He couldn't be caught already. He palmed a few shuriken and stood to face the guards or whoever had interrupted him.

It was a girl. A rather attractive girl, actually. She was floating gently a little above the ground, one hand bathed in green, held out in front of her. She seemed to be using it as a light source, but he imagined it could be used as a weapon, too.

Everything about her screamed 'pissed off girlfirend', from the distance above him she was hovering- high enough that Red X had to crane his neck to look at her, but low enough that he couldn't not- to her posture, to the expression on her face, which was somehow expectant, ovular eyebrows brought together as she studied him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice demanding and impatient but also somehow soft. Like she was trying to sound sever when really she was just worried.

"Um... Sorry, cutie. This your usual stomping ground?"

She tilted her head at him. "I do not suggest stomping, unless you wish to alert the guards inside."

"Right. Can I do something for you?" Red X asked, glancing down at the vent.

"Is something the matter? Why are you wearing this?" She reached forward and pinched the material of the jumpsuit at his shoulder.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Is there anything I can do to offer assistance?" she asked.

"Um. If you want," Red X answered suspiciously. "Under what conditions?"

She landed and tilted her head at him. "Conditions? There are no conditions, of course. I am being the nice." She shot him a small, timid smile.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "O-kay. Whatever you want, then."

He lifted the cover and entered the ventilation system. She entered behind him, floating instead of crawling. He jumped down to the ground where he landed in a crouch.

He was looking out for guards, now, and he tensed as he heard footsteps approaching.

The green glow filled the hall and Red X spun around and grabbed her hands, covering them with his to hide the glow, and he pulled her out of sight of the guard around the corner. She widened her eyes at him, confused, but she put out the lights.

"Sh," he breathed softly.

She sulked against the wall, and he pulled away from where he was keeping her in place.

He left her and the guard was out of sight of a camera, which they must not konw were off. He'd set them to loop the empty halls for ten minutes, and he intended to be out in five. He shot one X, which wrapped around the guard's mouth, and he shot another which wrapped around his arms.

He grabbed the guard, who was now sprawled on the ground, and dragged him over to where Starfire was. She raised her eyebrows at him, not looking very impressed.

"What-?"

"Hush," he interrupted her. "How many guards on this floor?" Red X asked the guard, narrowing his eyes and grabbing a fist full of the collar of his shirt, pulling roughly.

The guard shook his head, muffled sounds coming from around the X over his mouth.

"Hold up the correct amount of fingers," Red X hissed. "Now."

The guard shook his head again, glaring.

The girl pushed him out of the way and took the guards shirt in two hands, letting her eyes glowing and mumbling in rough gibberish. She balled her hand into a fist and let that glow, too.

Red X leaned back and watched her, somewhat impressed. The gaurd held up four fingers on each hand, his eyes wide with fear. "Eight?" Red X snapped. "That's including you?"

The guard nodded vigorously. She dropped her hands away from him and he pushed himself against the opposite wall to put as much space between them as possible.

"Nice," Red X said, impressed.

She beamed at him. "Thank you."

He continued down the hall, keeping an eye out for more guards. This girl... what affiliation could she possibly have with Red X? He'd only been spotted twice before this. It didn't make sense. Unless... she must think that he's the freakin' Boy Wonder! Oh, man. This was too good. He snuck a glance at her, flying faithfully beside him. It wasn't like he could just ask her if she thought he was Robin.

"Red X," she murmured, and he snapped his thoughts back to the current situation. Footsteps.

"How many?"

Starfire held up two fingers, and Red X raised both his hands. The guards saw him at the same time, but they were fast enough. Two shots from both his hands- well, three, he missed with his left hand- and they were nabbed. Starfire looked at the loose X on the wall.

"You missed," she pointed out. She sounded so confused.

That really bugged him. "Yeah. Left hand."

She squinted at him. "I believed you to be ambidexterous?"

Red X froze. "I... When did I tell you that?" he demanded. Seriously, when would that have come up?

She landed, seeming flustered. "You... you did not, exactly. It was simply an observation."

He rolled his eyes behind the mask. He wasn't sure what the situation was with the Boy Blunder and this... orange girl... but he wasn't in the mood for dealing with it. "Nope. Sorry to disappoint."

"I am not disappointed," she answered quickly.

He was torn between smiling at her for the reassurance and smacking himself in the forehead. He smiled at her faintly, not that it even mattered since she couldn't see his face. "Yeah. Thanks."

Red X paused in front of a door. He'd memorized the schematics of the building, although he'd been distracted and he wasn't focusing as much as he should have been. It took him a moment to get his bearings.

"In here?" she asked.

He tilted his head, thinking. She was kind of distracting. He would have been much more annoyed if he wasn't already formulating a plan to get back at her and to piss off the Boy Blunder. "Yeah. It should be inside a display case. I think I have a glass cutter in this stupid belt somewhere..."

"Unnecessary." She pushed him out of the way, opening the door roughly. He heard clicks coming from the door as she bent the locks holding it closed out of shape and it opened slowly. She sauntered into the room and placed her first finger on the glass.

Red X rubbed his neck and walked in after her. She wasn't being very careful about alarms. The room was dimly lit, the only thing in there was a pedestal with a glass case on it. sitting on a stand was the xynothium scanner, shaped like a gun which was convenient as it would fit in his holster.

She trailed her finger over the glass, and while it was kind of nice to watch, he was worried about the Titans. Especially the appearance of one Titan in particular. "Um, what're you doing?"

"Gauging the thickness of the glass," she muttered distractedly before allowing green energy to envelop her hand. She pressed her hand more firmly against the glass and it melted under her touch. She picked up the scanner and it over in her hands curiously.

"Thanks, cute. Nice work."

That made her rather pleased. She gave him a bright smile. He leaned over her to grab the scanner and she moved it out of reach. He narrowed one eye at her. "I wish to know what this does," she told him, taking a step back.

"Okay. Seriously. Gimme."

"What is it?" she asked, holding it upside down and shaking it.

"Hey!" Red X was losing his temper. He was about to slam her against the wall and take it from her.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Is it a projectile weapon? Or perhaps it is something that will benefit me?"

He glared at her and grabbed the wrist that wasn't holding the scanner. That seemed to surprise her a lot and she glanced down at his hand. "Gimme," he said, leaning in close to her, and she froze. He plucked out of her hand and stepped back, sort of amused at her reaction.

"C'mon, let's get outta here," he said as he went to the door.

She made an indignant noise and followed him.

He stopped short at the doorway and she bumped into him. She peered over his shoulder and gasped. Five guards were waiting for them.

"You had to force the door open," he muttered. He didn't want to use all of his binding Xes before the inevitable confrontation with the Titans, so he took his exploding shuriken and threw it at the guards' feet. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her through the air after him.

She let loose a few starbolts, probably hitting a few guards that got back to their feet and tried to catch up with them.

"Would it not be best if we allowed the Titans to see us? They would see you and understand-"

"No," Red X interrupted immmediately.

"Get the Teen Titans over here!" one of the guards snapped to the others.

She tried to tug her wrist out of his hand, but he wanted to get going. He pulled her down to the end of a hallway, where an odd locking system kept them from entering. Looked like the whole building knew they were here, now. This door should be disabled.

"Damn it," he muttered. He worked the lock quickly, attaching a device that decoded it quickly onto the steel and watching as the red circles spun until they were lined up. He ducked through the door and pulled the alien girl in after him.

He could hear footsteps now. Four sets of footsteps.

He set up little devices that looked like satellites on the frame of a door which had infrared lasers set across it in a grid, and he pulled her through that to.

"Cease pulling me!" she snapped. "I do not understand your urgency. Once the Titans see that it is you, can you not explain to them what you are-"

"Sh," he commanded. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. He shot an X from his grappling hook gun up the open elevator shaft and was pulled upward.

Starfire hovered at his side. "For what purpose did you need this scanner?" she asked as she flew up the elevator shaft alongside him.

"Um… insurance."

She furrowed her brows at him. "But what are you looking for?"

"Nothing dangerous." He couldn't have told a bigger lie if he tried. Red X glanced down. Below them, the elevator was whirring into life. He couldn't let her see. Not yet. "C'mon," he said lightly, letting his smile reach his voice. "You know me."

A faint smile touched her lips. Apparently, she did. That was interesting.

They were in the warehouse section of this place, now. Wooden crates were stacked around, and he kicked one to see if it was empty. The hollow sound told him it was. The footsteps behind him slid to a halt, and he grabbed the odd alien girl by the wrist.

"Thanks for the help, cutie," he murmured, putting his mouth right by her ear. She seemed largely confused. He flipped the bottom portion of his mask up, letting it rest on the bridge of his nose, and her eyes widened in understanding.

She tilted her head, looking a little scared. "Rob-?"

He cut her off with a light kiss. She went soft against him, which was satisfying and tempting, but he couldn't pay any attention to that.

The reaction he was hoping for- a sharp yell, a click and the sound of metal sliding as a certain Teen Wonder let his bo-staff out to the appropriate length. Red X jumped at just the right time, pulling his lips away from hers and pushing her so that she was knocked into Batman's protoge.

They both sprawled out on the concrete floor, the girl looking helplessly confused and Robin looking so angry he seemed unable to move. Exactly the reaction X had been hoping for.

"Red X?" Beast Boy demanded, eyes wide. He looked at Robin, still on the floor but glaring around at everyone now. "I thought Robin was Red X?"

"Think again." X raised his arms, palms out, and unleashed a spray of shuriken at all of them.

"Titans, move!" Robin shouted rather unnecessarily. He'd pushed Starfire, either just away from him or out of the way. It was hard to tell.

Raven simply put up a shield, which made Red X smile. He teleported through it and swept his foot under her ankles. She wasn't expecting that and her head knocked against the floor as she fell heavily. Red X crouched over, brandishing a shuriken to stick it through the loose material of her cloak to keep her where she was for a while, and a green bolt of energy knocked it out of his hand.

Honestly, he wasn't expecting her to recover that quickly. His alien girl had her hands clenched into fists, which she held out in front of her, lined up at the knuckles. Starbolts were leaping out of her hands straight at him, and it took all of his concentration to dodge them. He landed against the wall and jumped back, landing on her back and jumping onto one of the beams. That made her even more angry, but before she could fire at him again, he turned and let a jolt of electricity loose from his hands. It bounced off the metal rafters and crossed at the middle in a dramatic and sparking X, hitting her where they crossed. She let out a shout and fell to the ground.

Beast Boy as a pterodactyl flew into the air behind him, changing into a gorilla and raising his fists to punch him. Red X pulled an X out of his belt, enlarged it, and stuck it in the changeling's mouth. He leaped away, noting Beast Boy turn into a hippo to get his jaw wide enough to dislodge the X, making himself fall off the rafters in the process.

Red X shook his head. He wasn't even breaking a sweat. He landed on the ground in a crouch, the cyborg running toward him. He smirked under his mask and raised his arm, loosing yet another X from his palm. It hit Cyborg's forearm before enlarging and sticking to the boxes stacked around him. It contracted and the boxes were flung back at the cybernetic teen, burying him under a pile of splintered wood. This wasn't even hard.

He didn't have time to bask in his own victory before the Titans reconvened around him, the alien girl looking the angriest he had ever seen anyone ever, and the rest of them weren't looking too happy, either. Cyborg stood, stretching out to his full height and brushing a stray plank of wood off his shoulder, turning his arm into his sonic cannon.

Red X stood with his arms at his sides. "Come on, kids. X marks the spot," he quipped with a point at the emblem on his suit.

He back handspringed away from Cyborg's first blast, using the boxes Raven was throwing at him to regain his footing and dodge again. Pushing through the air, starbolts whirled by him as he twisted himself just out of their path.

Landing in a crouch at Beast Boy's feet, he looked calmly into the face of the green gorilla and glanced at the top of a stack of boxes as he teleported away from the changeling's giant fists.

He reappeared on the stack of boxes, Robin tackling him as soon as he did so. Damn, he should have been expecting that. Kid knew how the suit worked. X landed standing as Robin crouched in front of him, looking angry. It was hard to tell if he was angrier than usual, because from what could normally be observed, Robin was angry most of the time.

He threw a birdarang at the thief, who simply teleported and reappeared behind him as he caught the weapon. Red X swung a punch, but Robin dropped onto his hands and held the criminal's wrist between his ankles, giving a surprisingly forceful thrust as he turned his body into a handspring, sending Red X over his head.

Robin swung a punch when he landed on his feet, but Red X teleported a little, grabbing his arm and twisting it painfully. He threw Robin on the ground and flipped back, jumping at him with a foot extended. The Teen Wonder caught the sole of his foot and gave a powerful push, sending the criminal into a stack of boxes. He held his hand over Red X's face.

"Who are you?" he growled.

Under the mask, Red X rolled his eyes. "If I wanted you to know that, I wouldn't be wearing the mask." He activated the electric pulse in his glove and grabbed Robin's wrist, punching him back into a rather large wooden crate. It splintered under him and broke completely. Red X vaguely hoped that this company didn't make wooden crates; the structural integrity wasn't very sound.

Raven and Cyborg ran at him, and X threw a crossed weapon at them and it glowed and enlarged in the air, engulfing them both in red light. Cyborg's cannon zapped Raven, and Raven's black energy snaked over Cyborg's form. "Looks like you got your wires crossed," he remarked dryly.

Another starbolt landed at his feet and he jumped back into a handspring, pushing himself into a flip and raising his palm to shoot an X at her. She was pinned to the wall with her hands at her sides, which should take care of her annoying bolts.

Unable to stop himself, he went over to her and cupped her chin in his hand. She glared at up him. Oh, yeah. She was pissed. He smirked at her under the mask. "You know, cutie, the only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out an a-"

She shot beams at him from her eyes, which surprised him. Okay, maybe he deserved that. That's what he got for playing with his food. It was just so fun to make them angry at him, and it certainly wasn't hard. He slammed into crates, cracking them and landing on the floor. Ow.

A green polar bear was running at him, which was actually more terrifying than it sounded. He pounded the ground, red light emanating from his palm and creeping over the floor in the shape of an X, cracking the ground where the light touched. Beast Boy fell in the hole perfectly. "Mind the gap," Red X called after him, his voice echoing through the cavern he'd created.

That was all of them. He walked calmly over to Robin, nudging him off the ray gun with a foot on his chest and scooping it up. Robin started chasing him- seriously, kid, give it a rest- and he shouted, "I went let you get away with-"

He was cut off when X loosed another device at him, red cord stretching around his ankles and making him topple to the ground. Red X turned to face Robin.

"Better luck next time, kid. And thanks for the suit." X pushed the button on the middle of his belt, but he only half-shimmered. The teleport didn't go through. "Come on, come!" he grumbled, pounding the button furiously.

Robin snapped the restraint around his ankles, starting the pursuit again. "Great," X sighed, giving up on the teleport and running. He jumped through a skylight and landed on the roof, jamming his fist into the button. It sparked and made a sound, which seemed to indicate that it was working. He leaped into the air as Robin threw himself at him.

"Catch ya later," Red X said as he turned toward Robin in the air, giving him a two-finger salute just before shimmering away.

…

Beast Boy approached Robin, a doubtful look on his face. He poked him in shoulder once, then pushed him. Robin allowed himself to teeter back a little before frowning at him. "What are you doing?"

Beast Boy glared at him. "I'm only gonna ask this once: Are you a hologram?"

Robin scowled back. "No."

Beast Boy pushed him again. "Okay, fine, whatever. You're not a hologram. But you could be a robot. Cy? Check him for batteries."

"Wait. Guys! It wasn't me, I swear!" He punctuated his statement by holding one hand over his heart and holding three fingers in the air. Then, softer, he repeated, "It wasn't me." Dejected, his head hung on his shoulders. "Red X was a mistake I won't ever make again."

…

"But who is he?" Cyborg demanded, a hand rubbing his aching head. "If Robin's the ex-Red X, who's the new guy?"

Beast Boy interrupted him by rolling out a chalkboard and displaying it for Raven and Starfire, who were sitting on opposite sides of the middle of the semicircular couch. "Okay, if he's not Robin's long-lost twin, then he's obviously a bionic monkey infused with Robin's DNA."

Starfire glared at him. His theories were ridiculous, but she still didn't understand. Knowing she should probably just let this one go, she was unable to stop herself from asking, "But why would the monkey also be bionic?"

Beast Boy grinned at her and he raised a finger in the air, ready to punctuate whatever point he was about to make, when Raven encapsulated the chalkboard with her powers and made it spin rapidly. Beast Boy was caught in it and flew over the counter in the Titans' kitchenette.

"Face it," she said mournfully. "Red X could be anyone. Anyone smart enough to steal the suit and dumb enough to take it for a joyride."

Cyborg nodded. "Which brings us to you, li'l lady," Cyborg said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We saw what you were doin'. Didja get a good look at his face? If we get enough of his physical features, we could put that in a database and-"

She glared at him, allowing a glow to creep into her eyes. "Do not be fooled. I was tricked."

"Uh huh," Cyborg said doubtfully. "So why were you helpin' him steal that scanner?" He raised his eyebrow at her challengingly.

She sighed. "I was under the impression that he was-!"

"It doesn't matter," Robin interrupted, brushing past her moodily. "I created Red X. I don't want her help." He shot her a disdainful look over his shoulder before turning back to his monitor. "Every system, every weapon; it's mine. Red X is my responsibility."

Cyborg sighed. "Well if we're gonna catch him, we at least need to figure out what he's after."

"I already know," Robin grumbled darkly. "Xynothium. The fuel that powers the suit."

Starfire gasped, forgetting his snide comment in her shock and horror.

"No," Raven breathed, eyes wide.

"Aw, man! I never understand anything!" Beast Boy pouted.

"Xynothium?!" Cyborg shrieked." You powered that suit with xynothium?! Are you crazy? Man, that stuff is dangerous, and unstable! Tell me you were not stupid enough to go messin' with it!"

"Like I said: it was a mistake," Robin muttered. "The scanner Red X stole will locate any Xynothium within a ten-mile radius.

"So we must locate it first," Starfire concluded, wide-eyed.

"Red X isn't the only one with a scanner. I'm downloading the molecular signature and transmitting to your communicators."

"Thanks," Robin said as he turned to the doors. "But I won't need it."

"How are you gonna find the Xynothium without a scanner?" Cyborg demanded.

"The same way I found it the first time." The doors slid closed behind him.

"Um?" Beast Boy demanded after him.

"Let 'im go," Cyborg said. "He's in one a' those moods."

Beast Boy sighed. "He's only pissed cause his not-girlfriend's all kissing on not-him."

Starfire glowered at him and shot a weak starbolt at him with a flick of her wrist.

"I ain't goin' to chase his moody ass around Jump. We should look, too. There's no point in downloading a scanner to each of your communicators, now. It'll take too long and Robin'll be all done by the time we start."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Starfire asked anxiously.

"You're helpin' us?" Cyborg demanded doubtfully.

"Well, I am already here. And I wish to atone for my lapse in judgment."

"A physical sweep of the city. Me an' BB'll take the south side, you girls take the north. Raven go west, Star go east. Robin'll let us know when he wants our help."

She paused. "And me?"

Cyborg studied her carefully. "You still got that old communicator? I'll set it up so our calls go to that frequency for a while. But you gotta give that back. You can't be totin' it around town like an accessory, waltzin' in our Tower whenever you want."

"Of course," Starfire answered with a roll of her eyes.

...

Red X landed quietly on the roof of the building next to his target.

"If Cyborg's hurt… it's my fault."

Dammit. That was Boy Blunder's voice. How'd he get here first?

"Robin…"

"I'm responsible, Starfire. For everything that's happened."

"No, Robin. The error you made? It is in the past. You are no longer the one inside that suit."

Red X couldn't handle much more of this. "And personally, I think it looks much cooler on me." He was pleased with the reaction he got from that. Robin looked pretty pissed, but again, he usually was. Starfire glared at him.

He palmed some shuriken and threw them; Robin, ever-helpful, gave his team a cry of, "Move!"

They scattered, and as Raven flew toward Red X, he threw yet another device at her. It flew through the air, enlarging until it threw her back, knocking her into Beast Boy in rhinoceros form. They were thrown back into Starfire at the ledge of the building.

Robin charged him, and he held out his wrist blade to block him. He pushed Robin to the side on his second attempt, and when he got back up, Red X flicked the domino mask back, sending Robin staggering away, holding his face.

Red X shook his head. Really, it was too easy! He was getting spoiled, He dove off the face of the building, unleashing his grappling hook to control his descent. The foyer of the building was a large circle with many branching hallways, and he wasn't sure which way to go. He set the center of the circle as the coordinates on the teleporter- the belt allowed for one programmed location as well as the line-of-sight teleporting- and he headed down one hallway. Finding that one to be a dead end, he started back at the rotunda.

This time, he appeared to have chosen the right location. The scanner wouldn't work this close- it was pretty much just emitting a high-pitched whine instead of beeping at all- so he couldn't be sure, but he couldn't imagine what else they could be hiding behind the steel doors he'd just found. He observed the locking mechanisms, trying to figure it out, when he heard footsteps. Metal-soled footsteps.

Red X engaged the cloaking device and stood very still. He wasn't invisible, exactly, but he should be safe as long as he didn't move. Robin came close to the steel doors, looking up at the lock, when a high pitched scream tore through the air.

Both boys jerked in that direction, and Robin muttered, "Starfire?"

Yep, there was definitely something going on there. Red X didn't have time to wait for this. Robin could go check on his girlfriend after he'd gotten his xynothium. He crossed his arms over his chest and deactivated the cloaking device, leaning casually against the doors. Robin retreated a few steps down the hall before hesitating. His girlfriend or whatever just let out a terrified scream, and he'd rather stay and protect the xynothium. Red X was slightly impressed.

"What's the matter, kid?" Red X asked, and Robin turned quickly, apparently forgetting about Starfire. "Don't you wanna play? After all, they're your toys." He spread his fingers to show the shuriken to Robin.

He threw them and Robin ducked, the shuriken exploding when they made contact with a control panel on the wall. The doors behind Red X opened and he ducked inside.

There were infrared lasers, but they weren't a problem for the two boys. They flipped through them, mere annoyances instead of the intimidating security measure they were supposed to be. The hall of lasers ended at crevice in the wall, revealing a drop and some kind of clear barrier. Red X slammed his palm onto the barrier and it cracked open the way the ground had earlier, allowing him through. Robin wasn't so lucky.

Red X stopped to look up at Robin, who'd slammed heavily into the barrier, before he continued down the hall. The next obstacle was a floor with digitized tiles. The criminal glanced back down the hall and decided to wait for Robin to activate this particular boobie-trap. He clicked on the cloaking device and waited.

Not long after that, Robin came down the hall cautiously. He was looking for Red X, and he must know about the cloaking device, so Red X stayed very still. Robin glanced down at the floor, then at the door.

Red X stepped out behind him and nudged him onto the floor. "After you."

Robin glared up at the criminal, but his attention was soon taken by a rather large laser. And not the infrared kind. Ironically, an X appeared on the floor at Robin's feet, the laser moving across the ceiling toward him. Red X took a moment to admire it- it was pretty cool looking.

While the laser was moving, it was easier for him to jump across the floor, staying light on his feet in case the extra weight messed with the laser. He landed on the other side of the elevated floor. "Thanks for the hand, kid," he said as the doors opened behind him and he slipped through them.

Finally, the room with all the xynothium. It was round and dark, and there were several small vaults along the wall. There was a stick of xynothium suspended in an anti-gravity beam, and he approached the monitor in front of it.

"Xynothium ore," he purred to himself, pleased. He pressed a button and a robotic arm took hold of the ore, handing it to him. "Enough to power the suit for a good long time."

X grabbed one of the yellow holding pods and put the last stick of xynothium in its slot. "I love it when the good guy wins." Okay. So not good guy. But it wasn't like he was going to use the suit to steal money from old ladies with blue hair. He just needed insurance against Luthor's goons. …Plus, the screen on his iMac was cracked, and, well… those weren't cheap.

The walls behind him appeared to start melting, and Red X turned to watch, not surprised at all, as a red beam of light cut through it. Robin appeared as the door fell in, giant laser in his arms. Red X honestly couldn't even guess at how he managed that.

"You're not going to win."

Was that an admission of Red X being the good guy? Before he could point that out, Robin jumped and delivered a hard spin kick. The xynothium pod clattered to the ground as Red X was thrown back. The pod should protect it, but seriously. That stuff was unstable.

"Kid… you are taking life wayyyy too seriously."

Robin ignored that and jumped at him. Red X dodged and Robin threw exploding spheres at him. Red X dodged again, and now Robin was closer to his xynothium. X checked a handful of shuriken at Robin, and all but one sank into the wall behind, one being deflected by his bo-staff.

Red X wasn't really used to fighting against a weapon like that. Seriously, who used those? Relatively useless as a weapon, except for ramming the end into people's stomachs. The only thing worse were eskrima sticks (3).

With a squeeze of his fists, X-blades popped out on his wrists. He wasn't very used to these, and he wasn't sure how well they'd hold up to Robin's bo-staff. X took a few swipes at Robin, all of which he either jumped over or blocked. He rammed both fists at the Teen Wonder, and he held his bo-staff horizontally to counter him.

Robin shoved him back, forcing him onto the ground, and Red X activated the spinning component. Robin's shocked face made X glad he'd added that. He took a few more strikes at the Teen Wonder, and while Robin seemed to be more on the defensive now, he still couldn't get past his stupid bo-staff. Robin clacked his staff against the blades horizontally again, halting their spinning.

"Why did you steal the suit? What are you planning to do?"

Red X rolled his eyes. That was what this was about? There was no grand scheme. He didn't want the city held at ransom, or world domination, or even to become fabulously wealthy overnight. Although that last one didn't seem so bad. Narrowing his eyes, he answered with the one thing that would bug Robin more than planting a false lead to some crazy plan: the truth.

"Whatever I want." He leaned back and Robin overbalanced, which put X in a perfect position to kick him in the stomach to send him flying into the ground behind him. "Not everyone likes to play the big villain, kid. I'm a thief. I'm not threatening your precious city. Just lookin' out for number one."

"So you're not psychotic. You're just selfish," Robin spat back.

Red X rolled his eyes. What kind of insult was that? If he had a choice between those two, he'd definitely pick selfish. "Lighten up, chuckles. I'm not such a bad guy." He raised his hands, palms out, which normally indicated a submissive position. "Once you get to know me." He loosed two more shuriken, one from each hand, aiming one high and one low. The low one caught Robin around the ankle.

Jumping into the air, X brought his foot down hard, but Robin rolled at the last second and he missed. He took a hard kick in the back, which sent him face first against the wall, but also put him next to the xynothium pod. He grabbed it, done with this.

"Play time's over, kid." Robin ignored him and brandished a birdarang. "Back off, or I trip the power core. And the core triggers the rocks. I don't think you want that on your conscience."

"And I don't think you wanna be disintegrated."

Reed X turned at the sound of footsteps. …Astronauts were coming toward them, each carrying some weird tricked-out trident. Before he could react, he was blasted so hard that his world went black.

When he came to, he was in a beam of light. He rubbed his pained head.. "Okay… who were the moon men?" As a response, steel bars rose from the ground all the way up to the vaulted ceiling.

"Criminals," Robin said as he stepped up to the monitor in front of the bars. "Just like you."

"Come on, kid. You don't really think this little playpen can hold me?" Red X grabbed the bars and narrowed his eyes. Annoyingly, Robin sent an electric pulse through the bars and he got a good shock that tore through his arms into his chest.

"You don't even care, do you?" The Boy Blunder demanded incredulously. "A lowlife maniac just got his hands on enough xynothium to disintegrate the entire city, and it's your fault!"

Red X narrowed his eyes at Robin. Was he forgetting who made the stupid suit in the first place? "Don't you mean our fault?"

"At least I'm going to do something about it!" he growled. "And if you cared about anything other than yourself, you'd be helping!"

"Sorry, kid," Red X said with a shrug, not feeling sorry at all. "Some guys don't like to play the hero."

"I'll be back to take you to jail." And Robin left. Red X rolled his eyes and teleported out. He was seriously running low on xynothium. He'd have to get more somewhere. Dammit. He was going to have to help. Besides, he kind of owed Starfire. She did help him with the scanner, even if she didn't know she was helping him.

...

Robin had fucked things up for himself pretty badly by the time Red X arrived. He was hanging off the singed edge of the railing of the vaulted walkway by one hand, the barrel of the laser pointed right at him. "Okay, good boy. Who should I destroy first? You? Or your pretty friend?"

The huge laser unlocked from its aim on Robin and it lowered to Starfire. Which was really kind of overkill.

"Starfire!" Robin called, reaching one hand out to her as if that would help at all.

She struggled against whatever type of hold she was in, but it didn't seem to be helping. Red X sighed. He couldn't just let her get disintegrated.

His shuriken sank into the control panel of the laser in front of Professor Chang. Blue sparks lit up the board and the Professor recoiled.

Starfire gasped and her eyes met his. She looked from him to Robin, who was dangling precariously on a half-disintegrated railing. He gave her a two-finger salute and launched himself into the air, catching Robin as the part of the railing he was grabbing broke. He dumped the boy unceremoniously on solid ground.

He rolled onto his side and pushed himself onto his elbow. "I thought you didn't like to play the hero?"

Red X smirked. "Doesn't mean I don't know how."

Robin had already taken out a bunch of the goons, but Red X got a few shots in. He and Robin actually had similar fighting styles, which was annoying. Red X went for cheaper shots, though.

The laser went haywire and almost disintegrated Starfire's head off before tearing across the entire room, making half of the building slide off the mountain.

Robin was busy with the creep who made the laser, and Red X picked up a stick of Xynothium ore. "Time to get what I came for."

The four Titans grouped up in front of him, and Starfire was floating off to the side, watching.

"Time's up," Raven said in response.

"Thanks for the help, X," Robin thanked him with a smile. Aw. Adorable. He was actually thanking him. "But don't think that means you can help yourself."

"No problem, kid." He brandished the red tube at him, smirking under his mask. "This should keep me going for quite a while."

With an even bigger smirk, Robin answered, "That won't do you much good without this." He held up Red X's fucking belt. Red X glanced down, wide eyed. How the hell did he manage that? "Better luck next time."

The rest of his team, and Starfire, who'd come closer during the exchange and was hovering above the others, all looked amused. He had to admit, there wasn't much he could really do. Robin still intended to arrest him, so he couldn't stick around. He put his hands up, unable to throw the Xes from his palms without any power, and backed up until his heel met air. "Not bad, kid. Not bad." He surprised them all by throwing the tube on the ground and jumping off the cliff.

...

The Titans split up to look for Red X on the face of the mountain, but Starfire knew that they wouldn't find him. He was just as crafty as Robin, and as capable. He would be fine. She wanted that belt, though. She hovered behind Robin as she slipped a stick of xynothium ore into a secret pocket in her gauntlet.

"You know," she said when the others had gone, "you and he are very similar."

Robin turned to her. "We're not, really."

"Why do you think that? Because of your better morals? You are the high and mighty, yes?"

He frowned at her. "You helped him steal that scanner. I should arrest you."

She shrugged and held out her arms. "Very well, then. Put the handcuffs on me and send me to one of your Earth jails. I am sure that it would be quite effective in stopping me." She smiled, proud of herself. "Catwoman has been wishing for me to understand the sarcasm. I was successful at the technique, was I not?"

Robin just narrowed his eyes at her. "There are facilities we can send you to. This isn't a joke, Starfire."

"Yes, your Arkham, am I correct? And your Belle Reeve? Trust me when I say that thet cannot compare to the prisons where I have been held." She tilted her head at him. "Does it bother you that I am not frightened of you?"

He looked away from her. "I don't want anybody to be scared of me."

"Only when it is convenient, yes?"

"Well, I mean... I guess there are times when it's better that..."

She stepped close to him and spoke softly. "I am not afraid of you, Robin. Nor am I afraid of your Batman. Nor am I afraid of Catwoman, although she sometimes tries to be intimidating."

He gulped and she allowed herself a small smile. He stood rigidly, though, and he didn't back up. "Why not?"

"There is no point. Imprison me, if you wish. Lock me in a small box. It will never be as terrible as what I have already endured. This planet and the people of this planet have shown me more kindness than I have seen anywhere else in my life." She brought her gaze up to his mask and tilted her head. He narrowed his eyes at her and she wondered if it was so she couldn't see through it. "Why is that, Robin?" she asked softly.

"Um, what? Why is what?"

She smiled at him and took the fabric of his cape, which was drawn around his shoulders, in two fingers. He tried to back up a little, but she held him firmly. "Why are the humans so kind? Of course, not all of you. Some of you are ruthless. But they are not the oddity."

"Hey, cut it out," he mumbled tugging on his cape.

"I do not have scissors or other sharp utensiles with which to do the cutting," she said innocently.

He scowled at her. "Let go!"

She waited until he tugged again to let go. He stepped back a few times, putting space between them "I must be going, now, Robin. I will do the seeing you of around." She brought her hand up to show him the Red X belt she clutched in her hand.

He went rigid, eyes wide. "Hey! Give that back, Starfire."

"I did not hear you say please," she cooed, taking a few steps backward before hopping into the air.

"I'm not kidding around." He pointed his grappling hook gun at her and she took off before he could deploy it.

...

She kept Red X's belt in her penthouse with her. She was assuming Red X could still scan for xynothium, and oddly, she didn't have a probelm with him finding her here. Of course, the Titans could find her here, as well, but she didn't think they knew about her having xynothium and she didn't believe they would look for it any time soon. Red X would be busy trying to build himself a new suit.

He came when she was sleeping. He probably waited all day to come steal the belt back. Starfire was an extremely light sleeper. Plus, she'd hidden the belt in the dresser next to her bed. Next to the side of the bed she slept on.

The wood opened quietly and as a reaction, she reached out, clutching his wrist in an iron grip.

"Ah! Let go, cutie, it's me."

"Red X?" Starfired murmured sleepily.

He looked down at her as she sat, stretching her arms out behind her. "What the hell are you even doing with xynothium, anyway?"

"That is no way to speak to someone who obtained for you a present," she scolded lightly.

"A present," he echoed. "You have a present for me."

"Indeed!" She pulled open her drawer the rest of the way and pulled out the belt. "I have already stocked it with one tube of xynothium ore. That much should last you several months, yes?"

He too it from her. "I... yeah. You put the xynothium in here? It takes a very careful hand and a lot of know how, plus-"

"I am very talented with chemistry and the handling of delicate objects," she snapped.

"Okay, jeez. So this is where you live?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Sit," she commanded. He did, gingerly. Starfire lifted his mask so that it rested across the bridge of his nose and pressed her lips against his lightly. He was surprised by that, she could tall, but after a few seconds his lifted his arms to touch her shoulders. She broke the kiss and batted his hands away.

"That is for assisting Robin. Your actions saved my life and... they saved his, as well."

Red X pulled down his mask all the way. "I don't know how to feel about a hot girl kissing me and then thanking me for saving her... boyfriend? Seriously, what's the deal there?"

She glared at him and crossed her arms over chest. "Do not think too much about it. A kiss on my planet is a sign of affection, yes, but it also transfers language and emotion. I was attempting to thank you."

"Sure. Whatever. I accept your gratitude, and any time you wanna thank me some more, you can come find me."

She rolled her eyes. "Red X?" she called sweetly.

"Yeah?"

"Vacate my home," she said. He just tilted his head at her and she allowed energy to seep into her eyes.

"Okay, okay!" he said as he sprang off the bed. "I'm going!"

He stood and clipped on the belt. She waited until he grappled away and onto another building to flop onto her stomach. She shouldn't have done that. Kissed him. He just reminded her so much of Robin and... She let out a frustrated sigh. Robin was most rude to her. She would need to figure out why he was upset with her. Perhaps she should talk to Selina about it.

With that comforting thought, she rolled onto her side and allowed herself to drift to sleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12 - Betrothed

"What do you mean, married?!" Selina spluttered into her webcam.

Starfire stared down at the keyboard. "I understand that it is quite difficult. But it is what is necessary."

"Okay, jeez. Um, who's the lucky guy, Starburst?" Harley asked, frowning.

"I... do not know. I have never met my betrothed." Starfire traced her finger over the keys in the shape of stairs.

"Starfire," Selina said softly. "Your planet... it's important to you. I get that. You want to protect your people. But... You don't need to sacrifice yourself for them. There has to be another way."

She squeezed her eyes shut. Selina was being kind, of course. She was always kind, in the end. Starfire usually enjoyed Selina's kind words and her concern and protectiveness. She often could not believe that she was lucky enough to have someone other than Galfore care for her in such a way. But today, Selina's kindness pierced her like a blade. She couldn't stand it.

"There is no other way," the alien princess said solemnly.

Harley shot her a sympathetic look. "Well... well maybe you'll get there and he'll be really hot?"

Starfire sighed. "Perhaps."

"Yeah. There you go. Look on the bright side!" the blonde balled her hand into a fist and bent her elbow, sweeping her arm across her chest.

Selina narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Harls... go hang out in the toy room for a sec, okay?"

Harley tilted her head, knowing that she was being sent away. But she smiled anyway, and she chirped, "Sure thing, Kitty! Talk to ya later, Starry!" She waved at the camera and flounced away.

Selina looked at Starfire for a long moment, and Starfire rested her chin on her hand.

"Starfire," Selina began, softly but sternly. "You've already been through so much. It's not fair of your people to ask this of you. Your life doesn't belong to them."

Starfire shook her head and dropped her eyes. "No, my friend, you are wrong. My life will always belong to Tamaran. If sacrificing myself- whether it is the spilling of my blood or the giving of my heart and body- saves my planet and my people, I will do it. And gladly," she added, although she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Selina or herself.

The older woman just stared at her. "I think you're making a mistake."

"Thank you for being so supportive," the teenager mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't you think you've paid your dues already?" Selina demanded. "How long were you on the Citadel, again?"

"It does not matter. I am still alive. I still have work to do."

"Okay. Fine. Go back to Tamaran. Give your life away. But, Starfire..."

There was a moment of silence and Starfire lifted her eyes to the camera. Selina was waiting for her to look up again, and now that she had, she continued. "I'll be here. You can always talk to me."

Starfire swallowed. "Oh, Selina, I cannot. Once I am married, I do not believe I will be allowed any contact with worlds other than my own."

"You can't be serious."

"It is a common practice. I have... got to go."

Starfire quickly hung up and brushed at the tears that were spilling over her eyes. Oh, she would miss Selina.

The speakers from her computer emitted a high-pitched ringing. Selina was calling back. Starfire snapped her laptop shut. She couldn't go through that again. It was too painful.

She walked over to her round bed and threw herself on her stomach. The sun was just winking out over the horizon, setting in the pretty way that it did here.

She didn't expect her goodbye to Selina and Harley to hurt so badly. She'd really become attached to the woman who'd taken her in and her odd friend. She even found Poison Ivy interesting, although she was rather haughty and she seemed to regard Starfire mostly with disdain.

She wasn't quite finished. She wanted to go say goodbye to Robin, as well. The thought of doing that made her throat constrict. She let tears spill from her eyes freely and pulled her blankets over her feet. She didn't want to sleep, really, because that would make the next day come faster. But she didn't have the willpower to make herself do anything else.

...

Selina growled to herself. She drummed her fingers on the desk and ran her hand through her hair.

She should just let it go. She offered to help. The brat turned her down. She wasn't about to get any more involved than she needed to. It wasn't her fault the kid was so intent on throwing her life away.

Dammit. She couldn't just let her. Fuck if she knew why, but she was invested in this kid.

The screen was dotted with different icons. There was Harley's, Ivy's, both Bruce Wayne's and Batman's, Oracle's... the mouse hovered over one in particular. Selina rolled her eyes at herself and clicked it. While it was ringing, she remembered herself and pulled on the hood of her Catwoman suit and pulled the goggles over her eyes.

There was no answer. Selina sulked at that a little, but she wasn't very concerned. With a teeny bit of simple hacking, Bruce's entrance code, and the fact that she knew her way around Wayne security systems, she was able to make her call go through to the main monitor in that ridiculous Tower.

A living room of sorts appeared, two teenage boys dropping the controllers to some kind of video game console in surprise.

"Shit!" the green boy squeaked. "It's Catwoman!"

"How'd you do that?" the robotic boy asked, wide eyed. "This system is protected by my own personal firewalls, not to mention-"

There was a girl on the couch as well, away from the boys, and she was reading from a book. She didn't deign to look up, which kinda bugged Selina.

"Tell me," Selina purred to the two boys on the couch, "where's Robin?"

The boys gave her a skeptical look and she raised her eyebrows to show them that she wasn't messing around.

"Uh... I'll get 'im, Ms. Catwoman," the green boy offered before turning into a green cheetah and scampering away.

She waited impatiently until the doors slid open again. Robin did not look happy. Which was kind of satisfying.

"What do you want?" he asked from the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest moodily. The green boy was hiding behind his cape, peeking around his shoulder at Selina.

"Answering my video calls is not optional, Robin," she scolded.

Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "Guys, can I get a minute?" he asked his teammates. The green boy scampered away, looking relieved to be dismissed. The robot boy let his controller clatter to the ground and he left too. The dark girl didn't move and she turned a page with her powers. It wasn't until Robin stood on the side of the couch closest to the monitor that she let out an annoyed sigh and disappeared into the ground.

"Hello!" Selina said brightly.

He didn't look very amused. "What?" Robin demanded impatiently.

"I need a favor."

"Haven't I done you enough favors?" he snapped. "I have a team. I can't just leave them to help you do whatever is that you-"

"I'm sorry. Not me." Selina looked at her nails for a dramatic pause and Robin stopped his protest. "Starfire needs a favor."

"I've done more than enough favors for her, too," he snapped.

Selina raised her eyebrows at her. "Did you two get in a lover's spat? What's the matter?"

He sulked for a minute before saying, "I just can't keep helping her out. She's a criminal and I'm a hero. It doesn't work like that."

She gave him a stern look. "She's an alien who's lost and confused," she countered.

"And I offered to help her out. She wasn't interested. I'm done. Unless she's robbing another jewelry store the way you taught her-" he paused to glare at Selina- "I can't keep doing her favors. So, sorry. Get someone else to help you."

She studied him, looking indignant, annoyed, and suspicious all at once. "Is this about that Red X guy?"

A very faint blush spread over his cheeks. "No," he said too loudly. "How do you know about that, anyway?"

Selina rolled her eyes. "Some random guy kisses Starfire and you didn't think she'd tell me about it?"

"You didn't tell Bruce, did you?" Robin asked quietly.

"No, sweetie, I didn't. You're going to have to soon, though." Selina waved her hand dismissively. "This is not what I wanted to talk to you about. You're going to help me help Starfire, and you're going to enjoy it. We'll be there to pick you up in the morning."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "I am not. What do you mean we?"

"Me, Harley, maybe Ivy..."

"Poison Ivy? I'm not helping you if Ivy goes."

Selina rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Just don't kiss her. You know all about how that works, don't you, Dickie?"

"Shut up."

"Can't you immunize yourself to that?" Selina asked with a tilt of her head.

"You can't immunize yourself to pheromones. What do you even need help with, anyway? What'd she get herself into, this time?"

Selina narrowed her eyes at him, not liking the implication that Starfire 'gets herself into' things. "It's not her fault," she snapped at him.

"Yeah, yeah. What is it?" he demanded impatiently.

Selina paused and looked down. "She's leaving, Dick."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Leaving? You mean she's going back to her home?"

She scowled at him. "Her home is in Jump. She's going back to Tamaran."

Robin didn't seem very affected by that, which made Selina angry. He knew what she was like. He knew how special she was.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

Maybe he was more affected by that than he let on. "She's... she's getting married."

He blushed again, this time more prominently. "What?!" he spluttered.

"That's what I said!"

Robin narrowed his eyes at the screen, recovering. "If she's getting married, I don't see why there needs to be any kind of interference."

"No, you little idiot, you don't understand. She's being forced to get married."

"Oh." Robin tilted his head thoughtfully. "Maybe it's a Tamaranean thing. Maybe it's just what her people do."

Selina glowered at him. "I'm going to go over there and personally beat some sense into you. There's something wrong about all of this. She needs us."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Selina. Maybe she just needs you."

She stared at him for a second before putting her face very close to the camera. "I am not kidding about this. You're going to help me with this and I don't give a damn if you want to or not. You're going to be ready tomorrow morning when we come get you. Tonight, you're going to get your ass over to that penthouse to talk some sense into her."

"You can't order me around," Robin growled. "I'm not a sidekick anymore."

Selina sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not giving you a job as a sidekick. I was asking you as a friend. Now I'm threatening you."

Robin laughed. "Threatening me? I can break even with you in a fight, at the very least."

"Not a fight. Blackmail," she purred with a smile.

Robin blanched. "What do you mean, blackmail?"

"I'm not sure yet. There are so many options. You think about that. I'm going to be watching the security tapes of the penthouse. If I don't see you there, I don't think I have to go into every painful detail about what's going to happen to you."

He glared down at his feet. "I don't know where the penthouse is," he mumbled.

"Figure it out," Selina ordered, her face blank. She leaned forward and ended the call, closing her laptop.

She held her hand up to her forehead. She had work to do. Pack a little, get out her extra Catwoman uniforms, get Harley ready... acquire a spaceship...

Sending Robin over to her was a good move. It wouldn't change Starfire's mind, of course, but seeing him again would make her upset. And an upset Starfire was more likely to listen to Selina's reasoning than a determined, independent one.

"Hey, Harley..." she called as she stood up and pulled off her Catwoman hood. "Wanna go to a tropical planet covered with orange cat-people?"

Harley appeared in the doorframe. "You bet your sweet patootie, I do!" she chirped.

...

Robin threw himself back onto the sofa. Selina couldn't just order him around. She wasn't in charge of him. Blackmail. He wondered what she had in mind. She could probably very easily dig something up on him, either as Robin or as Dick Grayson. He wasn't sure if she would. Bruce would be pissed. Although, that only stopped Selina most of the time.

He was just finishing up damage reports, anyway. Maybe it wouldn't hurt. Of course, he'd have to go research and snoop to find Selina's damn penthouse. He shouldn't do it. He couldn't do favors for Selina just because she got huffy and teary eyed. He wasn't connected to Starfire. In any way.

Well, in the way that she was a bad guy and he was a good guy. Mostly. All of his attempts to arrest her had failed, when he tried. He kicked the coffee table back. Okay. Maybe he had some kind of... crush on her. Or something. But that wasn't his fault. Within the first ten minutes of meeting him, she'd kissed him. If that wasn't grounds for at least noticing that a girl was pretty, then he didn't know what was. And she toyed with him. He knew she did and he was sure she knew she did. She'd come up to him and invade his personal space and grab his cape and she'd say things.

More evidence that this was not his fault. And all this just made it so confusing. Why had she kissed Red X? He squeezed his eyes shut. Oh, he'd been angry when he saw that. Angry at her. Why would she spend so much time flirting with him and looking at him the way she does if she was just going to kiss other guys?

He took a deep breath. He couldn't do this. It wasn't okay. Not only was she his enemy, he was... well, he was Robin. Robin couldn't have a crush. There were so many things wrong with that. He'd get distracted. She'd have influence over him. Selina was already using that to her advantage.

She was leaving. Forever. She'd be gone. It was for the better, really.

But maybe seeing her one more time wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't help anything, but it wouldn't hurt. She was leaving and there was nothing he could do about that.

He stalked out of the common room back to his investigation room and looked up the apartments and penthouses in Jump. He searched for Selina Kyle, assuming she'd rented the place in her name. If she hadn't she would have told him.

Found it. It was in one of the nicest buildings in Jump, which really shouldn't surprise him. Selina was one for luxury.

He went down to the garage and grabbed his helmet. Cyborg was down there, and he stopped hovering over a motor- probably for the T-car, but Robin couldn't be sure- and he narrowed his eyes at his leader.

"Everythin' okay, man?"

"Yeah."

"What'd Catwoman want?"

"It's not important," Robin told him dismissively.

"So... where're you goin' now?"

"It's okay. I'm not being forced into anything. I promise." He smiled reassuringly.

Cyborg didn't look any less worried. "Okay. But if you need anything... you know we got your back."

Robin mounted the R-cycle and smiled at him. "Yeah. I know." He revved the engine and shot through the tunnel that went under the bay, emerging through a decoy dumpster and coming out of an alleyway.

He was going to be quick about this. Go in there, say bye forever, get out. Simple. She was probably packing her wedding dress, anyway.

He parked the bike and locked it up. His locking mechanism was much more effective than Cyborg's. He rigged so that unless he deactivated it first, the bike sent a shock to whoever touched. Not enough to do real damage, of course. But it hurt. He tested it on Beast Boy, which he kind of felt bad about but the results had been hilarious.

The grappling hook released with a pneumatic puff of air and pulled him up onto the roof. Right above Starfire's penthouse. There were several skylights dotted across the roof, and through one he could see her bed, which was raised on a sort of dais, two steps high. The room was empty. Robin opened the skylight and dropped in. The bed was round, just like he'd seen when he went into the future, and it was unmade.

Seashells were everywhere. There were a few she'd turned into jewelry, there were shells which she'd put into vases artfully, shells glued around picture frames, shells on the top of almost every flat surface. It was a little odd.

The apartment was dark. None of the lights were on, so she must not be here. Robin knew that there was only one other place she would be, and he tried not to think about what that said about their relationship.

He went to stand on her bed to exit through the open skylight when he saw an array of things sprawled on her bedside table. Which wasn't a big deal, and he would've left if one of them wasn't the bracelet he'd given her. And, weirdly, a birdarang. The cool metal was familiar in his fingers and he turned it over. It wasn't a replica. It was one of his. There was a jewel- this one wasn't red or green and it was well cut. Selina must've given this to her. There were red and black hair scrunchies that could only have come from Harley. Robin set the birdarang down and picked up an x-shuriken. He flicked it back onto the table.

Starfire was so odd. He couldn't quite figure her out. She was probably looking at things that were important to her, reminiscing over things and people she liked.

He dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. The grappling hook sank into the roof and he pulled himself up onto it, closing the skylight after him.

He flipped down to the ground and drove the R-cycle to the beach, where he dismounted and walked over to the pier. He turned on his night vision, not needing the infrared.

"Starfire? Are you here?" he called softly, even though he knew she was.

"R-Robin?" her voice answered. She wasn't under the pier, he could tell by doing a quick sweep with the night vision. He ducked out from under the pier and scanned the beach. She was holding her boots in one hand and standing ankle deep in the ocean, the water rising to her shins when a wave crashed a few feet in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, wrapping her fingers around her elbows.

"Um. I... Catwoman told me. About your... betrothal." Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "Is that... I mean, are you... happy about it?"

She tilted her head at him. "That does not matter."

The flow of the water reached the toe of his boots before ebbing away. The distance between them couldn't be more than two or three yards, but somehow she felt very far away.

"Yeah. But are you?"

She looked down at her toes as the water frothed around her ankles. "I... have become very attached to this planet. If I had my wish, I would not leave it."

"You can't... like... get out of it?"

"I cannot shirk my duties, no," she answered. Her voice was soft but he could tell that she was offended that he would ask. "The only way to do the 'getting out of it' would be if someone had secured my hand for betrothal prior to this one," she mentioned.

That made him uncomfortable. "So... like..." he stammered inarticulately. "Are you marrying, like, a prince or something?"

She sighed. "I do not know anything about my betrothed."

"Seriously?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't know anything. You're expected to spend the rest of your life with this person and you don't know anything about them? What if they try to launch an invasion of Earth, or something?"

She actually laughed at that. "Why do Earthlings think that other planets wish to conquer them? You are quite the group of narcissists."

Robin was less amused. "Star. Seriously. I mean maybe you should try to find out about this guy. See why he wants to marry you, even."

She made an indignant noise. "I am quite the valuable spouse!"

He laughed a little, both nervous and amused. "Ah... that's not what I meant. I mean that he's never met you, and he's never even seen you. So what could make him want to marry-?"

"Diplomacy," she interrupted him softly. Her tone of voice made him squint at her. She sounded sad and quiet and timid and... and there was some kind of accusation there, too.

"Um... what?"

"Diplomacy. The language that everyone speaks. What is best for both parties."

He gulped and looked down, remembering Batman's claim of diplomacy as he stared at the handcuffs he'd just freed her from, the street cracked because they were so oppressively heavy. He raised his eyes to hers slowly, studying her for what might be the last time. "But... Star... it's not best for you." He took a step forward and he didn't care that his boots were getting wet, and he took another step and one more, and he stretched out his arm to touch her fingers, which were still wrapped around her elbows like she would unravel if she didn't keep them there-

She jerked back violently and she went sprawling on her back into the water. Her boots, which she dropped as she fell, were floating over the waves, one of them beginning to sink as water filled it. Her hair hung over her eyes and she shook her head violently before raking her fingers through it to brush it away from her face. She choked on the saltwater.

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "You okay?"

The water was lapping at the hem of her black shirt, but she didn't seem inclined to stand. She curled her knees up to her chest and she rested her forehead on them. "Oh, Robin, I do not know any longer."

How did he always end up in these situations? "Um, hey, it's..." He was going to say 'it's okay', but how could he? He didn't know what would happen to her. Instead, he leaned over her and grabbed her boot that sank into the sand and he scooped her other one out of the water. He tossed them onto the shore.

"I'm sorry, Star," he murmured, standing over her. "Come on, get out of the water."

She didn't move. "I am proud to aid my planet in their time of need," she said, her voice tight and watery. "B-but I am frightened. I do not know what lies in my future." She looked up at him and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Perhaps it will be nice?"

He sighed and crouched in front of her, putting his hands under her biceps and standing, making her stand, too. She allowed him to pull her up and bring her back onto the sand. "Maybe it will be."

"Robin?"

He looked down at her eyes. She was taller than him but right now she was so hunched and hanging her head so low that he had to look down at her.

"Yeah?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "P-please release my arms."

Stupidly, he glanced down at his hands, which were still curled gently around her arms just below her shoulders. "Oh." He dropped his arms quickly. "Sorry."

"I am not offended." She gave him a small smile, although she stepped away from him. Her arms went over her torso, her fingers wrapped tightly around her elbows again.

She looked so pitiful like that, a waterlogged, scared kitten. She just looked at him with bright, wide eyes like she was waiting for him to answer a question. She shivered where she stood, little trembles. Robin didn't think she was cold, since her skin was pretty warm where he was holding her, but damn it, Selina was right. There was something about her that made him want to protect her.

He wrung the water out of the bottom of his cape and pulled it over his head. "Here," he said, and he draped it over her shoulders.

Her eyes got wider and she let go of her elbows to clutch at his cape. "Oh... thank you."

"So... that's it. You're leaving," Robin concluded dully.

"I must." She looked down at her feet and clutched his cape tighter. "It is not as though I have a choice, is it?" She squeezed her eyes shut now and Robin crossed his arms over his chest to keep himself from reaching out to her. "I marry a stranger or my planet is decimated."

She looked so sad. He just wanted to help her. He couldn't protect her from this. He wanted to do something... anything... to make her feel better.

He turned away from her and squinted at the water as it ebbed away from the beach. He plucked a shell from the ground and shook the wet sand off of it. "Here." He extended the shell out for her to see.

She looked at him, confused. "What?"

"Come on. Help me look."

Her eyes lit up. "You wish to locate some of the shells of the sea?"

"Uh... yep."

"Oh!" She let his cape drop from her shoulders onto the sand beneath her and she floated to his side.

They spent the next hour looking. Really, Starfire looked and Robin watched her, and she'd shove a shell excitedly into his hands and smile at him and turn her attention back to the ground.

It was good that she was leaving. The amount of times he caught himself looking at her in a way that he shouldn't, or thinking about her in a way that he shouldn't, or- at least twice- touching her in a way that he shouldn't. Nothing drastic; a hand on the small of her back or on her arm.

Starfire yawned and stretched her arms above her head after a while.

"Robin," she murmured. "I must... leave. I have the big day ahead of me and I must be well rested."

"Yeah. No problem," he said, kind of glad. It was getting hard to remind himself that he couldn't let himself get too comfortable with her. It was difficult, especially since there would be no consequences since she was leaving. He desperately wanted to know what her lips might feel like against his and what her hair might feel like if he threaded his fingers through it... What was with him today?

She smiled at him and before he could do anything about it, she threw her arms around his neck and she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. "Thank you," she said softly.

He couldn't breathe. She wasn't even holding him very tight, but he lost the ability to inhale or exhale. "Um... no problem..." he managed, his hands straight down at his sides. He wanted to wrap them around her, but he couldn't. It was too easy to go from putting his hands on her back to putting them on her hips or in her hair. And he couldn't.

"No," she said, and he thought he could hear tears in her voice. She pulled back, sliding her hands to his shoulders, and she tilted her head at him. Oh, she was going to kiss him. He couldn't let her do that. But he couldn't muster the willpower to push her away.

His eyes fluttered closed and her breath fanned over his face. He felt her lips brush against his cheek. He sighed, half relieved, half frustrated. Her eyelashes fluttered against his skin and she stepped away from him completely. "I meant thank you for being my friend."

Her eyes were sparkling, filled with tears that reflected the light of the stars back at him. He rubbed his neck, his flaming. "Um... it's not... I... I haven't exactly been a very good friend to you, Star."

"Please do not say that," she said softly, her voice tight. "You have been the best friend I have ever had."

He let out a nervous chuckle. "You haven't had very many friends, have you?"

She shook her head and gave him a sheepish smile. "No, I have not." She blinked and tears spilled over her eyes. Her smile didn't fade the effect that it had on her was haunting and surprisingly beautiful.

Robin took a step back. "Um, yeah. Listen, I gotta go."

She brushed her tears away with the heel of her hand. "Oh! Do not forget your-"

He glanced at his cape in her hand and up at her eyes. "Keep it."

She clutched it to her chest and that did odd things to him. "Yeah. Gotta go. See ya."

He froze. She was still standing over by the water and he was almost at the boardwalk. Her posture became hunched and she murmured, "No, you will not."

"Ah... I'm sor-"

She streaked into the sky before he could finish and forced himself not to watch her go. He sighed and walked back to the R-cycle, and he was so distracted that he shocked himself before he remembered to disengage the locking mechanism.

...

Robin lay on his back, his head pillowed on his arms. He hadn't slept much. He was afraid of sleeping- well, of dreaming. Not of having nightmares. Quite the opposite. He could control his thoughts while he was awake, at least.

Selina never said what time she'd come get him. He knew she would. After all the threatening she'd done there was no way she was gonna let him go.

Not that he really cared what happened to Starfire. In fact, he was convinced that it would only be good if she really left. How bad could the guy she's supposed to marry actually be?

His Titan's communicator rang on Batman's frequency and he flipped it open. "Batman. Have you spoken to- Selina?"

She smirked at him. "What's up, Robin? Ready?"

"What are you doing on this frequency?" he demanded, propping himself on one elbow.

"I borrowed it."

"You borrowed it?"

"Just be ready in ten." And she hung up.

That was odd. Robin pressed his palm against his forehead and ran it down his face slowly. He grabbed a drawstring bag- red with the black and yellow R insignia emblazoned onto it- and shoved a change of clothes and pajamas into it. He hesitated and glanced at his dresser and grabbed the white seashell bracelet out of the drawer he'd shoved it in a while ago. He curled his fingers around it, the shells almost like porcelain as they tinkled against each other. He threw that in the bag, too, although he wasn't sure why. He grabbed his laptop and typed a quick message to his friends that he was leaving for Gotham for a few days and not to be worried. He always did this when Bruce didn't give him much notice before calling him back, so it wasn't anything unusual.

He made his way to the roof and waited. Before too long, he saw it. A big black mark on the horizon. The Bat-ship.

That was actually good, because nobody would think it was too weird, Robin getting in a Bat-vehicle. But he was a hundred percent positive that Bruce wasn't on the ship.

The two bags thrown to the side- one plain and black with nothing really discernible about it and one black and red checked with a clown doll sticking out of it. Undoubtedly Harley's.

He stormed over to Selina and spun her chair. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Selina removed his hand from her chair. "I told you I'd borrowed it," she said innocently.

"Were they in the Batcave?" he demanded.

"Don't be stupid. I didn't bring them anywhere near the Batcave. Harley, let Robin co-pilot," Selina called.

Robin blanched. "Harley... co-piloted the Batship."

Selina gave him a wide smile. "We're going to have a fun trip."

He sighed and sat in the chair Harley had just vacated. "So... no Ivy?"

"She doesn't do space, apparently."

"Did you tell her Tamaran's a tropical planet?"

"That doesn't change the fact that there's light-years of cold, dead space between it and the Amazon." Selina shrugged. "Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah. Do you really think we're going to change her mind about all this? She seemed pretty determined."

Harley spun his chair around to face him. "If we can't, we'll at least be there for the weddin', chump. And then the priest'll say 'speak now or forever hold your peace' and one of us..." She looked at him pointedly before continuing. "...will make an emotional speech and she'll come back then."

Robin inched the chair away from her. "Um, that's a good plan. But assuming that there's no priest and we can't understand the language they're speaking..."

Harley deflated. "No priest? I been brainstormin' for a speech all mornin'."

The ride there was long and boring, and Robin spent most of the time thinking about how Batman would react once he found out he let Selina steal the Batship.

He didn't let her, exactly. He wasn't there when she stole it. In fact, Bruce probably let her. So Robin shouldn't get in trouble for that.

"Cheer up, kid," Harley said at one point. "We're goin' ta bring back yer girlfriend."

Robin rubbed his temple. "She's not my girlfriend."

The harlequin just looked at him distastefully. "Yeesh, Starry sure knows how to pick 'em."

"Um, guys?" Selina called, panic in her voice. "We got a problem."

Turning to the window, Robin was met with dozens of green spaceships that resembled insects, forming a blockade around the pink and white planet that could only be Starfire's home.

"Do those look familiar to you, Robin?" she demanded, engaging the offensive systems.

"Me? How am I supposed to know?"

"Just shoot 'em!" Harley commanded, clutching the back of Selina's chair.

Robin and Catwoman navigated around the fleet of insect-like ships, although the ship sustained a lot of damage. As Selina shot at on ship, Robin's side get smacked by laser beams.

"Oh my god," he muttered, jamming on the controls like a video game, "Batman's gonna kill me."

"I'll kill you, if you let another ship get a shot in," Selina snapped.

They landed on Tamaran, and as they stepped out of the Batship, a legion of people with Starfire's skin coloring surrounded them.

Harley cowered behind Robin's cape. "Are they can fry us with them star-thingies?" she whispered to Selina.

"No. Only Star can do that," Selina answered.

"Really?" Robin asked.

"You didn't know that?"

"Shut up."

The Tamaraneans were speaking among themselves, not that Robin could understand them.

"Whatta we do now?"

"We find Starfire," Selina answered calmly.

Two guards flanked each one of them and grabbed then roughly by the elbows. Robin nudged them away with his shoulders, which was a bad move because they squeezed his arms tighter and lifted him off the ground.

"Hey!" he growled, kicking his feet.

Selina sighed. "Robin, knock it off. You're making all kinds of trouble."

Harley was complaining, too, although she hadn't pushed them way. "Get'cher grubby hands offa me. Wait 'til Mista J gets his hands on you. He'll blow up yer whole stinkin' planet." Ugh. Harley wasn't really that bad when he wasn't fighting her, but she was kind of annoying about the Joker.

Robin and the two women were led into a dungeon, with beams of light cutting down from the ceiling like spotlights. Tamaraneans and other aliens were in these beams, either standing or sitting.

The three of them were shoved into one and Selina put her hand against the edge of the light. She couldn't pass her hand out of the beam of light.

"Great." She cleared her throat, Robin and Harley sulking beside her. "We're looking for Koriand'r," she purred to the guards. At her voice, they both tilted their heads at her.

"Kitty?" Harley called.

"Love a planet full of cat-people," Selina purred. "That's right, darlings. Koriand'r. Go fetch her for me."

"Koriand'r?" one of them echoed back, focusing on the word both of them knew.

"Koriand'r," Selina echoed. "Bring her."

The guards shrugged and left the dungeon room, and Selina sighed happily and flat on her back. "I could peacefully take over this entire planet in a few days."

"Ooh, let's stay, Kitty! We c'n bring Ivy an' she c'n have a whole forest all ta herself, an' I c'n have-"

"If you bring the damn Joker into this fantasy I'm going to have the guards feed you to that creature," Selina growled, gesturing to a grey animal that appeared to consist mainly of a mouth and legs.

Harley sulked some more.

"Catwoman? Harley? …Robin?!" Bright light entered the room and a flash of black and red settled in front of them. "Oh, my friends!"

"Surprise!" Harley cried, throwing her arms wide.

Starfire turned to the two guards and the light above them dimmed. "Come out of there, immediately!" she cooed. "I cannot believe they threw you in prison. She chattered in Tamaranean and the guards kneeled in front of her.

"What's with the welcoming committee?" Selina asked as Starfire hugged her.

She turned solemn. "That is the reason for my betrothal. I am the terms of a peace treaty between Tamaran and the planet Drenthax. The fleet will leave Tamaran when I leave with them."

"Starfire…" Selina said gently."

Starfire ignored her. She smiled brightly and clasped her hands together t her chest. "Friends, you have missed the dining festivities and the games of strength. Truly, I was about to retire to my quarters to prepare for-"

Harley took Starfire by the shoulders and peered into her eyes. "So, is he cute?" the blond woman asked as though it was the most important question in the world.

Starfire seemed to look through her friend for a moment. "He is… a powerful Sklerch."

"Sklerch?" Robin echoed harshly. "You're marrying a Sklerch?"

"That is his species, yes." She tilted her head at him. "What are you doing here?"

"We brought him along for the ride," Selina told her dismissively. "Do you like your… Sklerch?"

Her eyes became distant again. "Robin! You remember my sister, do you not?"

"Um, yes. Why?"

"She is… Grand Ruler. She has put this treaty together and has saved Tamaran."

"Blackfire?" Robin spluttered. "Blackfire did this?"

"Robin, she is my sister," Starfire reminded him sternly. "I trust her."

"But she-!"

"Come, allow me to bring you to your chambers for the night. My friends will not sleep in a prison." She turned away quickly and Harley and Selina exchanged glances.

Starfire deposited Selina and Harley in one room and she opened another door for Robin. She stood in the threshold while he entered the room and looked around. "I hope the room is to your liking?"

"I… Star, I can't even tell the difference between a chair and something that might… eat me." He turned to face her. She laughed nervously, but he didn't drop his serious expression. "Do you really want to do this?"

She took a step back so that she was in the hallway. "I will see you at the ceremony, my friend," she said softly and closed the door after her.

Robin sat on the rounded surface that was probably supposed to be a bed. There were no pillows, and he couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Not that long after Starfire left. Harley and Selina barged in.

"Any bright ideas, Boy Wonder?" Selina asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"This isn't right," he said to her. "Her sister… she's very…"

"Bitchy," Harley finished. "We heard all about her."

"Manipulative," Robin said instead. "She must want Starfire out of her hair. We just have to prove it. Catwoman, go see what you can dig up on this guy. Harley, inspect the Drenthax fleet for anything suspicious."

"I ain't takin' orders from a kid!" Harley pouted indignantly.

"Come on, Harls." Selina raised an eyebrow at him. "What're you gonna be doing?"

"I'm gonna go try to talk her out of doing this," he muttered.

Harley gasped excitedly and Selina nudged her in the ribs. "Fine. We'll meet up back here in an hour."

…

Robin stood at the base of the balcony to Starfire's room, holding a birdarang tightly in each hand. The surface of the wall was smooth, so he'd have to use the birdarangs to create handholds. God, this was kind of embarrassing. Robin didn't often wish for superpowers, but he found himself doing that now. Just the ability to fly for ten seconds. It would make this so much less dramatic and unpleasant.

Going up was easy. Honestly, he was used to pulling stunts like this while also being shot at. So this wasn't really much of a challenge. But this wasn't the hard part, he knew that much. The part was going to be-

Aw, hell, she was out here already. She was just looking out, and he couldn't tell whether or not she was sad. She was just kind of listless. Her hair swished over her back as she turned to go back into her room and he swung his legs over to sit on the ledge of the balcony.

"Starfire," he called. He didn't say it particularly loudly, and he hoped and worried that she didn't hear him.

She froze and spun around. "Oh! Robin! Than X'hal you have sought me out!" She was smiling so widely and she rocketed forward and hugged him tightly. She must have been excited, because she was hugging him too tightly.

"Ah… Star… I gotta breathe…" The night air stung at him at the absence of her body heat and she took three or four steps back.

She folded her hands together in front of her and looked down at the ground. "I trust that you are enjoying your stay?"

He put his hands firmly on the ledge of the balcony where he sat. "C'mon," he said, jerking his head behind him, indicated the ground. "We're getting out of here."

She backed away from him even more. "I am sorry, Robin. I cannot."

"Starfire-"

"No, Robin," she said firmly. "This is what is best for everyone."

He leaned heavily on his palms, still planted on the ledge, forcing himself to remain sitting. "It's not what's best for you."

She closed her eyes and turned around. "If you cannot be happy for me-"

A hand closed around his mouth and he made a strangled noise against it. If he wasn't so worried about keeping his hands on the damn ledge, he would have been in a better position to retaliate. As it was, two guards had him- one was holding his face and left wrist, the other had his right arm in a death grip. He couldn't call out, and biting wouldn't work against the guards' gloves, either. He flicked his ankle and a miniature birdarang slid out of a compartment on the sole of his boot. He kicked at the air and the birdarang sliced against one of the guards' arms. His right hand was free and he ducked as the birdarang came back. It hit the other guard, whose hold loosened around Robin. An elbow to the guard's stomach set Robin completely free and he loosed smoke bombs from his belt.

He underestimated the slightly heightened senses of the Tamaranean people, and a blow to the back of the head sent him staggering. He was caught by two pairs of arms and he was dragged back to the dungeon he'd been in before. Yes, dragged. If he was going to be locked up, he wouldn't help them out.

They tossed him unceremoniously at the ground. The black and red pants of Harley's suit came into view.

"You okay, kid?" she asked, her high-pitched voice jabbing at his pained head.

"I couldn't talk her out of it," he said, ignoring her. He leaned on his balled fists, his head still swimming. "She has to marry him. For her people."

"Ummmm… Actually…"

He looked up at Harley sharply, the light shining over them stabbing at his eyes. "What? Actually, what?"

"Them ships're fakes!" she informed him. "There ain't no fleet. Just a buncha empty ships."

Robin forced himself into his knees. Selina offered him her hand and, grudgingly, he took it. Once she'd pulled him up, he rubbed the back of his head gingerly.

"It's a setup." Selina's eyes blazed behind her amber goggles. "Blackfire's trading Kory for some jewel that enhances her powers."

"Then we have to tell Starfire that! Before it's too late…"

"I think I can change my wedding-interrupting speech so that it says somethin' about the sister bein' a bitch," Harley grumbled.

Selina walked over to the edge of the beam of light and raised a diamond-tipped claw to it. The light fizzled and sparked at her, but nothing else happened. "I can't get through this."

"I'll get through it," Robin growled. He took a generous palmful of explosives and threw them at the ground just in front of the light barrier. He threw his cape across his face and chucked two spheres at the fixture above them, and they exploded on contact.

"Jeez, kid, don'cha know you're not supposed to play with that stuff?"

He ignored Harley and jumped over the group of guards that were advancing on them.

"Hey!" Harley shouted, annoyed. "Get yer butt back here"

"Let him go, Har. We can take these guys," Selina purred.

All through the halls in this place, guards were prepared to chop off his head. They wielded some sort of double-sided axe that pinged when it hit the walls or the floor. But Robin was in a blind rage.

What Selina said that one time about wanting to protect her? That's what he was doing. Not only was the prospect of forcing someone to marry someone they didn't want to enough to make his stomach lurch, but Blackfire was just using Starfire. Trusting, innocent, Starfire.

Well, not so innocent when she breaks into any jeweler's she pleases, or their Tower with the intent to bother him. But that wasn't the point.

The point was that she needed him. And he wouldn't fail anyone who needed him again.

He could see the ceremony below him, Blackfire with that stupid red jewel on the plating on her chest. Blackfire's voice echoed around him, but the walls around him didn't seem to let any noise carry through to the other side. No one even glanced up at him as his bo-staff clacked against another axe.

"My humble servants, we meet at moonset to bind my sister to this handsome young Sklerch. Can anyone among us offer reason why these two lovebirds should not be together forever?"

Dammit. There was a circle of guards around him and he was running out of time. He couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Do you Glgrdsklechhh take Starfire to be your wife as declared by the Grand Ruler of Tamaran? And do you Starfire take Glgrdsklechhh to be your husband?"

He was pushed by one of the guards against the glace, all of them pointing the bayonet-like ends of their axes at him.

"I… I…"

Seeing her down there about to walk into a trap that would seal her fate… it was like watching two figures fall from the ceiling. They were going to hit the ground and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Yes, sister dear?"

He did what he'd been trained never to do. He turned his back to the guards. One of them could spear him in the back and he'd likely die before long after that. But he didn't care. He cupped his hands around his mouth and as loudly as he could, he shouted "STARFIRE!"

"Silence! SILENCE! Do you wish to do what is right and take this thing to be your husband?"

She spun around and their eyes met for a second before one of those bayonet-points came too close to the back of his knees. He jumped on top of it, the surprised guard still holding up the blunt end, and Robin kicked another axe out of a guard's hands and on the ground.

"I do… not!" Starfire growled at her sister.

"Atta girl, Starry!"

Robin glanced behind him as he blocked a punch with his forearm. Harley was cheering at Selina's sad.

He raised an eyebrow at Catwoman. "Little help?"

"Boys, please," Selina purred at the guards. They guards all got a dreamy expression on their faces and Robin swept his foot under the ankles of the guard closest to him out of spite.

"Catwoman," he sighed in relief. "I have literally never been happier to see you in my life."

Red light flared through the glass that separated them from the main floor and Harley pointed at the glass. "Um, guys?"

"Let's go," Robin said and he took off. He heard Harley protest about taking orders from a kid, but he ignored her.

"Treason! I thought we agreed you would do what is best for Tamaran little sister? You will marry the Sklerch!"

Robin burst through the wide double doors of the main floor, Harley and Selina hot on his heels. "It's a trick! All of it! Blackfire's behind everything!"

Starfire's eyes widened, then they narrowed in the way that they did when she was really, really pissed. She pulled off the headpiece she was wearing. "You are not best for Tamaran!" she spat at her sister.

"You dare challenge the Grand Ruler?" Blackfire snarled back.

Starfire lether green energy flare around her body, spreading over her like a flame over a wick. The wedding dress disintegrated completely. "I challenge my sister," she announced calmly. "For the crown." Crackling green light flooded her eyes.

Blackfire's energy was sparking, generating its own lightning instead of a streamlined beam like Starfire's. It had to be that jewel on her chest.

"Hold," a gigantic "If anyone interferes, the challenge is void. The princess will lose."

Robin glared up at him. Why would it void the challenge to help out Starfire, but not to have a power-enhancing gem?

"Besides," Catwoman said, watching the girls twist together through the air with a smug smile on her face, "my Kory can handle herself."

The fight between them was strangely terrifying. They were ruthless, shoving each other through walls and floors and using their full power against each other. It wasn't until Starfire stole the gem off her chest that she was able to get a few good hits in, and it wasn't long after that that she was standing in front of a large crowd, wearing the headpiece that her sister wore before.

It was the way things should end. Starfire was happy, her planet was safe. There was no way the Gordanians would try to abduct her now that she was essentially queen of the whole planet, right? He could go back to normal. Without being constantly distracted by… thoughts. Thoughts that had been escalating lately.

This was for the best. Bruce would get off his back about putting her in prison and he would finally be able to concentrate. It didn't change the fact that he was going to sulk off to Selina and Harley's side until they dropped him back at the Tower.

"Someone very wise once told me that I should listen to my heart; and so I overthrew my sister because she was not good for Tamaran. And now my heart is telling me that I am not best for Tamaran either. My life- and my heart- is on Earth." She turned to face Selina, Harley, and Robin, and she smiled at them widely. "That is where I belong. I leave you in good hands; the hands that cared for me as a child. All hail Emperor Galfore!"

She landed in front of Selina and Starfire hugged her. Selina patted her back soothingly and Harley threw her arms around both of them. Robin found himself smiling softly. Starfire would be happier this way. On Earth. In Jump.

His smile faded. Oh, no. This wasn't so good.

"Come on, Robin. Into the Batship," Selina said, putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him.

"I hope you're taking full responsibility for that," Robin told her darkly.

"Just get in." And Selina was in such a good mood that she ruffled his hair.

Robin walked up the ramp onto the ship, fixing his hair as he went, and he started taking inventory for his belt. He was really low on explosives, and he'd have to replace the birdarang in the sole of his boot, and-

Distracted. That was fast. "Hey." He didn't look up at her as an indication that he was busy. She didn't seem to care.

She kneeled next to him. "Thank you, Robin."

He froze as her lips pressed against his cheek. Oh, man. That was the second time in as many days. He didn't move. He didn't know if he couldn't or if it was some odd tactical strategy. Great. A pretty girl kisses him and his instinct is to play dead.

It wasn't even a long kiss on the cheek. It was short. Friendly. Happy. There was no reason to get bent out of shape over it. Selina had given him similar kisses. Babs, Bette, Kathy, hell, random civilians had.

She floated away from him and he rested his head against the wall. He had to get this under control. Soon.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13 – Haunted

"After that I assisted the Red X in avoiding capture by the Titans. Robin was most displeased, and he told me that-"

Starfire winced as an explosion went off in the distance.

Selina sighed. "Titans?"

"I do not see who else it could be," Starfire answered fretfully.

"Oh, calm down, Kory. I'm sure it's nothing. What did Robin say after you helped out Red X?" The older woman leaned into the camera like she was really worried.

"...He told me that I was better than to be hanging out with the Red X. Ooh, Selina, may I just go check? It is not often that there are such tremendous explosions during a Titans battle."

"Really, Kory, I don't get why you don't just join them. The second that something goes the tiniest bit wrong you run off to spy on them. Remember how last time it was just the robot boy trying to eat an ATM?" Selina reminded her gently.

Starfire sulked. "I suppose you are right."

Another explosion went off and Starfire squeezed her eyes shut, twisting her hands in her lap.

Selina let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, if you're gonna get all bent out of shape about it, go check on the stupid kids!"

Starfire beamed at her. "Oh, thank you, Selina! I shall make with the haste and talk with you after I-"

"Save it. I'm taking Harley and Ivy out to a club. I won't be here later."

"Truly? I cannot imagine the Poison Ivy in one of those establishments."

"Yeah. Well, she mostly just glares at guys who try to dance with Harley. I don't usually force her out, but one of her 'babies' tried to eat Isis earlier today." Selina frowned at the memory. "She needs to get out of the house."

"Very well. Then I will leave you the instantaneous message alerting you to my safe arrival back home," Starfire told her.

"That's my girl. Talk to you tomorrow."

Another explosion went off and Starfire whirled away from her computer without bothering to hang up. She floated out the skylight over her bed and she hesitated to close it, as it looked like it would soon rain and she didn't want her bed to get ruined. Although she probably had sufficient funds, from what Selina allowed her to what she acquired when she occasionally teamed up with Red X, to get one herself.

Selina was right. It really was nothing to worry about. Just the stone monster throwing cars around. Starfire decided to stay hidden, feeling foolish about her concern.

She always liked watching the Titans fight together. They were more than a group of teenagers with powers, and they were more than a team. They watched out for each other. Each Titan covered for another, never allowing another to come to harm. Watching them fight the stone monster, Starfire felt a pang in her stomach. They all had each other. And while she had Selina, while she was in Jump she was alone.

How many times had Robin offered her a spot on the team? How many times had she said no? If she said yes, would she fit in as cohesively as the others? SHe couldn't imagine having someone watch her back like that. Even Red X, when they went out together, was likely to leave her if it suited him.

Robin was thrown off the edge of the cliff into the forest below. The drop wasn't all that far, although she wasn't quite sure how fragile human bones were. His friends were unconcerned, which was probably best because Robin was more than capable of taking care of himself. Maybe she'd ask him if the invitation to join the team was still open.

She landed on one of the branches, feeling strangely timid. perhaps she should just leave him alone. Wait for him to offer again.

Robin made a tiny groaning sound as he lifted his head, recovering from his fall. Alarmingly, he gasped and clutched his bo-staff. He must have seen something. Starfire scanned the area.

Thunder crashed, and lightning followed shortly after. She hated this weather. It was good that Jump did not appear to get rainstorms very often.

"Slade," Robin growled.

Starfire furrowed her brow at him from her perch. How could he have seen Slade? Didn't that blonde girl kill him? That was what she heard. There was a statue of the girl in Jump. Starfire had gone to her once or twice, just to have someone to talk to.

How could Robin have seen Slade? Starfire hadn't seen anyone. Although she was distracted by the weather.

Robin took off, jumping on branches quickly and easily. It was very confusing. "Stop!" Robin commanded, and he threw a birdarang straight ahead of him. It sank into the bark of the tree.

"Robin?" Starfire called softly.

He must not have heard her. He leaped over to the weapon and pulled it out of the bark with a zinging sound. Starfire shivered as cold rain fell on her, soaking her hair and chilling her. She compensated for the change in temperature quickly and continued to observe Robin. He glanced around and his gaze fixed on a point ahead of him.

"I knew you'd come back," he declared, and used his grappling hook to pull him to another branch.

Starfire scratched her head. She'd never been more confused in her life.

Robin landed on one branch, panting and seething. "What are you planning?" he asked. He had to be talking to someone. Why couldn't Starfire see who it was?

"Not if I break you first," Robin threatened. He lunged around, slashing at the air with his bo-staff. Starfire had seen people do this when they were sleepwalking. But Robin couldn't be asleep, could he?

Robin threw the staff at the ground vertically, where it sunk into the now-wet grass. He spun on a branch to catch his fall before landing on his feet, his cape drawn around him sulkily. He wrapped his fingers around his staff and glared ahead of him.

Starfire landed in front of him now that he seemed to have regained himself. "Robin?"

He snapped his head up at her and scowled. "What are you doing here?"

"I was-"

"Did you hear him say anything about the seismic generators?"

She gaped at him. He looked so angry. "I... what? Did I hear whom?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Slade! He was just here!"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt your little nature hike, but, where were you?!"

They turned. Beast Boy looked half crazed, Cyborg unhappy, and Raven- well, she looked unhappy, too. But then, she always did. She put up a raven-shaped shield to keep the rain off her.

"We had to finish of Cinderblock by ourselves, in the rain, and... ahCHOO!" Beast Boy sneezed, and he didn't appear to be able to control his shape-shifting powers while he did that. He shifted back to his human form from an elephant, muttering, "Great. Now I've got a cold."

"Slade," Robin said simply, as though that made all of Beast Boy's complaints invalid. He clicked his bo-staff shut and stowed it in his belt. "He's back."

"You sure it was him? I mean, you kinda had Slade on the brain lately. Maybe it was-"

"It was him," Robin growled, balling a fist and pointing a finger at Cyborg. "He's going to create a massive earthquake and we have three hours to stop it."

"I don't get it. The dude fell into a pit of lava; who lives through something like that?"

Starfire was right about him dying.

"Apparently, Slade," Raven intoned.

"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed. "He's pretty... pretty..." Beast Boy fell into a sneezing fit, changing into at least two Earth animals Starfire couldn't name and a fish. "...slippery."

"We'll worry about how Slade survived later. All that matters now is how we stop him! Cyborg, check out the bridge. Raven, take the park. Beast Boy, the pier."

"And you?" Raven asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Me and Starfire are going after Slade."

That surprised her. Especially since he'd been ignoring her up until this point. "We are?"

"Come on," he commanded as he turned away from the others, going deeper into the forest.

Starfire gave the three remaining Titans a baffled look before floating to catch up with him, then walking just a little behind him, as she had no idea what he was looking for and would let him lead.

Ordinarily, she'd complain about his ordering her around like she was on his team, like he had any control over what she did (and now she was remembering why she hadn't joined the Titans!), but she could feel his agitated mood rolling off of him in waves. She wondered if that was why Raven stayed quiet.

"Fear not, Robin," she said, trying to be optimistic. "We will stop him!"

"We have no other choice."

Ugh, she didn't like being around him when he was like this. She was about to say so, too, when his communicator beeped.

He flicked it open and Cyborg's voice came through. "Robin. I'm at the bridge."

"Did you find the seismic generator?" he demanded impatiently.

"Man, I can't find diddly. No signs of anythin' unusual."

"Nothing here either," Raven added.

"I got bumpkus," Beast Boy complained, sniffling.

"They're there. Keep searching."

Starfire could hear Beast Boy sneezing and the various animal sounds he made as he transformed. She felt bad for him.

"I told them exactly where Slade put the generators," Robin fumed, throwing his communicator on the ground. "I should have gone to find them myself."

The little yellow device looked up at Starfire from where it sat in a puddle. She was torn between grinding it into the ground with her foot- Robin's bad mood was contagious- and cradling it in her arms like it needed to be protected from his anger.

"They will be found, Robin," she said soothingly, picking up the communicator and holding it against her chest. "You must have faith in your friends."

He turned and glared down at her. "Having faith in my friends didn't do me much good with Terra, did it?" he snapped.

"Oh! Terra! The statue girl!"

"Slade gets his claws into you," Robin growled, and he took Starfire's wrist in one hand. His grip was surprisingly gentle. "He hits you where it hurts. That's why I wanted you-!" He shoved her wrist away and clenched his fingers around his communicator. "You're just distracting me. Go back home, Starfire."

"I have not done anything to distract you!" she insisted, wounded.

He glowered at the ground before slowly raising his gaze up to her eyes. Slowly. It was odd- his eyes were covered by his mask, but she could feel them on her, gliding over her form. He narrowed his eyes at her once he finally met her gaze. "You keep showing up everywhere. Why can't you just go back to-!" he cut himself off with a gasp and he spun quickly, his wet cape hanging heavily in the air. He took off, running away from her- or, more accurately, after something else.

"Robin?" she called after him anxiously.

She floated after him, trying to see what he saw. The pattering of rain in puddles and the wind rustling of the wet leaves drowned out most other sounds, and she could hardly see except for when the lightning flashed.

There was a wide clearing, hilly and open. Robin swept his foot on the ground in a circle, kicking up water around him. He was thrown back by something, although honestly it looked like he could have tripped. He was sprawled out on the ground, raising his head with a determined look on his face. Starfire could hardly see the panic through his shield of anger, but once she saw it, it was all she saw. She couldn't get there in time to protect him from whatever had him so frightened.

"Robin!" she cried desperately.

"Starfire, stop him!" he commanded.

She was scared, now. Scared for Robin. The only thing that she was sure of was that she and Robin were alone in this place. She glanced around, trying to see, desperate.

Robin latched onto her arm. "What happened?" he growled.

She tried to summon the anger to shove a starbolt in his face. She certainly wanted to. But she was so confused and scared and now... "You are... hurting me," she whimpered, wincing at how weak she sounded.

He completely ignored her and tugged her even closer. She put her weight on her heels, trying to back away from him, but the ground was wet and her feet slipped even closer to his. "Slade ran right by you! How could you let him get away?!" He was shouting at her.

She'd never been shouted at like this before. Certainly not by her parents; princesses didn't get scolded. Not by the warlords of Okaara; if peaceable words and life lessons could not teach a student, the warlords did not waste time with harsh words. No one on Earth had ever treated her this way. No one she ever cared about had ever treated her this way. Tears pooled in her eyes.

She really did care about Robin, and there was something wrong with him. Something he was too enraged or blinded by passion to admit. Worry twisted through her stomach like a snake, biting. She blinked the tears away. She had to be strong if she was going to make him see.

"But... Robin... There was no one there."

He panted, either winded from his fight or so terribly angry with her that he could not contain it. He looked confused. She wished he would take that stupid mask off so she could tell for sure.

"It is all right," she said quietly, soothingly. "I will help you to-"

"Don't you dare," he snarled, and he grabbed her other arm too and he pulled her so that she had to look at him. "You're just like the rest of them. They don't believe that Slade is really there, but I know what people like him are like! I know what they can do!" He pushed her forcefully and she stumbled away from him, wrapping her arms around herself and clutching her arms where he'd grabbed her. Her heels skimmed over something- a stick, a stone, a bump in the ground- and she was so exhausted emotionally that she let herself fall back onto the ground. Tears pricked at her eyes and she shut them.

"Stop looking for me," he growled at her, and she peeked one eye open to see him standing over her, his fists clenched at his sides. "Leave me alone and stay out of my way."

He deployed the grappling hook from his gun and she allowed herself a few seconds to remain on the ground and cover her eyes with her hands and let her tears leak out. She threw herself into the air to find Robin's friends.

It wasn't really him that said those things. There was something wrong with his mind. ...Right? She would feel much better once she was curled up under her covers. Maybe she should just report to his friends and go home.

"I'm thinkin' all this seismic generator stuff is just another one a' Slade's tricks," Cyborg was saying.

Starfire touched down on the sidewalk next to him. "I am not so certain that Slade is behind this."

"What happened?" Cyborg demanded, looking concerned in a way that almost made her smile. Almost.

"Robin... has elected to search on his own," she muttered, looking down at her feet.

"Huh? Why?" Beast Boy asked, eyebrows furrowed. Starfire could hear that he definitely had a cold.

"He said he saw Slade. I tried to see him- I truly did. But I could not. I have never seen anyone so angry." She looked up at the Titans, who were listening to her intently, and she blurted out, "So angry at me."

Cyborg put a hand on her shoulder and she tightened her arms around herself, acutely aware of the ten purpley marks that dotted her biceps. "C'mon. Let's go find Robin," he said gently.

She was so relieved that he was being nice to her that she floated to throw her arms around his neck, a quick, thankful gesture, and she picked him up with her arms under his robotic elbows.

"Thanks for the lift," Cyborg mentioned as he tapped at his arm. A red, blinking light lit up over a blue map of the city.

"It is that...?" Starfire demanded, craning her neck to see.

"Titans, meet up at the old clock manufacturing warehouse," Cyborg commanded into his arm.

"Cyborg... Robin is not well."

"I know, li'l lady, and we're gonna help him. Soon's we find him."

Taking the hint, she sped up a little. After a few minutes, the Titans had crossed town and they landed at the familiar entrance.

"Oh, this makes me uneasy," Starfire mumbled nervously, tapping her fingertips together.

"Yeah," Cyborg agreed, looking up at Raven and Beast Boy as the descended from the sky.

"Ditto," Raven offered with a glance at Starfire. The look was perhaps meant to be reassuring, but it was difficult to tell with her hood up.

"Samesies. Let's just grab Robin and get out," Beast Boy agreed.

Cyborg entered first, the others close by. Starfire took up the rear, afraid of what she would find inside. Cyborg's arm began beeping and he looked down at it. "Robin's locator signal! He's nearby!"

Starfire's heart leaped into her throat as Robin's pained cry tore through the air.

"Very nearby," Raven corrected.

Starfire put on a burst of speed and she could only stare ahead in confusion as Robin staggered around. He appeared to be badly injured, his uniform ripped and his cape tattered. The injuries became more clear when Cyborg shined a light from his shoulder on Robin.

The rest of the Titans seemed confused as well. "Um..." Beast Boy started, dully confused, "Since when is Robin into mime?"

"SLADE!" Robin shouted, panting, turning toward them in the middle of Cyborg's impromptu spotlight.

It was even worse when he faced them. He had scratches on his face, his eye was swollen, his hair was hanging limply. Perhaps most frightening to Starfire, his Robin insignia was torn off his chest.

Starfire lit a starbolt so that they could see more clearly, chasing away the shadows. This seemed to throw Robin off and he staggered a little as searched desperately for Slade.

"What are doing here?" Robin snarled at them, sounding hectic. "You're supposed to be looking for the generators!"

"I don't think there are any generators, man. We looked everywhere," Cyborg told him gently.

"Slade must be cloaking them!" Robin concluded wildly. "Just like he's cloaking himself!" He turned his gaze to Starfire, which only served to unsettle her. "That's why you couldn't see him." Oddly, it sounded like he was forgiving her. She wasn't sure that he had any right to take that tone with her.

"But if I could not see him... why could you?" she asked, confused.

He started like she'd hit him. "What are you trying to say?"

The way he said that... it made Starfire feel awful. And, strangely, even more worried. "Robin..."

Raven levitated between them. "Robin," she said, so that it drowned out Starfire's little, timid squeak of his name. "Are you sure you really saw Slade?"

This appeared to be the wrong thing to ask. "Saw him? I fought him! You think I did this to myself?"

"Dude," Beast Boy said seriously. "This is the only way out. And we were standing here the whole time. No one got past us."

"No one was in here but us," Cyborg told him.

"I don't have time for this," Robin mumbled, approaching Cyborg to push past him through the door. "I have to find those generators."

"There are no generators." Cyborg leaned forward, both an intimidating gesture to get Robin to back off and to make his point clearer. "There is no Slade!"

"I know what I saw!" Robin shouted, backing away from his team. "I have to stop him. I'm the only one who can!" He brandished a birdarang at his three teammates. "And I'll take down anyone who gets in my way."

Starfire silently lifted her arm. Now she was angry. This was what Slade was doing to Robin. Whether he was really back or not, he was damaging Robin in a way he would not be able to come back from if this continued for much longer.

She aimed at his back between his shoulder blades, very carefully guaging the strength of this bolt. She didn't want to hurt Robin. Only stun him. She heard the blades on his birdarang flip out and she loosed the starbolt at him.

He crumpled to the ground and she flicked the starbolt out immediately, ashamed at what she'd done. Robin groaned on the ground, pained, and she couldn't stand to look at him like that. She closed her eyes and hung her head and she felt metallic fingers on her shoulder.

"Raven. Can you teleport?" Cyborg asked gently.

She shook her head. "This many across town... I don't think so."

"B? Do you wanna lift Robin over to-"

"I will take him," Starfire said firmly. She kneeled next to him and brushed his hair away from the mask that covered his eyes. "I am the one who caused his unconsciousness, anyway," she added bitterly.

"You did what you had to do," Raven told her. Then, more gently, she said, "You did what you had to do to protect him."

She scooped up his limp form, supporting his head on her elbow and the back of his knees on her other arm. It was a little uncomfortable to fly like that, with his arms hanging limply. While she was flying, she couldn't help but wonder how the Titans would have handled his outburst if she hadn't been there to stun him.

Raven directed her through the labyrinthine halls of the Tower to their medical bay. She lay him down on a cot gently and, to her horror, belts bathed in black energy levitated around him and buckled him firmly to the hard mattress. She gasped and pulled at one.

"Starfire, stop it," Raven said, pulling at her wrist.

"No! You cannot! It is not his fault! It is the Slade who is-"

"We know." She was trying to be soothing, Starfire could tell. "But right now, the best way we can help him is if we make him cooperate with us. That's what we're doing."

Raven put her hand on Starfire's back and made nudged her toward the exit. The boys were waiting for them. Starfire glanced back at the doors, the image of Robin pinned down to the bed raising awful flashbacks of her own experiences to the surface of her memories.

She looked at Raven pleadingly. "But must you keep him restrained?"

"He threatened us, Star," Cyborg reminded her. "He's dangerous."

"Dangerous?!" Beast Boy scoffed. "Try totally flipped out Cuckoo la Bonza!"

Everyone ignored him. "We've gotta run some tests on him. Figure out what's going on."

"Tests? What nature of tests?" the alien princess asked fretfully.

"Right now, we're just scannin' him. Nothin' invasive. If we could get a blood test, that would be good. If the scans and the blood tests tell us squat, we're probably gonna have to give him a CATscan or an MRI."

Starfire glanced at Raven for help.

"That's Computer Axial Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging."

Starfire let the words roll around in her head. The thing about the language transfer was that no slang got through at all. Not even anagrams or initialisms. She had a very awkward conversation with Red X about the word 'suck' and the multitude of uses it had. But using the full terms helped and Starfire was able to conjure the image associated with the word.

This was how the language transfer worked for words for concepts the Earthlings had but Tamaraneans did not. Like 'kissing'. Of course, Tamaraneans did kiss. Starfire would say they performed the act more often than humans did. But just a kiss? A simple brushing of lips against lips in a way that was deeper than lip contact, but wasn't a passionate declaration of passion or love? Tamaraneans had no word for that because an act such as that- a simple kiss for the sake of a simple kiss- was so mundane that no one thought anything of it. And maybe that was a mistake. Or maybe Starfire had been on Earth for too long.

"Please," she said after she thought about that for a few minutes, trying to push aside thoughts of kissing while she was worried about Robin. "You have uncovered the cause of his strange behavior?"

"So far," Raven answered, turning her attention away from the wall-sized screens that showed scans of Robin's vitals, "everything looks normal."

"But he is not normal!" Starfire insisted. "Robin would not do these things. He would not threaten his friends, he would not shout at me or..." She raised her fingers to her arms again, going quiet. She snapped her gaze back up to Raven. "There is a cause! And you must find it!"

"Star," Beast Boy said, sounding like he had a headache. "I'm sure there's a good explanation, okay? Maybe Slade really is invisible and we just can't-"

"No!" Cyborg insisted. "He still woulda shown up on my RADAR. I'm tellin' you, he wasn't-!"

The steady beeps grew into an alarm and the waving lines became angry slants, almost vertical on the heart monitor.

"His heart rate is off the charts!" Raven announced, grabbing a paper copy of what was onscreen.

"Blood pressure! Neural kinetics!" Cyborg listed, glancing at the screen "Most people can't survive this kinda stress!"

One long beep and a lack of pulses and he was flat lining. His heart had stopped. "Robin!" Starfire shouted, in a panic. How could he have just died like that? She should have said something earlier, when she first saw him...

She opened the door to the interior of the medical bay manually, the door groaning as she swiftly forced it back into the wall. She gasped. The room was in complete disarray. The bed next to the one Robin was in had been turned on its side, the curtain dividing the cots had been torn away from its track on the ceiling, papers were strewn around on the floor. And, most importantly, Robin was gone.

"And I thought I didn't like going to the doctor," Beast Boy quipped.

Starfire scooped up one of the devices that had been stuck onto Robin's forehead gently. "But... where is Robin?"

"There!" Cyborg cried, and she could hear noises in the air vent above them. Beast Boy turned into a hummingbird and shot up toward the vent, but steel grates slid over it and all the windows. The door Starfire had forced opened slammed shut.

"Robin's activated the Quarantine Protocol. Nothing can get in or out," Raven told them morosely.

Starfire let her eyes glow, and her hand was bathed in the glow of a starbolt. "Does that include one very angry princess of Tamaran?"

"No, wait-!" Cyborg tried to warn her, but it was too late. She unleashed the starbolt and it pinged off the door back at them, bouncing around the walls until it finally died.

"Careful, Star!"

She ignored him and pounded on the door. "We must find Robin!" She tried to forced her fingers between the crack on the door where the two ends came together, but the fit was too tight. She tried melting it, but that didn't work, either.

Cyborg put his hand on her shoulder and she stepped back as he revealed a sonic-powered chainsaw where his sonic cannon was usually equipped.

"What are you doing?" Beast Boy asked.

Starfire turned to see Raven in the lotus position, hovering in the air.

"Finding Robin," the empath answered. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

On the last word, her eyes glowed white, and Raven's astral form shot out of her body into the vents. Starfire tapped her fingertips together nervously. It seemed like ages, and Raven didn't move at all.

Until she was thrown back in the air with a pained grunt. "SLADE!" she cried, propping herself up on her elbows where she'd fallen flat on her back.

"You saw him?" Cyborg demanded urgently.

"I don't know if he's real or not. But he's real to Robin. And that's all that matters. The stress on his brain is destroying his body. Robin truly believes he's fighting Slade." Raven glanced around at the other three. She lowered her eyes to the ground. "And Slade is winning."

Starfire tried punching through the plating on the windows. She tried melting the walls. The others were trying everything, too, and Raven kept a psychic link open with Robin.

Starfire studied the floor. It would hurt her fingers, but maybe she could pull a panel of it up...

"Robin!" Raven gasped. "I can feel him. He's not gonna make it!"

"Then let us end this battle. Now!" She dug her fingers into the floor, metal crushing against her skin, and she managed to tear a whole in the floor big enough to go through. She jumped through it head first, Raven shouting at her to go to the basement.

"Lights out, Slade," Robin said, his voice weak, and the basement lights flicked on.

Starfire shot through the basement door. "Robin!" she shouted. He was supporting himself with an arm around a support beam. But he was smiling at her.

"It's okay, Starfire." She landed in front of him and he let the arm holding him fall to his side. He pitched forward into her arms and he murmured, "It's okay," but she was still scared because she wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure her or himself.

...

"Looks like Slade pulled off one last trick," Cyborg told them, his voice oddly calm and even somewhat cheery. "The mask contained a chemical reagent that infiltrated your central nervous system."

"The dust," Robin murmured. Clearly, it all made sense to him. It didn't to Starfire, but she was just glad he was okay. "It made me see, hear, and feel Slade. Even though he wasn't there."

"And the more you fought, the more harm it did to you," Starfire said, her brow slightly furrowed in concern.

"And anybody else who got in the way," Raven muttered, rubbing her jaw.

"Scan says you're all clear now, though," Cyborg said, his voice overly cheery again.

"Yeah? Well, just to be sure..." Robin walked over to the light switch and flicked the lights off, doing a sweep of th room before turning them on again. "I've been fighting Slade for so long, I guess it's hard to let it go. But sometimes I feel like I'm the only one still looking for him. The only one who can stop him."

"Robin," Starfire called, her voice wavering a little, "you are never alone."

"And if Slade ever really does return? We'll be ready." Cyborg gave Robin an analytical look before continuing. "We got things covered here, why don't you get some rest?'

"Sounds like a good idea." And he ducked out of the room.

"Okay, he's better." Beast Boy tore the curtain back from in front of his cot. "Now what about me? I'm dying over here!" He had another sneezing fit and changed into many animals, stopping at a frog. He let out a pathetic ribbit and Starfire guessed he was too tired to change back.

"What is it?" Raven asked, noticing that Cyborg was still looking at the screen in front of him.

"The reagent in Slade's mask. It didn't trigger itself." He turned to the girls, who were looking at him intently. "There was a signal. Somebody triggered it. From outside the Tower."

...

It was eleven in the morning. Twelve hours ago, she was talking to Selina on Skype.

It had been 28 hours since she'd last slept. It wasn't for lack of trying. She rolled around in her bed, watching as the wind blew gray, puffy clouds around in the sky. She got up, took a shower, changed into the most comfortable pajamas she owned- silk ones Selina bought her for her birthday, which Starfire tried to explain wasn't really her birthday as Tamaranean years were longer than Earth years, and June 21st was simply the closest approximation Starfire could make as to what Earth day she was born, (Selina hadn't cared and got Starfire a gift anyway, while, infuriatingly, refusing to tell Starfire her own birthday. She couldn't worm the date out of Harley, either, who Selina had threatened.)

She got out of her bed and rolled the gems she'd collected around in the light, making prismatic designs on her walls

She was so tired. She had a headache. She just wanted to sleep.

It was still rainy, little drizzles that pattered rhythmically on her skylight. Normally, she didn't mind the rain. She like the sounds it made in the smell it had and even the way it tasted. What's more, it reminded her of the first time she'd seen rain, so long ago in Gotham.

But now it only reminded her of the fear she'd felt last night.

She sighed. The pajamas were airy. The top was a light purple camisole that tied at her shoulders before falling down around her stomach in a princess cut. (Selina thought it was funny.) The pants were capris on her, even though Selina got the long kind, and it was comfortable. But she was still too hot. When she kicked the covers away, she was too cold.

"X'hal has cursed me!" she wailed as she threw her arm over her eyes. "I shall never sleep again!"

She froze. There was a tapping noise. Soft and gentle, but insistent. She removed her arm from her eyes and she almost shouted in alarm. "X'hal! Robin!"

He smiled apologetically down at her and tapped on the skylight again. She floated up to open the window and he dropped onto her bed, making the covers slightly damp.

"You were sleeping? It's eleven in the morning!" he said as he shook the water out of his cape and onto her floor.

She lowered her gaze to the floor. "I... could not sleep last night."

He tilted his head at her. "Yeah? Why not?"

"I am unsure. I suppose it is because I cannot stop my mind from wandering back to... last night." She backed up until her knees hit the bed and she sat on it heavily. She let her head hang for a moment before snapping her head up at him. "What are you doing in my dwelling, anyway? You are not supposed to know where I reside!"

Robin moved to join her on the bed. "You know, I-"

"Stop, Robin."

He froze, looking extremely uncomfortable. "I... I wasn't going to... do anything. I mean..."

She tilted her head at him. "What? I mean, stop walking around my dwelling while you are trailing water everywhere. I do not know what the floors in your Tower are like, but I would appreciate it if you took your boots off." She raised her eyebrows at him and wiggled her bare feet.

"Oh. Right. Sorry about that." He kicked his boots off. "Happy?"

"Your cape is soaked," she observed with a frown as she rolled onto her back and let her head hang off the side.

"Oh, come on," he complained, throwing his arms wide.

She scowled at him, although it probably looked less intimidating upside down. "You may simply leave."

"Wait. Star, I'm trying to..." he sighed and struggled with his cape, lifting it over his head.

She tilted her head at him. "Trying to what?" She floated so that she was right-side-up and landed in front of him.

He flipped the cape over his head and it fell to the floor. She glanced down at it unappreciatively, but before she could glare at him, he spun her around roughly so that her back was to him.

"Unhand me!" she growled, thinking he was about to clip handcuffs over her wrists.

"Wait, Star, my... my mask fell off. Sorry."

She scowled, even though he couldn't see it. "You know, I would most likely not know your civilian identity even if I were to see you without the mask," she snapped.

"Oh, I don't know... you might..."

She sighed. "Please let go."

"You won't turn around?" he asked softly, and she could feel his breath on her shoulder and his wet hair touching the back of her neck.

"You would be upset if I did," she answered.

He snorted. "That hasn't stopped you yet."

"Why are you here, Robin?" He was beginning to annoy her.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'll tell you, just... lemme get my... Don't turn around, okay?"

"I will not."

"But seriously, don't."

She frowned. "Do you not trust me, Robin?"

"Uh..."

"Just retrieve your mask," she snapped.

He did. And she did peek- she probably wouldn't have had he just said he trusted her- but he kept his back to her the whole time.

He turned, mask firmly on. "Okay. I'm here to apologize."

She furrowed her brow at him. "For making my floor wet?"

"What? No. Starfire, I..." he scratched the back of his head and he paused, taking a minute to fix his hair so that it was standing up.

She sat back on her bed, putting her palms behind her slightly and leaning on them. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay. I hurt you."

"Oh." Her fingers slid up her arms to the ten little bruises there. "It is not a big-"

"I shouldn't have shouted at you. I shouldn't have hurt you," he said firmly.

"It was not your fault, Robin."

"No, Star, don't say that. Please don't. The whole thing was my fault, because I couldn't stop obsessing. I need to let Slade go." He sat next to her on the bed heavily, and she didn't move to look at him.

She probably should have, because that left him in the perfect position to see-

"Dammit, I left bruises!"

She rolled away from him so that they were on opposite sides of her bed. "I am perfectly fine. If I had been able to sleep, they would be gone by now, anyway."

"That doesn't make it okay. Let me see your other arm."

"No!"

He extended his arm to turn her so that he could see. "Starfire!"

"Robin," she countered, snatching his wrist from the air. "Stop this, please. You got carried away. But it is because you get carried away that you are so effective at what you do. We could not have lazy heroes, could we?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not supposed to hurt people. I'm a good guy."

"I shot you with a starbolt," she reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. But that was different. You did that because I was being an ass. I also hurt you because I was being an ass. Don't you see the difference?"

She tilted her head at him. "If you came here to apologize, why are you rejecting my forgiveness?"

"Because... because..." he sighed and flopped back onto her pillow. "I don't know. I guess I didn't expect to get it that easy. You know, I didn't sleep last night either."

"Truly?" Starfire couldn't help it. She giggled.

Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "What's so funny?"

"Robin, the Teenaged Wonder, is afraid of the dark."

He propped himself up to look at her better. "I am not."

"Then sleep eludes you often, then, and this was coincidental?"

"Well, I usually don't get much sleep, but..."

"Robin, your eye!" she gasped, suddenly remembering.

"What?" he mumbled, surprised.

"You had obtained a bruise there yesterday... It is gone!" She traced her finger over his mask carefully. He flinched a little bit, but then he leaned nearly imperceptibly into her touch.

"Raven's healing powers," he told her, and he closed his eyes and relaxed against the pillows.

"How fortunate for you." She dropped her hand and picked at her comforter. "Um... Robin?"

"Mmhmm?" he asked, not opening his eyes.

"Do you wish to sleep with me?" she asked softly, her voice a little timid.

Robin shot up straight, coughing. "Do I what? Oh, jeez, Starfire. I think maybe-"

She tilted her head. "I did not believe the offer of sharing a bed would be such an alarming prospect. I did not mean to commit a social blunder."

"Ah... It's just that... Um..." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Wait. You mean, like, just share a bed? And sleep in it?"

She furrowed her brow at him. "Of course. You mentioned that you could not sleep. And you seem comfortable here. And I find myself perhaps lulled into a calmer state of mind."

"Oh. Sleep. Right. I mean, I guess if you want. If it would help you."

She lay on her side, facing him, pillowing her cheek on her hand. "I believe it would."

"Okay, then. Yeah. As long as you... you know. Stay on your side."

She smiled at him sleepily. "Very well."

"Okay. Just... don't mention this to Catwoman, okay?"

She ignored him and let her eyelashes flutter closed, the curtain of sleep finally pulling closed over her eyes.

...

It couldn't have been more than an hour later. Starfire's special video chat bracelet was ringing. She stretched her arms over her head in preparation for getting up and answering it and another pair of arms tightened around her waist. Her eyes widened.

Robin had curled into her- she didn't know how; when she fell asleep, he'd been firmly on the other side of the bed. The bracelet was out of reach and Starfire didn't want to disturb Robin.

On Tamaran, sharing a bed was a common practice. Siblings, cousins, close friends. It was a bonding experience. Maybe that was why it was so easy for Starfire to fall asleep with him there.

This, however, was completely different from that. From two friends sharing a bed. It was much more akin to the way lovers might interact. Starfire blushed at the thought, then tried to control her body temperature so that Robin wouldn't become uncomfortable.

She had to remind herself that she was not on Tamaran. She didn't know Earth culture very well. Perhaps this was normal. She sighed, coaxing herself back into sleep, and she simply enjoyed the closeness.

...

It was much later, now, judging by the position of the sun. Six in the evening, perhaps. The horizon was just starting to glow pink and gold at the first hints of sunset.

Robin's communicator was beeping.

That was what had jolted Starfire awake.

Now, though, she was keeping still. Mostly because Robin's grip around her had tightened considerably.

"Oh..." he grumbled, and then he let out the most impolite Earth word she knew. "Starfire? Are you awake?"

She had no idea what to do. She wanted to hide. Obviously, she'd done something wrong. Very quietly- she was surprised at just how quiet he could be- he slipped out of the bed without moving her much. She hadn't meant to trick him into thinking she was still asleep. He just assumed when she didn't move or answer. It wasn't her fault.

She heard the rustling of his cape and she realized that would probably be the last moment she got before he left.

She pushed herself up on her palm, rubbing her eyes. "Robin?"

He froze. If he hadn't been putting his cape on, she was sure he would have done his 'stay silent and slink in the shadows' move and slipped away without her even knowing. But she caught him.

He let out a puff of air from his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he said. "This was a mistake."

"What-? I do not know to what you are referring," she told him softly, trying to be calm. Like she was talking to a frightened deer that she didn't want to run away.

"Just... please, Starfire, don't come looking for me for a while. Okay?"

"I have done something wrong?" she asked forlornly.

He rubbed at his eye. "It's not you. It's m- um, woah. Starfire, just... forget this okay?"

She tilted her head at him. "Even your apology?"

He growled at her. "Why do you have to be so-?" His communicator buzzed in his hand and he pressed the button on the side. "I know, I know," he barked into it. "Not the apology. The other parts. I really gotta go."

She quietly watched him leave. She floated over to her desk and took her laptop from it before burrowing under the covers again and resting her laptop on her knees. There were a few text messages from Selina waiting for her.

Hey kid, I know you're fine. Just that you said you'd check in and you didn't. That's cool. I'm not worried. We'll video chat in the morning, okay?

Kory. I'm sorry for leaving that message. But hanging out with the Titans doesn't leave you with the best track record. You're probably in the shower or something. Shoot me a text when you get out.

Star? It's been twelve hours since I talked to you. That's a long time to go when you said you were gonna check in.

Just don't tell me you're going to check in if you aren't going to check in.

I'm having Harley call your video-chat bracelet.

If you don't text back within the hour I'm texting Robin.

Robin didn't answer either! Are you with him? That's either really bad or really good, but I'll punish him for it either way.

Selina was online now and Starfire clicked the call button.

"Hey, Starburst! How's hangin' out with your boyfriend goin'?" Harley answered almost immediately. She had a lollipop in her mouth.

"I was not-"

"Oh, good. Selina would be kinda pissed if you blew her off for the Toy Wonder. She's been worried about ya."

"I have not, Harley. Stop answering my calls." Selina's foot appeared onscreen and pushed Harley and the rolling chair out of the way. "Kory, I'm glad you're okay," Selina breathed when she saw her. "Where were you?"

"I was fine. With the Titans. Robin was attacked and I helped. Selina, what exactly is one person asking another when they make a request to 'sleep with' someone?" Starfire asked, making sure to use her exact phrasing.

Selina's eyed widened and she adopted a concerned look. "Why? Who said that to you?"

"Oh, Selina, I believe I have made a terrible mistake…"

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 – Can I Keep Him?

The oversized gourd made a heavy sound as Tamaranean ceramics met Earth roof-shingles. She was very careful not to tip them over. Zorkaberries were a delicacy Galfore was only just barely able to smuggle to her.

She'd had to fly into space just above Earth. The trip was irksome, but otherwise the JLA would have had to get involved, and Starfire didn't like interacting with the Lanterns or, X'hal forbid, Batman. It didn't help that she was wanted for arrest, either.

Galfore couldn't come to see her when he made his deliveries, but she got to see Karras, a childhood friend. So that was something. Starfire would go to the ends of the galaxy just to get her zorkaberries, though. The inconvenience of flight in space was hardly an obstacle, anyway.

She lifted the skylight and landed softly on her bed, taking care not to spill her prized zorkaberries. She hovered carefully over to her dresser, careful not to spill a precious drop… careful…

A loud thud behind her startled her and she gasped and landed on the ground heavily. The gourd was unbalanced, one side hanging off the edge of her dresser. It would fall right on top of her and she could only watch in horror.

A gloved hand calmly reached out and pushed it back. "Phew," Starfire muttered in relief. She narrowed her eyes at the intruder and floated so that she was on her feet and glared at him. "What are you doing in my residence?" she growled, letting light flood her eyes.

Robin was leaning on her dresser a little, looking like he had every right to barge into her home and hide in the shadows and frighten her and almost make her drop her zorkaberries. "Have you been in the Tower lately?" he asked her, ignoring her intimidating display.

The lights in her eyes flicked out. She tilted her head at him in confusion. "What? In your Tower? I… no, of course not! Why would you think that?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, leaning forward a little, which only prompted her to narrow her eyes right back and cross her arms over her chest moodily. "You're the only one who can get in without raising any alarms. We're going to need that communicator back, by the way."

"The only one who can get in?" she scoffed. "I believe you are forgetting the Batman, hallucinogenic versions of Slade, Red X, Catwoman-"

"But you're the only one who would break in and trash the place," Robin said.

"Trash?" she echoed, annoyed at him and at herself for needing to ask.

"You know. Messed up. Put in a state of disarray."

Although she had a feeling that he was mocking her, the definition helped. "I would not do that."

"Yes, you would," Robin answered.

"Please. Enlighten me as to why I would do that."

"Because it would bug me," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The way you feel about my actions has no sway over them," she snapped.

"So… you haven't been in the Tower lately," he concluded dully.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Of course not." He was quiet for a moment and Starfire turned back to her zorkaberries, ignoring him. "You are aware of the way out," she mentioned distractedly.

He didn't move. "I haven't seen you… you know… around. Not for a few weeks."

With her finger, she dug around in the gourd and pulled out a zorkaberry. "Of course you have not. You asked me to stay away."

Robin scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I know. But I didn't expect you to…"

"I do not wish to be where I am not wanted." She popped the berry into her mouth, bitterness exploding across her tongue. Her lips curled into a satisfied smile and her eyes fluttered closed. She opened them again to find Robin peering at her, a hard to read expression on his face. He looked a little like he'd been slapped and was still numb from the impact. "Clearly, you do not feel the same way."

"I only said that because… um…" He coughed. "What are you eating?"

"Zorkaberries," she purred, her smiling growing wider. "They are a delicacy on Tamaran."

"Um, great. Enjoy your… those."

He was gone then, making almost no sound as he exited.

She was annoyed at him. All she'd done for weeks was avoid him. Hide when he was near, calculate where he would be and when he would be there and stay away from those places. And he seemed displeased with her for it, acting almost… hurt.

How could he be hurt when she was hurt?

Starfire glanced at her zorkaberries. She didn't want to eat them while she was in a bad mood. It spoiled the whole thing.

The beach was what she needed. Robin was out now, so she might cross paths with him, but she really didn't care.

She flew out the side window instead of going up to the roof- something Selina cautioned her not to do at the risk of blowing her Kory Anders identity out in the open. That identity wasn't very important to her. She only used it so she could do her shopping without drawing too much attention to herself. And, of course, to attend the small number of Bruce Wayne's parties Selina dragged her to.

The sand was soft beneath her boots. She probably should have changed into flip flops and civilian clothes before coming here. The troubled alien girl let out a sigh and flopped onto the sand, warmed by the sun, and spread her arms out. She closed her eyes against the sun, letting out a slow sigh to calm herself. The weather was nice. The beach was nice. She didn't need to think about moody superheroes or-

She cracked an eye open as a shadow passed in front of her. She couldn't catch a break. If that was Robin, he was getting a face full of sand.

"Oh! Beast Boy?" She propped herself up on one elbow, tilting her head at him.

"Sweet. I knew you would be here." The verdant teen smiled at her in a way that unsettled Starfire.

"You did?" she asked, brushing sand off of her and standing.

"Yep. Cuz Robin always comes over here and it was either you or some other girl and I mean, the guy dresses up like a traffic light so he can't get that much play, although I was kinda thinking of growing my hair out cuz I think girls like the spiked 'do, but I mean my hair is-"

She stared at him. "Beast Boy?" she interrupted.

"Right, kinda got sidetracked. I have a favor to ask you." He smiled widely at her.

Oh, no. Favors for the Titans almost never ended well. And she didn't owe Beast Boy anything. "I do not think that-"

"Pleeeeeaaaaaseeee?" Beast Boy laced his fingers together and gave her the saddest look she'd ever seen in her life.

"Um… Maybe?"

"Okay. So, do you remember when Killer Moth made an army of mutant moths and forced Robin to take his daughter to prom and he was like 'nehhh' and you were like 'grrr' and Robin was like 'soooh', but then we found Killer Moth! And I was like 'Dude!' and Raven was like 'zzzt' and Cyborg was like 'Booyah!' and we kicked his butt! And the mutant moths turned back into these cute little wormy things?"

"Um…" Starfire didn't really know what Beast Boy was saying. She was meant to remember Killer Moth and Robin's 'date' with Kitten, but she didn't know why there were so many other words in his explanation that didn't appear to be words at all. "Yes?"

"Well… even though Raven and Robin and Cyborg told me not to… I sorta kept one of 'em as a pet. Starfire?" He turned his eyes on her, which were so round and hopeful that it made her heart break a little, and he pulled a giant worm out from behind his back. "Meet Silkie!"

Starfire recoiled. Even on Tamaran, insects and bugs were usually annoyances, sometimes coupled with the ability to bite people and carry diseases. In short- she did not like bugs.

"You gotta admit, he's kinda cute. In a beady-eyed, maggoty sorta way." Beast Boy smiled fondly at Silkie and glanced back up at her, his ears drooped submissively and his expression was nervous and hopeful and sad all at the same time.

"Um…"

"You gotta take care of him for me," he told her urgently.

Wait. What? "I do?"

"Yeah." Beast Boy rocked on his heels, trying to think of way to explain to her. "Cuz he sorta… ate the Tower."

"He what?" The Tower was clearly still there, on its island a few hundred yards away from where they were standing.

"He trashed the inside of it, Star. And I know you're kinda evil sometimes-"

"Trashed?" she repeated, too confused to be as angry as she would have been otherwise. "Robin thought that was me!"

"Really?" Beast Boy tilted his head. "When did he say that?"

"Just prior to my departure of my penthouse to come here." She crossed her arms. "And I am not evil."

"Right, right, I totally know that. You're awesome. Just that, you know, you're a bad guy when you feel like it. Which is like, whatever, you live your life how you want, you know?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. He was obviously trying to make up for calling her evil, and she wasn't really buying it. "You are doing the 'sucking up', yes?"

"Um… Anyway, will you take care of him? Please? Just until this whole thing blows over."

"Can you not stow him away in one of the many spare rooms of your ten-story Tower?" Starfire asked, backing away from him a little.

Beast Boy followed her retreat. "No! Cyborg and Raven are searching the Tower and they're gonna find him and make me get rid of him! Then where will he go, Star?"

"Um…"

"Please?" he whined, looking truly desperate.

"I… do not know. Perhaps. Doing the Titans favors is not-"

"But you're not doing it for me! You're doing it for Silkie!" Beast Boy thrust the larva at her chest, and it warbled at her and wiggled its legs.

Starfire sighed, defeated. "Fine.

Beast Boy plopped the larva into her arms and she grimaced, squeezing both eyes shut in disgust. She cracked one eye open, trying to compare the creature to a dror- it had as many legs as the cuddly Tamaranean creature, anyway- and it warbled again and wiggled its legs and… and… Oh, it was adorable! It felt safe and happy in her arms and it was trying to cuddle up to her and this must be the feeling that filled Galfore when he first met her and was announced her k'norfka!

"Oh, hello, my little bumgorf!" she chirped, nuzzling the larva against her cheek.

Beast Boy sighed in relief. "Okay, now you gotta go to wherever alien sometimes-bad guys live and make sure that nobody sees you with-" He was interrupted by his communicator ringing. His eyes bugged out and he shouted in alarm. "It's Cyborg! Gogogogo!" He shoved her away from him.

"But when will you come back for-?"

"I'll get in contact with you on the old communicator. Just go!" He turned into a bird and flew off toward the Tower.

"Um… Bumgorf, I will take you to my home. Please do not do the 'trashing' of it." Starfire tucked Silkie under her arm and took off. She flew slowly so that the little larva wouldn't be frightened.

She entered through the skylight above her bed. She sat cross legged on it and put Silkie down in front of her.

What was she supposed to do now? Perhaps a call to Galfore was in order.

Before she could think about that too much, Silkie burst into tears. She didn't even know he could cry.

"Um… bumgorf? Do not cry. It is the okay. …Please cease?" Her pleas had no effect on the larva. She scooped him and wrapped him in her sheets. She sat next to him, scratching her head in confusion.

"Weep not, small one. Your k'norfka Starfire is here to attend to your every need!" The crying continued insistently. "You are… too warm? Too cold? Have you… the gas?" She cradled the larva in her arms and patted it on the back. An odd tugging at the back of her head made her hold Silkie away and she gasped. He was eating her hair. "You are hungry!"

She rushed him into the kitchen and tied a bib around his little larva neck. "Please, what do Silkies eat? Fruit? Cereal? Toast? Candy? Celery? Steak? Nachos? Mustard? Rutabagas?" She shoved her favorite foods under the larva's nose, and it turned away at each option. "What is it that Beast Boy prefers to ingest… Tofu?" Another disapproving sound from the larva and she sighed forlornly. "Oh… you must eat something!" She sulked at the larva, tapping her fingers against her gauntlet thoughtfully.

The gourd containing her zorkaberries was sitting innocently on her dresser. She gasped and retrieved them. "No creature can resist the delicious bitterness of zorkaberries!" As a demonstration, she plucked one out from the gourd and popped it into her mouth. "Mmmm!"

Silkie sniffed at the berries and he ate one daintily. He made a happy sound and ate a mouthful at a time.

Starfire normally was protective of her zorkaberries, but she was just happy that Silkie was eating. "Good Silkie!" She patted him on the head. "You may consume your fill while Starfire obtains a fresh blankie."

She floated over to her curtains, Silkie's happy warbles assuring her that he was eating and the crying would stop. A loud shattering of glass made her turn away from her curtains and she gasped. Silkie had eaten all of her zorkaberries, broken her Tamaranean gourd, and was… giant! There were so many things not good about this.

She floated in front of Silkie, who was now as tall her and much wider and longer. "My little bumgorf… why are you so big?"

The larva burped and a few zorkaberries that he'd swallowed whole landed at her feet. It was a good thing the kitchen had a tiled floor and not a rug, because Selina would be so mad. Starfire couldn't have a giant worm running around Selina's apartment.

"My alien food has caused you to mutate further!" she lamented. She hoisted him over her shoulder to try to get him to burp again. "Yes, more burping now, please! You must uneat the berries and regain your smallness!"

He wasn't burping. Starfire pinched the bride of her nose. She muttered in frustrated Tamaranean. How was she going to give Silkie back to Beast Boy this way? "Never do the Titans favors, Starfire. You are foolish," she berated herself. "Oh, poor Silkie, I have broken you!" She rubbed his head between the antennae. He didn't seem uncomfortable. He seemed quite happy. Perhaps the Professor Chang would have a shrink ray! She could shrink Silkie easily and all her problems would be fixed.

But Professor Chang's headquarters were destroyed when Reed X and Robin apprehended him.

A loud ringing interrupted her thoughts. She gasped. "It is Selina! Stay here, bumgorf, and I will be right back. Please remember not to do the trashing!"

She flipped open her laptop and pressed the enter button to take the call. "Selina!" she blurted. "Hello! How are you on this fine day!"

Selina sighed, annoyed. "Well, Harley's adopted two hyenas. I can't make her get rid of them."

"You have like ten cats! I have two hyenas, Kitty! Get some perspective!" Harley's voice shouted from offscreen.

Selina ground her teeth. "Perspective?! Isis isn't eating the neighborhood dogs!" She turned her attention back to Starfire. "Sorry, darling. All these animals and plants in the house are getting to me. How are you doing?"

Starfire stared at the screen, eyes wide. A nervous laugh escaped from her lips. "Ahahahaha… pets. That is silly. I would never get a pet."

Selina narrowed one eye at her. "Starfire?"

"A pet in a penthouse as nice as this one would be foolish. Especially a large one."

Now Selina was narrowing both eyes at her. "Kory, what did you-?"

"Kitty, Eddie's here! Let's go!" Harley's voice whined.

"Ugh. I have to go. But… don't do anything I wouldn't do. Okay?"

"Of course!" Starfire answered, smiling too widely.

Selina gave her one last suspicious glance before ending the call.

Starfire floated to the kitchen and… oh, no. Silkie was gone. "Silkie!" she called, putting her hands on her hips sternly. "Silkie! Come to your k'norfka!"

This was soooo bad. And she didn't even have any zorkaberries to make her feel any better.

Never do a favor for the Titans, Starfire.

…

She searched for Silkie all day. He was not in the penthouse or even in the whole building. How could she possibly lose a giant worm?

She perched on the edge of a building. Tamaraneans had better night vision than Earthlings, but it wasn't as though it was as clear as day. The technology used in binoculars and video cameras were more effective.

So right now, she was hiding Silkie from the Titans, specifically Beast Boy, and Selina. And, of course, citizens of Jump. She had no way of tracking Silkie. She had no way of finding him.

She jumped as a rustle of material and soft thud sounded from next to her. Great. Exactly what she didn't need.

"What are you doing out?" Robin asked. His tone wasn't accusatory, but it wasn't exactly conversational, either.

"Keeping to myself," she answered curtly. "As you should be."

He shifted into a more comfortable position next to her. "What jeweler's is it gonna be tonight?"

"I am not interested in jewels at the moment." She turned so that her knees were pointed away from him.

"That brings me back to my original question."

She glared at him. "I will not bother you. Unless you continue to bother me."

"You're out in uniform!" Robin pointed out. "You can't expect me to believe that you have no plans."

"Why are you interrogating me? Has your Slade been quiet? You feel the need to create problems where there are none?" He didn't like that. Why did she feel so satisfied and accomplished whenever he scowled at her like that? It certainly wasn't a hard reaction to get from him. "Or…" She turned so that she was facing him and she leaned in close. "Perhaps you miss me."

He leaned back to put more space between them. "Stop it."

"I am simply speculating," she purred.

"Well, don't." Starfire watched as Robin clambered to his feet and shot a line across to another building. "I'm not gonna let you pull anything."

Starfire sighed as she watched him leave. Okay, so she forgot that he was on patrol tonight. Sue her. Even if she remembered, she would have had to go out. She couldn't just leave Silkie. How could a giant larva be hiding himself so well?

,,,

The alien princess stirred her tea slowly.

Robin avoided her for the rest of the night, and she didn't cause him any trouble. As she promised.

Her search for Silkie was fruitless. She meant to return to the penthouse at three in the morning, but every time she went to go back, she'd see Robin out, silhouetted against the moon or rolling into a crouch or something dramatic like that… and it made her stay out longer. Not because she wanted to be by him, which she honestly didn't. They didn't speak to each other after their previous encounter, anyway. She just felt on odd need to prove that she could stay out as long as he could.

She'd never been particularly competitive before.

She had to get out there. Had to search some more. Now that it was daylight, someone would spot Silkie. Someone would panic.

Which was exactly why Starfire had her radio listening in on the police's frequency. It took some fiddling and some consulting the Google. But she managed it. And now she was sitting at her round, two-person table in her kitchen, the radio set up across from her, sipping her mustard leaf tea.

She was only half listening to the radio, not really expecting anything to come up, when she heard, "Giant worm monster. Meta assistance required. Alerting the Titans."

Oh nooooo. She threw on her uniform and hopped out the window.

No, no, she was too late. Robin had hopped on Silkie's head and he was using the antennae as handholds. She didn't really know what good that would do, and it only seemed to be making Silkie more angry. Raven levitated a car in the air and was throwing it at Silkie.

Starfire leaped in front of it. Raven gasped, the black energy fading, but the car was still in motion. Starfire charged up a starbolt in two hands and blasted the vehicle. It split in two, the pieces continuing on either side of Silkie.

"Starfire?" Robin demanded, incredulous. "What're you-?"

"Do not harm Silkie, he is my bumgorf!" she shouted at them, and she hovered over to him and hugged him. He nuzzled her back contentedly, apparently forgetting about the Titans.

"What's a bumgorf?" Raven demanded. She looked annoyed.

"That's Silkie?!" Beast Boy frowned at her. "Dude! What've you been feeding him?"

And that was how she ended up at Titans Tower, with Silkie on a leash, speaking politely to the Titans.

"Truth: Silkie a mutant monster created by the evil Killer Moth. But that does not make him a bad mutant monster!"

The Titans were looking at her with various expressions. Robin seemed frustrated, but also stern. Beast Boy was angry with her, she could tell, for turning Silkie into a giant monster. Raven was just annoyed. And Cyborg was glaring at Silkie while he tightened a makeshift leg onto his knee with a wrench. Silkie had apparently eaten his actual leg.

Silkie tugged her off the ground and began eating various objects located around the Titans' common room.

"He attacked civilians. And Cyborg," Raven pointed out.

Cyborg paused in his tightening to add, "He ate my best leg!"

"And I am sure he is very sorry for that." Silkie gulped down the Titans' fridge. He was not helping her make her point. "Ehehehe…"

Robin glared at Beast Boy as Silkie swallowed his stereo.

"What?" Beast Boy demanded indignantly. "I'm not the one who fed him radioactive space berries."

"Starfire, he can't stay here," Robin told her sternly.

"Of course not! I will bring him back to my dwelling and he will-"

"No, Star, I mean he can't stay in the city." He pulled his cape away as Silkie opened his mouth and lunged for it.

"What? Why? You cannot make me-!"

"I- you don't have a choice. Either you bring him somewhere, or we have to take him away." He lowered his voice so that the rest of his team wouldn't be able to hear and he mumbled, "I'm sorry."

She glared at him. "Fine. I will take Silkie away to a place where he will not be hurt by the actions or words of people here."

She hadn't meant to say that. She wasn't exactly talking about Silkie, and Robin knew it. He went red and ran his hand through his hair. "Um…"

Ignoring him, Starfire hoisted Silkie into the air and flew out over the ocean.

He was enjoying the ride. At least one of them was in a good mood. For now. An island appeared on the horizon, with a tall, craggy structure like a vertical cave. She plopped Silkie down onto the ground and carved a sign into the rock with her starbolts.

She hated this. She hated herself. She hated Robin for making her do it. And what about Beast Boy? Silkie belonged to him first!

It just wasn't fair.

At least she could visit Silkie whenever she wished.

"No, Silkie. It is not time for a bath. It is time… for me to leave you. This is your new home! You will be happy. No one will harm you, and there are many strange objects for you to ingest!" As she spoke, Silkie tilted his head and stopped his warbling. He looked confused. It was heartbreaking.

She hugged the side of his face and he nuzzled her with his little larva cheek. "Oh, farewell my beloved Silkie." Silkie made lots of little unhappy noises as she stepped back. She hopped into the air and floated, looking back at him. "I am very sorry. But you must not follow."

He stretched a limb out- which must have been an odd part of his mutation, because she didn't think he could do that- and wrapped it around her ankle. Maybe she could stay here with Silkie. Have Selina build her something. She didn't need much. Or she could pay for construction herself. But she couldn't do that. She needed to go back to the penthouse and continue living her life. She'd visit Silkie out here every day if she had to.

"No! I cannot stay. You must… let me go!" She charged up a very weak starbolt and let it go, hitting his odd outstretched limb. Silkie gave her a wounded look and backed away. She had to be the worst person in the world. Earth and Tamaran. Tears filled her eyes. "Oh, forgive me," she muttered, and she left quickly after that because she couldn't bear being there anymore.

She streaked through the sky, through Jump all the way to her penthouse, and she threw herself on her bed. She cried into her pillow, long, loud sobs. She couldn't even tell Selina about this one because she wasn't supposed to have Silkie in here.

Time ticked by slowly, Starfire dozing a little and waking up and feeling depressed and falling back asleep. Maybe she could try calling Harley. But no, Harley would just go and tell Selina right away.

Perhaps the reason she became so attached to Silkie so quickly was because she didn't feel so alone. And now she felt twice as alone. At least on Tamaran she always had company, even if she didn't find it as pleasurable as the company she had on Earth.

There was a soft tap from above her. "Oh X'hal," she groaned into her pillow. "This must be some kind of joke."

It wasn't. Robin was crouching on the roof, asking permission to enter her dwelling. Again. She sighed and rolled to one side of her bed, giving him a clear landing.

"Why are you here?" She was too upset to control the quiver in her voice.

"I… Look, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." He crossed his legs and settled next to her.

She wouldn't look at him. "You made me get rid of Silkie. He was my bumgorf."

"Um… I don't know what that is."

She rolled over so that she was facing him. "A k'norfka cares for a bumgorf from their childhood, and the link between the two is as strong as and sometimes stronger than the bond that a child would share with their parents."

"Oh. Well… I mean… It was a worm. It attacked people in the street."

She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "That does not matter. He was my bumgorf. And now he is gone, and I am alone. Again."

Robin shifted uncomfortably. "You're not… you know you aren't… um…"

"Alone?" she finished for him. "Yes, I am, Robin. I have Selina, but only through the computer. And Galfore is so far away. And my own sister hates me…"

"Starfire." Robin paused, thinking. "Beast Boy… he went to you with a problem, right? That's kind of a two-way deal. And Raven approves of you, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you needed to talk to her. Cyborg, too. He likes having you around. Maybe not right now, since your pet ate his leg, but he does usually. I don't know how, but you've grown on us, Star."

She just blinked at him sadly.

"Um… even me, I guess. I mean, I'm here now. Checking on you. You're not alone, okay?"

She sniffled, which seemed to alarm Robin a little. Before he could say anything to ruin it, she jolted forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, thank you for your kind words."

Robin was stiff underneath her grip, but after a few moments he patted her on the back twice "Okay… thanks… enough, now…"

She sat back on her bed and smiled at him. Then she quickly frowned. "I am still upset with you."

"What?" he demanded, flabbergasted. "Why?"

That was not the right thing to say. "Because you told me to stay-"

A beeping sound came from Robin's belt. "Ah. Crap," he muttered. "Rancid's back."

"Rancid?"

"Johnny Rancid," he answered distractedly. "Um… I guess I'll see you- Aw, no…"

She looked in the direction Robin was staring. A giant grey moth was flying toward the middle of downtown. "Robin!" she shouted, grabbing his shoulder. "That is Silkie!"

"Yeah, I see that. Gimme a lift?" he extended his arm to her and she grabbed his wrist, going for the usual trapeze hold.

She lifted out of her skylight, flying quickly to her beloved Silkie.

Silkie's head dipped down and a chain was coming out of his mouth, an odd grey boy attached to it.

"Starfire, drop me and get Rancid," Robin ordered. She narrowed her eyes sulkily at the order, but she did as he said. She gathered a starbolt in two hand s and shot the chain in half. Johnny Rancid shot into the air and dark energy gathered around him, lowering him safely to the ground. As she dropped Robin, he released a grappling hook to catch himself and he was standing with his friends.

"Silkie!" Starfire shouted, horrified and happy and surprised and so many other things all at once.

"His name is larva M-319, and he belongs to me: Killer Moth."

To Starfire's horror, Killer Moth cracked an electrum whip in the air and flicked it across Silkie's back. The moth screamed out in pain and charged toward her. She floated in front of Silkie, unable to move or do anything except stare at him. Not that it mattered, because Silkie would never hurt her.

"Starfire!"

Being tackled out of the air doesn't feel nice. Presumably, it feels better than being eaten by a giant moth that you'd just betrayed so unspeakably that it decided to become evil and battle you, but that wasn't the point.

The wind was knocked out of her, and when she opened her eyes and forced air into her lungs, Robin was peering at her. "Are you crazy?" he hissed, taking his arms away from her as she sat up.

"I must say, you took excellent care of M-319." Killer Moth taunted from on top of Silkie. "What have you been feeding him?"

"He is called Silkie," Starfire snapped at the villain.

"I created him; I tracked him down; I'll call him whatever I want."

"Are we really gonna piss off the bad guy over Silkie's name?" Beast Boy mumbled behind Starfire.

"As for food," Killer Moth continued, "I guess I'll just have to feed him you." He cracked the whip and Silkie let out another cry and barreled toward the Titans, shooting zorkaberry-gook out of his mouth.

"You like my leg?" Cyborg shouted at Silkie as he rode on pterodactyl-Beast Boy's back. "Well chew on this!"

Raven attacked next, shoving a bus into Silkie's side. Starfire grimaced as Silkie was pushed into the side of a building. Killer Moth cracked the whip over Silkie's back multiple times, grumbling, "Come on, you worthless maggot! Fly!"

"Starfire, you think you can give it some juice?" Raven asked, straining to keep the bus in place.

Starfire's eyes widened and she hesitated, which gave Killer Moth enough time to wrap the whip around Raven's ankle and shock her with it.

Robin was next to attack, jumping on to Silkie's back and engaging Killer Moth in combat directly. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit thankful that Robin didn't use any exploding birdarangs or whatever else he had in his belt that might have harmed Silkie.

Killer Moth bested Robin, thanks mainly to his ability to fly. Beast Boy snatched him out of the air and deposited him on the ground safely.

Starfire had to stop Silkie. She couldn't let him hurt any civilians. She floated up in front of him, and she said, "I am sorry, Silkie." She let green energy surround her and she concentrated it into one starbolts, carefully aiming at Killer Moth. He was shot off Silkie's back successfully, except that as he fell the whip snared around Starfire's ankle and electrocuted her. They both cratered the ground as they hit it, and Silkie landed between both of them, seeming confused about what to do now that Killer Moth had stopped whipping him.

"M-319. Come!" Killer Moth barked.

"No, Silkie! He is evil! You belong with your k'norfka! You belong with me!" Silkie looked between both of them, confused. Starfire smiled brightly, calling, "Here, Silkie, Silkie! Here, my sweet little mutant!"

Killer Moth stood to his full height, struggling to compete with Starfire's cheeriness. "Uh… Here, M-319. Come to… papa."

"Oh, Silkie!" Starfire chirped. "Starfire has a big hug for you!"

"Hey, big fella. Did Killer Moth create you in a lab? Yes he did, yes he did!"

Starfire dropped her cheery demeanor to glare at Killer Moth before adopting it again. "Here, Silkie, Silkie! Come to your k'norfka!"

Silkie looked from Killer Moth to Starfire and back again as they continued to call him, making all kinds of warbles and grunting noises. He shook his head quickly and… he blew up.

Starfire only raised her arm over her face to shield her eyes from the light of the blast, not to protect herself the way she should have. She got blown back a little, but she floated into the air without sustaining any injuries. A large skeleton, covered with pink gook, was standing where Silkie was before.

"Sweet!" Cyborg shouted happily. "My leg!"

"So… nasty…." Raven muttered.

Starfire landed in the middle of the pink, gooey skeleton and plopped onto the ground, tears welling in her eyes. This was all her fault. She was the worst k'norfka ever. She could feel the Titans looking at her, although they were staying quiet. They probably didn't know what to say to her.

She heard tiny little cries. Like what she'd heard in her penthouse only the day before. She gasped. "Silkie? Silkie?!" She dove into the pink goop, emerging with a little, adorable larva cradled in her arms. "Silkie! OH, hello, my little bumgorf!"

"He wasn't mutating," Beast Boy said from behind her. "He was molting!"

"Fascinating. Can we go home now? I need a need a shower. In the worst way."

Raven wasn't very impressed by the news, but that meant that Starfire didn't do anything to make Silkie grow! Probably his ability to spit zorkaberry-goop was her fault, but that hadn't hurt him.

Although, she still wasn't sure if Robin would let her keep him. He should, seeing as he was now an appropriate size and he wouldn't be tearing their Tower apart if he was with her. She floated over to Robin and gave him the saddest, pleadingest she could muster- a copy of what beast Boy had treated her to earlier. She blinked for added effect.

"Okay, fine, you can keep him," he mumbled, putting his palms out to her as a sign of defeat,

"Yay!" she squealed, throwing one arm around his neck and holding Silkie in the other.

He pushed her back gently. "But no more alien food," he told her sternly.

"Oh, very well. I am not sure what to give him, but I am sure that I will figure something ou-"

Silkie wormed out of her hands and gobbled up some of the pink goo. Starfire tilted her head curiously while the other Titans made various noises of disgust. She crouched in front of the goo and reached out for it.

"Ah… Starfire you probably shouldn't-"

She cut off Robin's protest by putting the goo in her mouth. "Oh! It tastes just like zorkaberries!" she cried delightedly, and she and Silkie began scooping the goo off the ground and into their mouths.

…

"Selina, meet Silkie!"

"Oh god, what is that thing?" Selina demanded, her eyes wide in the computer screen.

"He is a mutated moth larva, created by the villain Killer Moth!" Starfire explained.

"Riiiiiight. Jeez, first Harley with her hyenas, now you with your… mutated moth larva. You know me, kid, I have a soft spot for animals. Or… whatever that thing is. Keep him. But I swear, if that thing makes any messes on my carpet-"

"I will cover all expenses, Selina. I promise."

"You're a good kid. You seem happier than you've been lately. What did Robin say to you?" Selina asked, curious.

Starfire felt her face heat up and she ducked away from the camera under the guise of putting Silkie on the floor. "I did not say that anything occurred between Robin and me…"

Selina laughed. "Oh, come on, Star. I know you. Did you make up? I know you were pissed at him for telling you to back off."

"I am unsure. But he made me feel better."

"That's all? C'mon, Star, have a little backbone."

Starfire looked down, smiling softly, and she raised her gaze back to the camera. "Selina, I do not hold grudges when it is more effort to be angry at someone than it is to just be happy."

"Wisdom from the mouth of babes. I want details. Go."

Starfire leaned back in her chair and pulled her knees up and told Selina everything that Robin had said to her, Silkie curling up at the edge of her round bed.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15 – Slippery Slope

Robin was going to the absolute minimum amount of Wayne Events now. Which was how he liked it. He almost didn't stop by this one, but he was on his way back from training with the True Master. Bruce would be really interested in hearing about that, anyway, so they at least had something to talk about.

Starfire was going to be at this event, too. Not that this was a motivating factor for Robin. It was just a fact.

Apparently she'd been to a few that Robin hadn't gone too. Which was fine. Robin didn't like these things, and it would be suspicious if she only showed up when Dick Grayson was also in attendance.

"Are you ready?"

Robin opened the door to the bathroom. Bruce was already done, jacket buttoned and everything.

"Do I really have to slick it back? I look like a tool that way. Couldn't I just leave it loose?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "We agreed on keeping it back flat."

"What if I just…" He pushed his hair down so that the part he usually kept spiked brushed over his eyes. "Good, right?"

"Dick…"

"Fine, fine." He ran his hands through his hair moodily and smoothed it down. "Happy?"

"Overjoyed," Bruce deadpanned. "Now let's go."

Robin followed Bruce down the hall. "What's this one for, anyway?"

"The Martha Wayne Fine Arts Foundation. Should be kind of slow, mostly an older crowd."

"Great," Robin muttered.

"You wanted to come," Bruce reminded him as they walked through the halls in the Manor.

"I know I did. Guess I forgot how boring these things are."

"Selina and Kory should be waiting for us. I asked them to come before the rush. Remember to behave yourself."

Robin rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you that there's nothing going on?"

Bruce glanced over his shoulder at his ward. "It doesn't matter how many times you say it; it won't change the fact that I don't believe it."

"Whatever."

Bruce pushed open the door and Robin ducked into the ballroom under Bruce's arm. Starfire and Selina were there already, as Bruce said they would be.

Selina wore a deep green dress, tied high at her waist and fitting tight on her, skimming the floor in a small circle around her ankles. The dress was long sleeved, which was appropriate for the January weather and predictions of snow. The bottom of the sleeves and the hem of her dress were decorated with small gemstones, which swirled up in patterns and faded before they got very high on the dress.

Starfire didn't seem bothered by the cold, however. She wore a strapless dress, black lace over white fabric that reflected the lights. The dress was fitted to her body until it hit below her hips, where it belled out a little in a mermaid cut. Robin's eyes flicked over her quickly, trying not look at her too much, and he dropped his gaze to her wrist. The seashell bracelet was clasped in place, which made him rather happy. He stamped that feeling out as quickly as he could. A deep red gem, shaped like a teardrop, hung on a thin silver chain around her neck. That was one of the gems she'd stolen, which made him rather annoyed.

Bruce put a hand on Robin's shoulder, which made him avert his eyes quickly. Oh, come on. He wasn't even looking at her. He was looking at her stupid necklace. Although, that was probably as bad and even more suspicious.

"Thank you for taking my coat, Alfred, dear," Selina was saying.

"Of course, Miss Selina. Does Miss Kory have a jacket she would like to put in my care?" Alfred asked politely.

Starfire's eyes went wide and she glanced at Selina nervously. The older woman just laughed and said, "She didn't bring one. She doesn't get cold very easily, my Kory."

Alfred quickly acted like this wasn't odd, a simple, "Of course," letting Starfire think that her ability to walk around in a sleeveless dress in January was nothing to blink at. She relaxed and smiled at Alfred, who nodded at her but didn't smile back, professional as always.

Robin didn't know she didn't get cold. Her heat signature was different than humans', but he didn't know that meant she regulated her body temperature like that.

The four of them took their places and welcomed guests. Bruce was right- it really was an older crowd. Some executives who handled the money, Wayne Enterprises guys, a few of the big name actors who'd starred in plays the charity helped fun. A few of the people were in their twenty-somethings, but that was as young as it got.

This event was much more of a stand-around-and-chat type of deal. They wouldn't be serving food, except for a few small things the staff brought out and walked around with.

Annoyingly, one of the twenty-somethings had decided that hanging around Starfire was a good idea. Even more annoyingly, she drank up the attention, giggling and smiling and fluttering her eyelashes.

Kind of like the way she behaved when she talked to him. Him, Robin, not him, Dick. Um…

There wasn't much dancing tonight, which was odd because you'd think arts people would be into that. It was a lot more business-y than it was a social event. Well, people were really excited to talk to each other, so it was social in that sense, but it was mostly talking excitedly about art or a play or whatever the next big event was. Which was probably why Robin kind of felt like a tool for standing around and not doing much talking. He really wanted to slip away and do a patrol. He hadn't done one in Gotham since he left.

There were some people dancing- Bruce had the corny orchestra playing and the dance floor was open. People just didn't seem very interested. Probably a good example of the difference between events where younger people showed up and events where older people showed up.

After about an hour and half, Bruce sat down at a table, flanked by Selina, and Robin joined them. Bruce was taking a break and he wouldn't to hear Robin whine about how bored he was, so he wasn't going to do that, but he wanted some company. Even if his company was Bruce and Selina.

"What's the matter with you?" Selina asked as Robin slipped into a chair.

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

Selina just smiled smugly and tilted her head. He knew he was going to regret it, but Robin couldn't help but look in that direction.

Starfire was leaning against the wall, hands behind her back, and that guy was standing in front of her. Really close to her. Starfire tilted her head and peered around him, meeting Robin's gaze for a moment before flicking her eyes back to her friend's.

Robin hastily looked back down at the white tablecloth.

"Gotcha in a bad mood, huh?" Selina purred happily.

"It's not like that," he snapped.

"Leave him alone, Selina," Bruce murmured. "And please stop encouraging him."

Robin snapped his eyes up to Bruce's. "Encouraging? I'm not- she's not-"

"Greetings."

Robin snapped his mouth shut as Starfire slipped into a chair next to him.

"Are you having fun, Kory?" Selina asked. She was talking to Starfire but looking at Robin. It was annoying.

"Oh, yes. I was just speaking to…" She let her voice trail off and her eyes went round. She gasped sharply and her hands covered her mouth.

Bruce went rigid as an automatic reaction. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"Oh, Mr. Wayne, I am terribly sorry, I did not mean to alarm you, but look!" She pointed to the window excitedly and Robin lifted his head to look.

Snow. Silver in the moonlight, drifting down slowly in the windless night.

"Oh, Aunt Selina, might we go venture into the snow?" Starfire begged breathlessly.

"Oh, darling, I'm afraid that I need to stay in here with Bruce." She paused lightly, and both Bruce and Robin knew what she was about to say. Bruce tried to interrupt but Selina was too quick. "Why doesn't Dick take you?"

"I would not like to inconvenience him," Starfire murmured, although she looked at him hopefully.

Robin glanced at Bruce, who gave him a disapproving look and a small shake of his head. "Are you kidding?" Robin gave her a smile. "I'm bored to death in here, anyway."

Bruce scowled at him.

"Oh! Thank you!" She was so excited that she leaned over in her chair and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing too tight for a second before letting go.

Robin leaned away from her and rubbed his neck. At least leaning away would get Bruce off his back for a while. He stood. "Um, you sure you don't need a jacket?"

"I will be perfectly comfortable, now please let us make with the haste and venture out into the snow!" She stood and pushed her chair in, tugging him up next to her by the arm. He stood and looked around, locking gazes with that guy she was talking to before. Robin raised his eyebrows and smirked at him and he looked away.

Robin took a hat and gloves from Alfred, staying in his jacket, which was lined anyway. He'd built up some tolerance to the cold as part of his initial Robin training, so it shouldn't be too bad.

"Oh!" She exclaimed as she stepped on it and it crunched under her heel. "How wondrous!"

"You're sure you're not cold or anything?" Robin asked. He was mostly curious, and he wished he could ask her how exactly it was that she kept herself warm.

"No, no," she answered distractedly, spinning around and letting snow sprinkle over her. "Oh! It is quite fluffy!" She brought her fingers to her hair, which was already covered in a dusting of snow.

Robin chuckled. Starfire continued spinning around, arms spread, snow wetting her cheeks and shoulders.

"You can try to catch it on your tongue," he mentioned softly.

She turned to him, wide-eyed, and stuck her tongue out. She squealed in surprise. "You try!"

Robin blinked at her. "Oh. Um, I'm good."

But she yanked him out into the open by the wrist. He didn't join her in trying to catch the flakes on his tongue. He wondered vaguely if the snow would damage his jacket. He didn't care much, he hated this jacket.

When she tired of that she turned to him, absolutely beaming. She giggled. "You are covered in the flakes of snow!"

He smiled back at her. "You're not much better, yourself." Snow was dotted over her hair, which was now wet, and stuck to her eyelashes in a way that made it hard to look away.

She brushed snow off his shoulders, looking apologetic, before whirling away from him. "What other sorts of activities might I try?"

"You can sculpt things out of snow. Although I wouldn't try that without gloves on," he added as she stooped to try it.

She ignored that. "Oh! It is cold!"

He watched as she held out her palm and water pooled at the bottom of the snow, dripping out from between her fingers.

"Yeah." He tilted his head at her a little. "It's cold in the air, too."

She just looked at him. "It is?" He nodded and she shrugged. "Please, what other amusing things may be done in the snow?" she asked, tilting her head at him curiously.

He just looked at her for a minute. The white part of her dress was made of odd material, almost iridescent, and the moonlight was glinting off of it almost fluidly as she moved. Snow dusted over her hair and on parts of her dress and over her eyelashes, melting on her shoulders and arms and the water literally evaporated away, disappearing before her skin got too wet. Her eyes were on him, bright and curious, and it did odd things to his stomach and his brain when she blinked at him.

"Dick?"

"Um, sorry. You can, um..." He glanced around. "Well, the river's frozen. You can walk on it."

She gasped. "Truly?" She trotted over to it excitedly.

"Um, wait. You shouldn't... I mean, it might not... I don't know how thick the ice is." The ice seemed okay; it was light blue, almost clear in the center.

She stepped from the bank onto the frozen river, lifting her dress as she stepped onto it. "Oh! Glorious! Look, Dick, the water has ripples frozen into it!"

"Kory, please come off the ice," he called weakly.

"Just a few minutes more!" she called back. Her heels clicked on the ice as she walked and he wondered how much of a difference the low surface area really made.

"Do the fish and other aquatic creatures that live in this river not die?" she asked softly, sounding terribly concerned.

"No. The water freezes from top to bottom. They're all swimming around underneath you." Hesitantly, he stepped onto the river to join her.

"Oh!" She froze in place, lifting one foot. "Do you think my presence bothers them?"

He furrowed his eyebrows at her, wishing she wouldn't do that. "No, I don't think it does."

"Do you not think the sound of my footsteps are amplified through the ice?" she asked worriedly.

"I think you're good."

She beamed at him. "How deep do you think the ice is?"

"Dunno. Probably at least four or five inches. Maybe six." She still looked confused, so he held his fingers apart for her to see.

To his horror, she jumped a little. "How much weight do you think it can hold?"

"I don't know, but that's honestly the worst way possible I can think of to find out." He snatched at her wrist, but she darted away from him. "Kory, knock it off. Get back here."

She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him, leaving him rather flustered. "You are like Selina. Allow me simply to have some of the fun!"

He didn't say anything about her forgetting the Aunt before saying Selina's name. "You can have plenty of fun over here."

"Oh," she said, giggling, "you mean by you?"

He glared at her. She was trying to distract him. "Yes," he snapped. "That's exactly what I mean."

She looked somewhat disappointed that he rolled with that particular punch. "If you wish to seek my company," she said, sulky, "come and get it." And she backed up a little.

"Stop that," he hissed. She was getting toward the edge of what he was sure was safe. He darted after her, dress shoes slipping on the ice a little.

"Wait," he said urgently, and she actually did stop. "Don't back up. The ice... see how it changes colors? Don't go on the gray stuff."

She glanced behind her. "I am lighter than I appear." And she backed onto it.

The ice started cracking a little, and she smirked at him as his eyes widened. She was probably hovering just a little. Just to freak him out. She was the most irritating person alive. Who does this?

He went to the edge of where the ice was safe. He could reach her if she put her arm out. "Just give me your hand."

"Oh, Dick, you worry too much. Even if I was to fall, I would be fine."

There was a lot of truth to that. She probably wouldn't freeze, with her weird alien homeostasis, and she could just fly out. Selina would kill him, though.

"Okay, then. Fine. Have fun at the bottom of the-"

Before he could even get the sentence out, there was a loud, hollow crack. She turned her eyes to him, wide, surprised, and just a little scared. Her arms flew out toward him and he grabbed her underneath the elbows, whisking her off the cracking ice and over to where he was standing.

He backed up onto more secure ground, his hands on her forearms. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, bunching the material in tight fists. She looked over her shoulder at the spot where she had been standing, scarred with a jagged line, inky black water reflecting the night sky and flowing gently.

"I told you!" he scolded her, frowning.

She turned back to him. "Thank you," she said softly. She fixed her eyes right on his, and her lips were parted slightly. Not that he was looking at them, or noticing how soft they looked under the moonlight. Her hands were still clutching at his jacket.

"Anytime," he managed. He let his gaze sweep over her face, down her throat and over her clavicle. Hastily, he dropped his gaze to her wrist and the seashell bracelet.

Her head was tilted. It would be so easy to lean forward a little and... He felt her breath on his face and he tightened his hands, which for some reason were still on her arms.

"Oh," she murmured, like she was just remembering something important. "Dick. I... I cannot."

He went rigid. "Can't?" he squeaked, his voice too high. "Can't what?"

"I... am emotionally involved with someone else." She bit her lip, really looking upset.

"Uh, what?" he stammered stupidly.

"I am sorry." She released the lapels of his jacket and smoothed them down, which so wasn't a great move because he could feel her fingers rake across his chest.

"It's not... Did you think I was actually going to ki...?" He choked and coughed. She crossed her arms and stepped away from him, lowering one eyebrow and raising the other. "That's not what I was doing at all."

"Good. I am glad," she snapped. "I do not wish to engage in prolonged lip contact with you, anyway."

Heat creeped up his neck. He tried to say something- what, he honestly didn't know- but sounds wouldn't come out. He finally squeaked out, "It's nothing... personal. I just don't wanna kiss you!"

"I heard you the first time." Her glare deepened and it was more frightening than any look she'd ever given him before. This was the problem with someone who could blast you with just a look. "I do not want you to want to kiss me."

He blinked at her. "Then why are you getting so upset?" Plus, the first time he didn't say he didn't want to. He just said he wasn't going to.

"Why are you behaving like a klorbag?" she snapped, climbing over the bank back onto solid ground.

"What? Hey, where are you going?"

"Back," she answered without turning to look at him.

"But you'll get lost without-"

"I will take my chances."

He watched as she made her way through the snow back to the Manor. He really had no idea what happened. He hadn't even done anything! And what was more confusing was that she acted like that was what she was upset about!

He waited until she was a safe distance ahead of him before heading back, himself.

He walked in and grabbed his hat and gloves in his hands, messing his hair up a little. Alfred appeared in front of him. "Master Dick. Is everything well?"

"Fine, Alfred," he muttered distractedly.

"Miss Kory came through looking rather distraught. I thought maybe…"

"She's going to get herself lost," Robin muttered to Alfred, annoyed.

Alfred extended his harm to take Dick's hat and gloves. "Do not fret, young sir, I gave her directions to the ballroom. She is most polite, even when upset."

"Yeah, yeah." He handed Alfred his stuff, muttering out a thank you.

He entered the ballroom and glanced around. He expected Starfire to be seated at the table, either upset and sad or seething and moody. But she wasn't.

Actually, right now, she was dancing. That was a quick transition. She was smiling at that guy from before, lowering her head and blinking at him.

Robin sighed and walked back over to the table, kicking a chair across from him so he could put his feet up on it. Annoyingly, he didn't have long to sulk before Selina sat by him.

"What's with Kory?" Her tone was accusing.

He glared at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What did you do?" she asked, her voice soft and dangerous.

"Nothing," he snapped. "I literally did nothing."

"Uh huh. She certainly seems more comfortable with 'the dancing slowly'. Which, you know, I thought you'd be more interested in, since you taught her how to do it."

Robin dropped his feet to the floor. "Quiet. Bruce doesn't know about that."

Selina sighed and glanced back at Starfire, who was dipping her head to touch her forehead against the other guy's. She was laughing. "You don't have to follow all of his rules, you know. I know you think you want to be... the other him. But you can't be him without being Bruce."

Robin glanced at Bruce, standing stiffly and giving a fake laugh as he talked to some blond woman.

"Is that really what you want?"

"It's not always about what I want," Robin answered defensively.

Selina's expression was soft and pitying. That annoyed him. "Right. Mommy and daddy's little avenger, right? Keeping everyone at arm's length so that you can prevent anyone else from ever losing their parents."

He gave her his very best glare. "Don't you ever talk to me about that," he growled.

"But would mommy and daddy want their little Dickie to be like... him? Would they want you to be alone?"

He stood up so quickly that his chair fell back behind him with a loud thud. That attracted a bit of attention, but Robin didn't care. "You are blowing this whole thing out of proportion," he snapped. "It's not about that. I don't even want her to be…" He paused. Selina actually did look a little apologetic, but she also wasn't happy with being shouted at. She was also surprised at his reaction. "I need some air," he mumbled.

"You just had-"

"Need more." He stomped right through the middle of the dance floor. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Starfire turn toward him and give him a worried look, but he ignored it and stormed through the halls. He undid his tie and yanked it off. As he walked, he unbuttoned his jacket and threw it over his elbow.

"Alfred?" he called as he walked into the kitchen.

Alfred appeared in the middle of the room, oven mitts on. Robin felt bad for interrupting him. "Yes, Master Dick?"

"Can you please make sure nobody goes in the East Wing?"

"The East Wing, sir? Is everything alright?"

The East Wing was where the gym was. It wasn't a very involved gym- it just looked like a regular gym that someone would have in their house. There was a really tricked out gym in the Batcave, but Robin didn't want to go down there. He didn't really want to be Robin right now. He wanted to be Dick Grayson for a little while. He hadn't just been Dick Grayson in a long time.

"Nobody, sir?" Alfred repeated, for clarification.

"Especially not Selina or Star- Kory. If you can keep Bruce out, more power to ya."

"I'll see what I can do, master Dick."

"Thanks, Alfie."

He changed in his room and slipped into the gym, being sneaky just in case someone from the party was lurking around. Once he was in the gym, he stuck to his usual 'beat the crap out of the punching bag' routine. He much preferred a martial arts dummy, but they didn't have one up here.

The good thing about the punching bag was that it was simple. And that gave him time to think. Maybe he overreacted. Selina should know not to bring up his parents, though, and if Bruce was pissed about him losing his shit, a simple explanation would change his mind. Bruce wasn't always the most understanding person, but he would definitely understand Robin's sensitivity about his parents.

But he had to think of more than just that. What was he really doing with Starfire, anyway? The simple answer was nothing. He had a crush on her, yeah. But that wasn't his fault. He'd been trying to stop seeing her lately. Jeez, that made it sound worse than it was. He tried to keep away from her when he was patrolling. He was doing a pretty good job of it, too, but then that Silkie thing happened. And he couldn't just ignore her, anyway. It kind of made him an ass.

It would probably help if Bruce wasn't so damn judgmental, or if Selina wasn't so… weirdly happy about it. And Starfire was confusing about it, too. She seemed to want to be around him, but she was so volatile. It was hard to tell whether or not he was wasting his time.

Well, of course he was wasting his time. Robin couldn't be sidetracked by a relationship, could he? Well, maybe he could. But certainly not with Starfire, sometimes-villain, full-time 'do whatever I want'.

"Party's over."

Robin put his hand on the bag to stop its swinging. "How long was I in here? Time sort of got away from me."

"About an hour and a half, give or take. You okay now?" Bruce leaned on the doorframe.

"I guess a little. Selina got me worked up. I'll be fine. Just need some space."

Bruce paused. "You should know that she's sleeping over here tonight."

Robin snorted. "Right. Sleeping. Just keep it down, or I'll have to move to a guest room. Again."

The older man glared across the room. "I wouldn't suggest that."

"Why not?"

"Because… never mind. Just don't stay up too late."

"Fine."

He ended up in the gym for at least another half hour before deciding to head to bed.

When he walked down the hall, he noticed that the TV was on. Which was weird. Bruce and Selina didn't usually do much before they went to bed.

He picked his way into the den and very quickly wished he hadn't. Starfire was curled up on the couch in pajamas- shorts and a camisole that didn't quite cover her stomach. Oh, jeez. He didn't think both of them stayed here.

She turned to him quickly. He hadn't thought to be sneaky and he wished he had. She peered at him, confused, but then her eyes narrowed accusingly and she whirled her head around to the television.

Well, now that she saw him, he may as well get some answers.

"Um, hey. What're you… like… doing here?" he asked, stepping closer to the couch.

She pulled her knees up and glared at him over them. "Selina did not wish to go home. I had no other way to get back."

In other words: Selina wouldn't let her fly home. She was probably pissed about that. Plus she was pissed at him, anyway. So she was in a really terrible mood.

"Oh." He stepped in front of the couch on the opposite side from her to see what she was watching.

She peered at him, and he could feel her studying him. Carefully and slowly. Which was weird, because she'd never expressed in him before- Oh. Wait. He was in workout clothes. She was checking him out! He didn't quite know how to feel about that. He couldn't help turning to look at her properly, and she dropped her gaze.

"Um… there are guest rooms down the hall over there," he said, gesturing behind him, mostly because he needed something to say.

"Selina showed me." Starfire flushed bright red. "However, I think because of the rooms' proximity to Mr. Wayne's room… I can hear… noises."

Robin winced. "Oh. Yeah. That… happens. Um, if you don't mind my asking… what're you wearing?"

She blushed harder and Robin wished he didn't ask. "These are Selina's. She is… smaller in the torso than I am." She pulled her knees closer and sighed. Robin could tell she was pretty upset. "I do not wish to be here. I get lost in the halls and these clothes are too small and I wish to go home…"

Robin tilted his head at her. "Uh, hang on. I'll be right back."

He could feel her eyes on him, probably glaring, as he left. He went into his room- Starfire was right, he could hear… noises- and he quickly changed into pajamas. He grabbed old sweatpants and a t-shirt and went back out to the den.

"Here," he said, and dropped the clothes next to her.

"Oh…" She held the shirt up and inspected it.

"There's a bathroom at the end of the hall on the left. I mean, if you want."

She looked somewhat confused. "Thank you," she muttered, and she got up to go to the bathroom. Robin grabbed the remote from between two cushions and flipped channels for a minute before settling on reruns of a sitcom.

Oh, he should really go to bed. It wasn't good to be around her. It really wasn't. Whatever was going on between them was just getting worse. Why was it so easy to tell himself to do something but so hard to actually do it? Besides, she'd get freaked out if she came out and he was gone.

Starfire came back in the room and settled on the opposite side of the couch, which was pretty long so there was a few feet between them, even with Robin stretched out like he was. She didn't say a word to him; she just curled up and watched TV.

"Look, Kory…" She stiffened a little, which was the only indication that she even heard what he was saying. She wouldn't answer or look at him. "I didn't mean to… hurt your feelings or whatever. I'm sorry, okay? I'm not even really sure what I did. I didn't do anything on purpose."

She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips. "So, let me be sure I understand. You are apologizing for something you do not know about."

"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say-"

"That is not a very sincere apology, I would not think," she snapped.

"Okay, maybe not, but if you would just tell me what-"

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say. "I do not wish to explain to you what you have done to upset me. You were there, were you not?"

He groaned. At least it wasn't just Earth girls that were psychotic. He tried.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while. Robin started to get kind of sleepy. Before he knew what even happened, it was three in the morning, according to the TV.

He stretched a little and shook his head groggily. Starfire was still across from, curled up with her head against the arm of the couch. The sweatpants he'd given her, even though they were a little small on him, were too big on her. They sat low on her hips in a way that was hard not to notice, and the leg of the sweatpants had bunched up at her knee, exposing the curve of her calf. The shirt was big on her, but not in the right places. It was a little tight on her chest and it didn't quite reach her hips. There was a few inches of flat, orangey stomach showing between the waistband of his sweatpants and the hem of her shirt.

This was an image that was going to haunt him for a while. He ran his hand over his hair, making sure it was pushed back, and he gingerly approached her and shook her shoulder.

"Kory?" he murmured gently.

She moaned a little and took in a sleepy breath. "Robin?" she mumbled sleepily.

He shot away from her like it burned to touch her. Not good. Not. Good. His heart was beating too fast and his eyes were bulging. Bruce would kill him. Bruce would actually kill him.

She rubbed her wrist over her eyes and propped herself up on her palm, her hair spilling over shoulder messily. She yawned. "Oh… Dick… I apologize. I thought for a moment that you were… someone else."

He laughed nervously. "Nope, just me. Just regular old Dick Grayson. Ahaha. What you see is what you get."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes."

"Um, so, there're a couple of guest rooms down the hall. My room's at the far end of the hall, so you can probably take one of the rooms closer to this end-"

She glared at him as the words tumbled out of his mouth. That wasn't what he meant! He just didn't need that image in his head and the knowledge that there was only a small section of wall between them as he slept. If he slept at all, now.

"Right. Great. I'll see you in the morning, I guess. Have a good night." He left hastily before he could say or do anything to screw things up even more.

…

The next morning, Robin woke earlier than he would have liked. He got in the shower in the bathroom attached to his room since he never got around to taking one after working out last night. Of course, while he was getting dressed, there was knock on his door.

"Just a sec," he called, shoving his jeans on and throwing on a t-shirt. He grabbed a belt and pulled it through the belt loops, clasping it on as he opened the door.

And of course it was Starfire, dressed in Selina's clothes- leather pants and a flowy shirt that was probably meant to be long but hit right at her hips. She looked sulky about having to interact with him at all. Then her eyes dropped down to his belt and she seemed to get a little flustered, flicking her eyes back up to his face. "Oh… I apologize. I did not mean to… uh…"

"S'okay, I just got out of the shower. What's up?"

"These are yours." She thrust the balled-up clothes into his hands and he took them from her.

"Oh. Thanks." Water dripped onto his face from some of his hair that was hanging over his eyes and he pushed it out of his way.

Starfire opened her mouth to answer, but she didn't say anything. He raised his eyebrows and she snapped out of whatever was going on in her mind. "We are leaving," she said curtly.

"Well, see ya, I guess."

"Yes. I suppose you will." She backed away from his door before turning, her hair whirling around her shoulders.

Robin closed the door to his room and picked up his towel distractedly. He raised it to his face to wipe the water off. Except that it wasn't his towel. It was the shirt he'd leant Starfire. And it definitely didn't smell this nice when he'd given it to her. He held it up to his nose for a second before dropping it quickly.

Oh, man. Why had he given her clothes of his to wear? He really wasn't helping himself, here. The fact that he even noticed the way it smelled was bad. Bad, bad. He sighed and looked at the offending shirt in his lap before raising it halfway to his face and then throwing it across the room.

He was doomed.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16 – Troq

Starfire perched on a flagpole. It was the middle of the day, and she wasn't missed up there. Civilians spotted her, pointing.

The flagpole was kind of uncomfortable. She'd come up here for a break, really. She wanted to observe people. She'd been on this planet for almost a year now, and she hadn't spent very much time just observing its inhabitants.

She'd learned about Earthlings in the hour that she'd been up here. Rule one of being an Earthling: When you are walking alone, it is because you are in a rush to get somewhere.

Always rushing. Women with shoes that clacked on the sidewalk, men with large briefcases in their hands. Starfire kind of wanted a briefcase. Some of them came with locking mechanisms. What did the humans put in their briefcases? Briefs were a sort of undergarment for males, but she doubted that they carried those around. Perhaps the briefcase was a case for things that only needed to be carried briefly?

She was getting distracted. Rule two was: If you are not rushing, you must be with at least one other person. Groups of people ambled by below her. There were stragglers, of course; some people rushed places together and some solitary people ambled.

A rule for the stragglers was that if you were alone and not in a rush, you must have either a camera or the music device. Or a cellular telephone. Starfire didn't have any of those things. Perhaps she should get a camera. They looked interesting. She didn't have much need or desire for the music device. Earth music was fine, really. She liked the music at Mr. Wayne's parties best, although the music on the radio was fungi dance to, if a little disorganized compared to Tamaranean music. Starfire didn't see the need to bring music around with her. It was in her head, and that was enough.

There was a soft thud from directly above her. Starfire glanced up. "Greetings, Raven. What brings you here?" she asked the dark sorceress conversationally.

"Nothing much. What are you doing?" Raven's voice was mostly curious, although Starfire could hear an edge of something hard and grating that she didn't like much. She ignored it, though. Starfire liked Raven. She couldn't feel emotions because of her powers, which was sad, but somehow Starfire sensed that she didn't actually hide what she was feeling. Tamped it down, sure. But she never faked. It was always easy to tell what Raven was feeling, at least for Starfire, even if they were mostly noted by subtle changes in the empath's expression or voice.

"I am observing your people," Starfire answered, sweeping her arm in front of her to indicate the street several stories below.

"Not my people," Raven corrected her. "My people are Azaratheans."

""Then do you wish to join me?" Starfire patted the flagpole at her side invitingly.

"No. I really don't. People watching involves... watching people. And I hate people."

"A sentiment well carried out by your daily heroic acts," Starfire chirped.

"It will be well carried out... sooner rather than later," Raven muttered darkly.

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing. Look, you can't stay up here. Not to ruin your good time of whatever, but people have been calling us with alerts that they caught sight of a super villain in a belly shirt in downtown Jump. Some of the calls went into more detail about your costume. I suggest pants," the empath intoned.

"Oh. You have come to apprehend me?"

"No. Robin wanted me to ask you to put on civilian clothes. And not sit on flagpoles. And I think he'd prefer it if you put on pants, if his reaction to that last call was anything to go by," Raven mused.

"Oh," Starfire said mournfully, "but then how am I to continue my observa-?"

"You can observe people from a bench in the park just as well as you can observe them from up here. Probably better, in fact."

"If I do not?"

Raven sighed. "If you don't stop frightening civilians, then we're gonna have to come do something about it. Which is just annoying. Don't be annoying."

Starfire floated off the flagpole and stretched in the air. She landed on it again and held her arms out for balance. "Very well. I will put on civilian clothes. And I will try the park. But if my observations suffer as a result of my switching locations, I am coming back here."

"Yeah, fine, whatever. If I have to put my book down again today because of you, I'll be really annoyed. So there's that."

Raven sank into a mass of black shadows that appeared in the ground, and they disappeared after a few seconds. Starfire spread her arms out and let her body weight shift back onto her heels. She fell off the flagpole, her arms spread out straight around her, and she enjoyed the free-fall for a moment before catching herself.

She started to fly back to her penthouse, but she didn't get very far before a sleek, silver spaceship zoomed by, narrowly missing her.

That was odd. Even for Jump. It wouldn't hurt to take a look. Even though it was almost guaranteeing a run-in with the Titans.

She'd been avoiding them lately. Even if she wasn't necessarily angry at Robin anymore, she couldn't help but feel a little sting when she thought about her relationship with the Titans.

It was certainly an odd relationship, and she wasn't sure how it had gotten quite as far as it had. She liked the Titans, honestly. But every time she thought of possibly asking them if she could join their little band of heroes, something stopped her. And lately, that thing had been Robin.

Robin had interested her since she landed. That was normal- a bond normally occurred during a language transfer. Language often changed from person to person- the things they said, the way they said it, the meaning it had. While connotation did not usually work its way into the language transfer, certain words would have a certain feeling. For example, someone who learned Tamaranean through a language transfer with Starfire would think that the word 'Gordanian' was particularly unpleasant, but that 'k'norfka' was a word associated with laughter and smiles. She got a particularly odd feeling when the word 'circus' came up- happy and sad at the same time. She didn't know if that was normal or if that was a quirk specific to Robin. Maybe she'd ask him sometime.

But her interest in Robin, at this point, was more than because of a language transfer. It was a feeling that was hard to describe. It was a little bit like being afraid, but it was also like laughter and excitement and anticipation. It almost scared her, how much she liked feeling like that. And what was alarming was that she noticed this feeling around others, too. She would get short bursts of it when she interacted with Red X. Only when he said something particularly teasing or remarked on her looks, which he did occasionally. She felt it more strongly around the boy from Gotham, Dick Grayson. Although right now she was furious at him. Around Robin it was stronger than around either of them, of course.

While she enjoyed the mysterious feeling she got around him, she wasn't sure that she should encourage it. She'd been free for a year; she didn't want to become a slave to her own feelings. Plus, since she'd started feeling that way, it made it so much worse when Robin yelled at her. She didn't want to be on his team, unable to sulk or complain under his leadership when he yelled at her.

She was very confused lately. There was no need to make it worse by joining a new team of four people she shared such odd relationships with.

She was snapped out of her own thoughts when another sleek ship whizzed by her, and another directly behind that one, although these two were shaped differently. It looked like Locrix technology. That couldn't be good. Locrixes were very advanced robots, created originally by the Psions. They were nothing but war-machines, hating organic life and wanting to exterminate it. They overpowered the Psions, who dealt with the problem by moving them out of the Vegan star system, uprooting their whole planet and catapulting it away. Unfortunately, the Locrixes home planet settled next to the planet Vernathia in the Andromeda system. The Locrixes did not reproduce, however they were capable of scavenging metal and creating more of their own kind. They were now at war with the Vernathians, although the Vernathians were quite resilient.

The Locrix ship blew up, and a Vernathian jumped through the blast onto the other ship. He was bowing them up, which was great, except that the debris was flying everywhere.

Starfire landed on the ground. Several civilians were already running away from the site, but it wouldn't be enough. Several of them would still get crushed under the body of the ship and all the debris. She gathered energy in her hands and spread it as far as she could over the area above her, creating a barrier of crackling green. The hull of one of the ships crashed onto the shield and it crackled like electricity. Starfire buckled onto her knees and gritted her teeth, dropping her head and raising her arms as far as she could.

A few straggling civilians ran out from under her shield, so it was safe to put it down now. Except that she couldn't without burying herself under the debris. She didn't think this through very well.

"Hang on, li'l lady." Oh, thank X'hal for the Titans.

"I am not doing the hanging as much as I am doing the pushing," she told Cyborg through gritted teeth. "And I do not know how much longer I can keep it up…"

The sound of Cyborgs sonic blast filled her ears and she raised her head as the weight lessened. Cyborg was copying her, spreading the blast of his sonic cannon to take some of the weight. It wasn't as effective as her starbolt-shield, but it helped enough for her to regain her breath properly. Through the screen of her crackling starbolts, Starfire could see black energy coil around the hull of the ship.

That was most of it. There was more debris on her starbolt barricade, but she could survive that. She let the starbolt drop and she threw her arms over her face for extra protection as debris rained down around her.

Cyborg shouted as it fell, but Starfire was too busy regaining her breath to notice anything. The falling stopped and she flopped back onto her back on the street, panting, completely drained. Cyborg came into her line of vision.

"Y'okay?" he asked, stretching out his arm for her to grab.

"Indeed," she answered, not moving to take his hand or at all. "That starbolt took up much of my stored energy and that debris was quite heavy. I need a moment…"

"Good thing the sun's out today," Raven remarked as she landed next to Cyborg.

"…Vernathia. Those Crixies needed to be taught a lesson. Trust me; it could've been a lot worse."

Starfire furrowed her eyebrows and sat up gingerly. 'Crixie' was a slang term for Locrix. And a not very nice slang term, at that. The Vernathian was talking to Robin and Beast Boy as they approached.

"Guys," Robin said to Raven and Cyborg, "this is Val-Yor. Val-Yor, this is Raven, Beast Boy, and-"

"Cyborg," said the cybernetic teen, speaking for himself. Starfire kind of liked that about Cyborg's personality. He was on the team, and he didn't allow Robin to boss him around. This was the wrong time to be thinking about that, though. "Man, great job on those ships!"

She didn't like that. Great job? He almost crushed a street full of civilians!

"It's all in a day's work!" Val-Yor preened, smiling humbly.

"You mean you do this every day?" Beast Boy asked, stars in his eyes.

Val-Yor laughed gamely. "Nope, most days I fight more than just two of them!"

"So today's a slow day for you?" Raven asked conversationally.

Well, if Raven liked him, he must not be bad at all. Starfire was just oversensitive about the kind of slang he used. It wasn't like the Locrixes didn't deserve it. They were a race more brutal even than the Citadelians.

He laughed again. "Exactly!" His expression dropped when his eyes alighted on Starfire, who was still sitting between Raven and Cyborg, hunched a little. "I see you have a Tamaranean."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Maybe she was reading too much into things, maybe she was just in a bad mood because she really did use a considerable amount of energy with that stupid starbolt-wall. Did he say that the Titans had a Tamaranean? Had? The Titans did not have her.

Robin gave her a cursory glance, his smile slipping a little. "Yeah, Starfire's… an ally to the Titans." He turned back to Val-Yor quickly, and Starfire got the strange feeling that he was embarrassed. Embarrassed of her.

"So, who were those guys?" Cyborg demanded, businesslike.

"They weren't guys at all." Val-Yor's voice was deep and serious. "It's probably better if we discussed this somewhere secure. Do you have a base of operations?"

Raven flourished her arm in the direction of the Tower and Val-Yor raised his eyebrows at it.

"You okay, Starfire?" Beast Boy asked, looking down at her.

"Yes, I believe so." She stood carefully, getting a little dizzy as she did. "Tired."

"You cut your cheek," he told her, and he pointed to his own cheek.

Her fingertips came away red when she touched it gingerly. "Oh. That must be from the parts that fell when I dropped my shield. It is merely a scratch." She smiled reassuringly.

"You're kinda in this. Wanna come back with us?" Cyborg asked. "Looks like we're helpin' out with this Locrix thing."

She looked back at Robin and Val-Yor and shook her head. "No. I believe I will do the recuperating on my own. Thank you for the offer." The offer that should have come from Robin.

It was good that she was so angry, or she would have felt much more tired than she did now. She had enough fuel to make it back to her penthouse, although she felt terribly when she got back. Not just physically, either.

She flopped angrily onto her bed. Doing that, for some reason, made her want to let go and just cry. The pillows certainly were inviting for burying her face into and accosting with the full force of her emotions.

The feelings swirled in her chest like a fierce hurricane, swelling until she thought she might burst. Was her angry really founded? She supposed that she wasn't angry at Robin so much as she was angry at Val-Yor. Vernthians held a grudge against most Vegan races because of the Psions, not that it was any fault of the Tamaranians that they shared a star system with the Psions. The way the Vernathian looked at her made her stomach twist into painful knots. She knew the word that was on the tip of his tongue.

And the fact that Robin and all the Titans seemed enamored with him twisted the knife a little.

And she was still upset with Dick, which wasn't really related at all but it made her feel worse all the same.

At least she had a wiggly, warbley larva around the penthouse now. Silkie crawled up the side of her bed and sat next to her, which made her feel better even though Silkie was completely unaware of her inner turmoil.

"Oh, my bumgorf, I wish that my biggest concern was what kind of food my k'norfka would feed to me," Starfire murmured, putting him a little. She burrowed under the covers and got comfortable, so tired that her limbs ached with just the effort of staying awake.

She dreamed wildly- she always when she fell asleep in the middle of the day. She dreamed of snow and of falling under ice and of the Titans and of Tamaran and of Mr. Wayne's parties.

When she woke up from her nap, it was around five o'clock. The sun was just starting to go down. It would be best for Starfire to go to the roof to soak up the last of its rays before it went down completely.

She grabbed her laptop from her desk and floated onto the roof. She stretched out on the warm tiles, laying on her stomach and leaning on her elbows with her laptop in front of her face. She did what she always did when she felt upset; she called Selina.

The older woman picked up on the fifth ring.

"Oh… You are going out?" Starfire asked.

Selina had large earrings dangling from her ears and was putting on lipstick while Starfire spoke. "In a little bit, yeah. I'm going to a show with Mr. Wayne."

Starfire frowned. "Do you really love Batman?"

Selina scrutinized her for a moment. "You're nosy today. We've talked about this before. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It is just that you say you love Batman and then you go on the dates with Mr. Wayne. Do you love them both?"

"Hon, sometimes I sure hate them both. Besides, if I sat around waiting all day for night to roll around, we wouldn't get to go to Mr. Wayne's parties. You like those, don't you?"

Starfire shrugged. She tilted her head. "Oh, that reminds me. Recently I had a dream about Dick Grayson."

Selina grinned and she leaned forward. "You did? Oh, kid, I don't need details, but that-"

"No, it wasn't one of those. I dreamed that he was in Jump and the Titans had to save him, and I could not help because I was in a dress. It was an odd dream. But have you ever noticed that Robin and Dick look alike? Actually, I never thought about it much before. I wonder if-"

Selina almost fell out of her chair. She coughed a little. "Are you seriously suggesting that Dick is Robin?"

"Well, I was not, but-"

"That's ridiculous, Kory. Dick's a spoiled little aristocratic, snarky, teenager who, do I have to remind you, lives in Gotham." She seemed sulky.

Starfire tilted her head. "But, Selina, Kory lives in Gotham. And does Dick not go to a private boarding school?"

Selina narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, but you're different."

"Yes. I was not meaning to imply that they were the same person," Starfire said meekly. "You would know if they were, would you not?"

"Why would I-? Oh, because of Batman. Yeah, I would."

"Selina? You do realize that it would probably help my situation if you told me Robin's secret identity?"

"Yeah, Star, I know, but…" Selina sighed and raked her hand through her hair, frustrated. "I really want to help you out, believe me, I do. But I kind of gave Batman my word. A bat-promise."

Starfire sulked. "Does the Batman know that you date Bruce Wayne in the daytime?"

"Oh, please. If you could have both Dick and Robin, are you seriously telling me you would pass that up?"

The alien flushed bright red. "How did we begin this conversation again?"

"I believe it was the mention of your dream that turned the tides. So, Koriand'r, who'd it be? Huh? Boy Blunder or spoiled brat? Is that Red X guy still in the picture?"

"My relationship with Red X was never romantic," Starfire interrupted hastily.

"Right. Tell me, Kory, out of all the boys I just mentioned, which one have you actually kissed?"

"Well… I kissed Robin."

"I thought that didn't count?"

"The kiss I shared with Red X did not count, either."

Selina grinned at her, clearly amused. "You mean neither of the kisses?"

"Miss Kyle, Mr. Wayne is here for you," a blonde woman in rectangular glasses and a business suit, complete with pinstripes on the jacket and skirt, called.

"Of course, Maven. Thank you." Selina turned her attention back to Starfire. "Listen, kid, I gotta hit the road. Whatever either one of those boys has done to tick you off- cuz I can tell something has you bothered-" Selina interrupted Starfire as she opened her mouth to protest, "-don't bottle it up. Tell him. Men are useless at trying to figure out what they've done wrong, and it's always easier to tell them yourself." With a roll of her eyes, she added, "Especially the Wayne men."

"Very well. I will try that, I suppose," Starfire answered, sulky.

"There's a good girl." Even though Starfire often found the phrase patronizing, Selina didn't mean anything by it. It was just showing her general approval.

Starfire closed the laptop and put it on the ground next to her. She was still on edge, but she decided to try meditating a little. Not the kind of meditating she'd seen Raven do, hovering in the little position and chanting. Just some breathing exercises and calming thoughts. She straightened her legs and kicked her boots off before crossing one leg over the other to better absorb the sun's rays. She leaned back on her palms, tilting her head back lazily and letting her eyes flutter closed.

It really did help to calm her, the breathing and the sun, but just when it started to get dark, exactly what she didn't need found her. "Um, hi."

She didn't open her eyes. "Please do not stand in my sun."

She heard him move and the red glow of the setting sun returned over her closed lids. "Better?"

"Yes." Normally she would have thanked him, but she was mad at him for being friendly with Val-Yor. It wasn't his fault- he didn't know what Val-Yor was saying and as a hero affiliated with the Justice League, Robin was expected to be friendly with visiting alien races who did not pose a threat. Robin stood in front of her awkwardly. It was messing up her calm. She definitely did not feel calm with him there. She felt like lots of Silkie's moth brothers and sisters were flying around her stomach. "Robin?"

"Yes?"

"Can I help you with something?" She cracked an eye open at him finally.

The expression on his face was a little stupid; hands loose at his sides and mouth slightly agape. "Um, I was just… you know… checking up on you."

"I am fine," she told him curtly. "You may go. I do not wish to make you interact with me for any longer than you must."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… what?"

She opened both eyes now and narrowed them at him. "Did you not hear me?"

"I don't… I thought you weren't mad at me anymore."

"I never said I was mad." The sun was basically gone, now, the residual light was still glowing on the sky, but the circle of light had sunk below the horizon already. Starfire forfeited her position in favor of wrapping her arms around her thighs and resting her chin on her knees.

"Well, no. But people don't usually go around announcing when they're mad at someone."

"They do on Tamaran."

Robin apparently didn't know what to say to that. There was a long silence, then he said, "Do they also announce why they're mad on Tamaran?"

Starfire sighed. "They do if they know why they are mad in the first place."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him tilt his head at her. "Are you saying you're mad at me but you don't know why?"

"Well, I did not wish to, but you have coerced me into saying it," she huffed at him.

"Okay... well... um... I don't know how you expect me to fix it, then."

"I never said I expected you fix it," she snapped. "Why do you even care what I think?"

"Because, I... you're my friend."

She snapped her head to him. "Your friend?"

His mouth opened and closed for a seconds. "Um, something like that, I guess. You have friends, don't you?"

"Well... I suppose I have one friend. Although he has never declared himself as such. Does friendship need a declaration?"

"No. It doesn't. You kind of know when it happens."

"Oh." She thought about that for a few moments.

"Yeah. So, are you really sure you don't know why you're mad? You can tell me."

Starfire wilted a little. "The Val-Yor does not seem very nice to me."

Robin stiffened. "What? Why not? You didn't even say two words to him."

"He used the slurs against the Locrix race."

"The Locrixes are murderous machines bent on destroying all forms of organic life in the galaxy," Robin shot back.

Why was he being so defensive? "Do the forgetting that I said anything," she snapped at him.

"No. Seriously. Tell my why. Is it because he trusted us enough to go on that mission with him? Is it because you didn't get invited to come to? You know, there's a really simple way to get yourself involved on missions we go to, and that's joining the damn team. But you're so against it for some reason-"

"Oh. Some reason that is impossibly difficult to fathom. Such as the leader of the team having klorbag tendencies frequently and violently." Starfire stood up and brushed off her skirt. She picked her laptop up off the ground.

"Where are you going?"

"I do not wish to be shouted at."

"I just can't understand why you don't like him. At all. He's perfectly nice. He's everything that teenagers like us should look for in mentors."

Oh. That was why he was getting so defensive. Val-Yor was acting as his surrogate Batman. Which was odd, to say the least.

"What?" Robin demanded, sulky.

"I said nothing," she pointed out.

"No, but your expression completely changed. What is it?"

"Nothing, Robin. Please leave me."

"But you're still mad."

"Yes, and your staying here only seems to be making it worse, does it not?"

"But, Starfire-"

"Please," she said. "Go."

Robin sighed. "Fine. But don't say I didn't try."

Starfire watched him go calmly. She curled up on her bed, still tired from her starbolt-shield. It wasn't fair. When she was in Gotham, she wished she was in Jump. Now that she was back at Jump, she wished she could be in Gotham, wearing a pretty dress and makeup and intricate Earth dress-shoes, among people she hardly knew where she seemed to fit in.

Perhaps she shouldn't be angry at Dick Grayson any longer. He hadn't meant to insult her. Although, that didn't make his words any less insulting. But he was nice to her afterward, when she found out she'd have to stay at the Manor.

She fell asleep again.

...

Glass shattered and she sat up. Glass dust was raining over her, as well as bits of debris from the ceiling. This was an attack. It was a good thing she'd fallen asleep in her uniform.

"I knew it was you," she growled at the figure that appeared in her room. No talking, he just lunged for her. A starbolt only reflected off his body back at her. She'd need help. He was too angry, too full of hate for her to handle on her own. He was resistant to her solar energy and his strength matched her own. She tugged open a drawer of her dresser and rummaged through it, looking for one particular shell among the clutter of many different kinds of them she kept in there. The shell she'd painted absently one day, as she'd painted a few of them when she got bored.

She ducked around her soon-to-be captor and tossed the shell on her bed so that it was face up, then she focused on attempting to ward off the dangerous creature who certainly wished to harm her.

...

Robin's communicator was ringing. It was a personal call, not an alert, and that could only be one person. And he didn't feel like talking to Bruce much right now. Robin had gotten used to sleeping at night, unless it was his shift on patrol. He could still do all-nighters and go a week straight with getting only two hours' sleep in a night, but when he wasn't working or doing anything important, it was very easy to just fall asleep. Unheard of during his days as Batman and Robin.

He grabbed his communicator and cleared his throat so he didn't sound sleepy. "Dick?"

"Oh."

"Oh?" Selina echoed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Except when you call me I know that I'm about to get involved in something I don't want to get involved in." Robin squinted. "Are you in Bruce's room?"

"Yes. Now get your red and green butt over to my penthouse. There's been a break-in."

"You don't think Starfire can handle it?"

"I checked. She's not there. She's not with you, is she?"

Robin scowled at her. "Of course not."

"Well, I don't know if she went for a midnight fly or she's with that Red X guy-"

"She stays with Red X sometimes?"

"That's not the point. The point is, go check my penthouse. Update me in the morning."

Robin sighed. "Fine, I'll go."

"Wasn't asking," Selina said, and she hang up.

It wasn't fair. Really. It was like every time he wanted to give up on Starfire, the universe pulled him back in. And he did want to give up on her. It would be best for both of them. It was logical. It was easy. But at the same time, he desperately did not want to give up on her. Giving up on her would mean not seeing her again. Not seeing her green-on-green eyes, so deep and expressive, not hearing her laugh, like chimes in a calm wind, not smelling the raspberry of her shampoo or feeling the heat that radiated from her body just by sitting close to her.

How, exactly, had this happened? It was too much. Maybe trying to distance himself from her was a bad idea. All this seemed to get worse once he started that. Maybe it was because seeing her after not seeing her for so long was like taking a breath of clean air, and it was almost addicting. He'd see her once and his brain would fixate on it, notice everything he could, use every detail to his full advantage, like he was starving and she was food.

It had been a year since she landed in Gotham. He guessed that this- whatever it was- happened sort of slowly. But then, at the same time, it happened so quickly. He could hardly remember crossing the bridge between animosity and... well... certainly not animosity.

He lifted the Tower's security so that he could get in and out as he pleased. Wandered down to the garage, revved the engine of the R-cycle, shot through the underground tunnel.

If there was a break-in, that would have to mean that Starfire wasn't there. There was no way that a criminal could get past her.

Then, of course, there were super villains- Mumbo, Dr. Light, Warp, Phobia... Sade...

A shot of the grappling hook and he was on the roof and... woah. Instead of her skylight, there was a jagged hole in the roof. Huh. It was big enough for someone at least the size of Superman to get through. Robin could rule out Mammoth from that- he'd need a bigger opening. So, probably not the HIVE, then. Or at least, not what was left of it. But no, wait, that wasn't right. After that whole brainwashing business, the HIVE lost a lot of the more independent students. Gizmo, Jinx, Mamoth, See-More, and Kyd Wykkyd were part of their own group now. The HIVE Five.

But it wasn't them, anyway. Why target this penthouse? Someone had to have it out for Selina Kyle. Or Catwoman, if they'd done their research enough to realize they were the same. Or Starfire. But that didn't seem right. She hadn't really done anything to anyone. A jewelry store or two, yeah, but that didn't warrant a personal attack. Something wasn't right here.

Robin dropped down onto her bed. "Woah."

The place was a wreck. One drawer was pulled all the way out of the dresser- shells were in it, of course, and they spilled out on the ground like the dresser itself was bleeding. Another drawer was on the floor, cracked, like it had been swung around as an impromptu weapon. Underthings littered floor, which Robin deliberately ignored. Decorative plants were upturned, damp soil on the floor as roots spilled out of cracked terracotta. Robin ducked into the main part of the penthouse- luxurious living room area, kitchenette, big table for a dining room, a few doors that led to walk-in closets and bathrooms and things like that. All untouched.

Warbling noises attracted his attention. Silkie crawled out from behind the sofa and leaned his plump body against Robin's ankles. "Hey buddy," Robin murmured, bending to one knee to pet the troubled larva. "What happened here?"

Silkie just made rumbley, purry noises, glad to be pet, and Robin stood. He walked back into Starfire's room, looking for clues. Anything that might let him know what happened. If Starfire was all right.

He couldn't really find anything in the room, so he clambered up on her bed to let another grappling hook loose onto the roof- something cracked under his boot. He lifted his foot, confused, and kneeled on the bed. The covers had been thrown around and he had to shake them out to find what he was looking for.

It was half of a shell, cracked in half with black zigzags on it. She must have painted it herself. He was about to throw it to the ground when Silkie fished out the other half of the shell from the tangle of sheets and presented it to Robin.

His heart leaped into his throat. Not zigzags, he realized when he put the two halves together. A Batsignal. "Oh, shit," he mumbled. That was clearly a cry for help.

He went back up to the roof. Anything, anything at all.

Tire tracks on the roof. They weren't really tracks as much as they were indentations in the shape of wheels. The ship was probably cloaked, otherwise the Titans would have gotten an alert. He took out his communicator and snapped pictures of the tire marks and sent it to the Titans' database for identification.

He paced a little, counting seconds in his head. His communicator beeped in his hand and he flipped it open.

Vernathian ship. Which was lucky, because Val-Yor was still on hand. He should know what this was about. Robin relaxed. Everything should be fine.

...

This was not good. She'd fought- tooth and nail, literally. She even pulled one of the drawers out of her dresser and smacked him with it. Dilustel was hard to get through.

The hatred won out in the end. It usually does, Starfire hard learned. And now... well... Now she was trapped.

Trapping a Tamaranean is not wise. Val-Yor had knocked her out, bound her while she unconscious. What kind of person keeps energy dampeners in their ship?

He was meticulous. Energy dampening cuffs around her wrists, what felt like reinforced chain around her ankles and around her torso, pinning her elbows tight to her sides. Cloth was tight around her mouth, knotted behind her head. She tried to slip it down her head using the floor, but no luck. It was on too tight.

Don't panic. Think. That was important. She was in his ship, not a cell or anything. She tried to crawl to a wall so she could brace herself on it and stand, but the chains around her were really heavy. It was like they were threaded with dark matter.

The ship wasn't in motion and Val-Yor didn't appear to be on board. She didn't know where they were, though. It was so dark.

Her bed- her whole room- was 'trashed'. Put in a state of disarray. Robin would never find the seashell she left for him. But that was okay, maybe he'd put it together. ...Right? He didn't seem very happy to have Val-Yor's rudeness called to attention, but this was completely different. He couldn't ignore all of this.

She would be fine.

...

The Titans had given Val-Yor an empty room to stay in for the night. His ship was parked in the garage. Robin saw it when he parked the R-cycle. He ran his hand through his hair, kind of nervous. He wasn't used to asking for help on a case. He avoided it as much as he could- Bruce didn't always make it pleasant.

He knocked on the door to the room they'd given Val-Yor.

The door opened quickly, which surprised Robin. Meant Val-Yor hadn't been sleeping.

"Spike! What's up?" the alien asked, smiling at Robin.

"Um... nothing much. I was just working on a case and I could use some..." Help. Say it, Robin. "...of your expertise." Close enough.

Val-Yor narrowed his eyes at Robin. Then he smiled. "You need help? With what?"

"Any reason a Vernathian ship might have been parked on the roof of the most expensive apartment complex in Jump?"

Val-Yor grabbed his elbow and yanked him into the room. Which was unexpected. "What are you implying, Spike?" Val-Yor asked when the door closed.

"Um... I... Nothing. I just thought you might know." This wasn't good. He was being shifty. A thought formed in the corner of Robin's mind and he pushed it back.

Val-Yor relaxed. "Oh. So, why are you looking for a Vernathian ship?"

"There was one parked on the roof of an apartment complex that was broken into."

"What makes you think it was Vernathian?" Val-Yor was trying to keep his voice light, but there was a certain hardness to it.

"Tire marks on the roof."

"Probably not Vernathian. Probably Regirian. Similar tech."

"Oh. Good. I'll look into it."

"Yeah. Good luck on the case, Spike." And Val-Yor ruffled Robin's hair playfully.

Robin smiled to himself as he left. Everything was fine.

He headed to the ops room to check on the Regirian ships like Val-Yor said. He lined the measurements of their ships up with the picture he'd taken. Val-Yor was right. It was similar but... not the same. He did a manual check of the Vernathian ships and it fit perfectly. Damn it.

That thought from before shadowed across his mind and he took the elevator down to the garage.

Val-Yor's ship was there, in the same place he'd left it. How the hell did this thing work? There didn't appear to be a door or hatch or anything. Even if he had been there, where was Starfire now? None of this made any sense. Why would Val-Yor attack Starfire.

Maybe she really was off with Red X. The thought made him bitter and glum.

What was he supposed to tell Selina about this whole thing, anyway? 'I don't know where Starfire is and a ship from the planet this really awesome guy comes from was definitely there, but it's probably nothing to worry about.' She'd kill him.

He tapped the side of his mask, turning on infrared vision to see if the engines had been on recently. Which they had been, but that wasn't the most alarming thing his saw. "Oh, fucking... Starfire?"

Her heat signature was all over this thing. He couldn't see through it, but her energy was seeping through the metal like water through a paper towel.

He stepped closer to the ship and knocked on it. "Star? You in there?"

Muffled sounds. Why wasn't she answering him? This was not good. "Um... hang on. I'll be right back."

Robin went back to the ops room, this time to do more research on Vernathian ships. He requested information from the Watchtower. Thankfully, Martian Manhunter was on watch right now, and he didn't ask that many questions. He had a bunch of .pdf files downloaded to his communicator about their operating systems. He needed to open it up and he had no idea how.

Unfortunately, he'd need the keys. Which Val-Yor had. Robin was frustrated by this. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding, here.

He knocked on Val-Yor's door again, and this time there was about half a minute of pause before the door slid open.

Val-Yor did not look happy to see him. "Spike. Don't you sleep?"

Robin shrugged. "About two hours a night. Can I talk to you about something?"

"I... guess. What's the problem."

He really had no idea how he was going to play this. Throw words out there and see how Val-Yor reacted, mostly. Lie a little, tell some of the truth. "So do you remember that girl?"

"Sunshine?" Val-Yor asked with a smile.

"No, no. The other one. Who was with us earlier today. The one who saved all those civilians?"

His face settled in a stony frown. "The Troq."

Robin tilted his head. "The Tamaranean."

"Troq means Tamaranean," Val-Yor explained off-handedly.

"Oh. Well, she's kind of... gone missing."

"You're worried?" His tone was emotionless, analytic.

"Well, yeah. It's kind of my job to protect anybody who needs me. I'd say disappearing and a broken-into penthouse falls under that category." He was getting kind of defensive. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the disapproval laced in Val-Yor's voice and expression. Just like Bruce. Maybe it was because he was trying to keep him off his tail. He took a breath to calm himself.

"But... this is a Troq." Val-Yor sounded confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You Earthlings aren't very astute when it comes to alien races." Val-Yor chuckled and ruffled Robin's hair. "Troqs are good for two things, kid. Labor and pleasure."

Robin blinked and ducked away from Val-Yor's hand. "What?"

"Shock? There's gotta be some race here that's like that. There's one everywhere."

Gotta keep it together. "There used to be I guess. For labor, I mean. Um, so what do you think I should do?"

"About the Troq? There's nothing for it, is there? Just let it slide."

Robin felt sick. "Um, I probably shouldn't."

Val-Yor gave him a suspicious look. "Why? Did you want her for yourself?"

He felt even sicker. "No. Nothing like that. But, I mean, paperwork and stuff. I'm obliged to look into it, especially since the break-in was called in to the Tower."

"You can say you looked into it. The person who called in would understand if they knew about the Troqs. You'd be doing the right thing."

"Oh. Uh. What would happen to a captured... Troq? I mean, where do they go for labor and...?"

Val-Yor smiled, happy that Robin was taking an interest. "Right now, the Citadel has a treaty with the Troq planet. They won't capture any as long as they're on-world. Doesn't say anything about off-worlders. The Citadelians will pay a heavy price for a Troq, especially one as young and pretty as the one I saw earlier."

Robin leaned against Val-Yor's dresser, putting his hands up on it. He tried to look casual while he felt for the keys to the ship. "Why pay so much if they're only good for... those two things?" He had to keep Val-Yor talking and distracted.

"Tamaraneans can survive in space. That's valuable and a rare quality. Their reproductive systems are also as adaptable as their pathetic race. Lots of compatability."

Got them. Yes. Now to get the hell out of here. He slipped the keys into a compartment in his glove and said, "Oh. I guess you're right. Thanks for that. I'll... let you get some sleep now."

"You're a good kid, Spike," Val-Yor said fondly as he ruffled Robin's hair again.

"Yeah. I know." Which was why he was going to get Starfire the hell out of that ship.

He read the .pdfs on his communicator as he stalked through the halls. The keys weren't strictly keys. It was more of a proximity detector. It should open up a hatch that would let him on.

Bingo. The ship opened, a ramp coming out the side.

He was greeted by crackling green. Starfire lit her eyes, trying her hardest to be intimidating.

"Star, it's me."

The glow flicked off immediately and she made a bunch of mumbling noises. Robin noticed how she was bound and rage flooded through him like boiling liquid before it settled in his stomach. He dropped to one knee in front of her, gently removing the gag from her mouth. Her face was red where the fabric cut against her cheeks and the corners of her mouth.

"Shit. Are you okay?"

She wouldn't look hi in the eyes. She looked at the R on his chest and muttered, "Thank X'hal, I knew you would find the shell with the Batsignal on it."

"Yeah. Are you alright? How long have you been in here?"

"I am unsure. Long enough. Can you not get the bonds undone?"

"Um." He glanced behind her at her wrists. "Yeah, simple, but I'm going to move you out of here in case Val-Yor comes back. Can you fly?"

She frowned. "There are energy dampeners in the cuffs."

"'Kay, no sweat, I'll carry you out."

She looked like she wanted to protest, but what else could they do? She was light, but the chains around her were not. It was a little awkward, and Robin was kind of worried that Val-Yor would come down to the garage.

Robin carted her off to the investigation room, clearing old newspaper articles from one of the tables with a swipe of his arm. He rooted around in his belt for a laser to cut through the chains. She was as comfortable as she could get, sitting with her knees as the edge of the table and her ankles dangling in the air.

"What is this?" she asked, looking around at the room.

"My office. Sort of." The laser buzzed and glowed red.

Starfire glanced at it and then continued flicking her gaze across the room. "You have an obsession with newspaper."

"I don't make fun of you about your obsession with shells," he retorted as he set to work on the chains around her torso.

"Shells are cheery. Do you really spend most of your free time in this depressing room?" She sounded a little sad.

"It's not depressing." The chains split under the laser. Robin pulled them away from her. They were warm from her skin.

She was quiet as he undid the chains around her ankles.

"Better?" He asked, flicking his gaze up to her. He rummaged around in his belt for a regular pick for the cuffs.

"Much. Although I will be much more comfortable once the handcuffs are off."

Robin frowned. "I'm sorry, Star. I should have listened to you before. I was just... he seemed..."

"It is not your fault. You do not know what others think of us. Of Tamaraneans."

He did now. But he really didn't want to mention what Val-Yor said to him. "It doesn't make it any better. This is all my fault. Look at you." He touched his thumb to the red mark that went from the corner of her mouth to just above her ear.

Something about her expression changed and he froze. He couldn't move; he was just looking at her looking at him.

"I am the okay, Robin."

He jerked his hand away quickly and looked down at the pick in his other one. "Yeah. I know. I just feel guilty, is all."

Her eyes were still on him, he could feel it. He clambered up on the table behind her and kneeled for better leverage. He inserted the pick into the lock and jiggled it around. Lock picking took time, even though he was really good at it, by now. It couldn't be rushed past a certain point. He could have just turned her, but then he'd be level with her hair- her soft, sweet-smelling hair- and he couldn't handle that right now. Distance was important.

The lock was a little tricky, lots of tumbles that were kind of shaped funny.

"Are you sure you will be able to get it?"

"Patience," he told her. "In fact... I almost... Got it!"

Starfire rolled her arms, stretching them over her back. Robin had the strong desire to touch her shoulder blades over her shirt. "Glorious!" Starfire cried happily. She grinned up at him, really looking ecstatic.

"Yeah, I imagine that wasn't very comf-" She tackled him in a hug- literally, tackled. His elbows hit the table and he was blinded by a sea of red and raspberry scent. Her arms were wrapped around his throat a little uncomfortably, and she nuzzled his shoulder with her cheek.

"Oh, Robin, I thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She chirped, surprisingly bubbly for someone who'd been kidnapped and held in a ship in the Titan's garage for a few hours.

He shook his head, surfacing from the sea of her hair. "Um... Starfire..."

"Oh!" She sat up quickly. "Was I hurting you?"

"No... Not that... I just need to get the other cuff off you."

"Yes, please," she said, and she grinned at him, thrusting her wrist forward.

He chuckled and held her wrist with his left hand, manipulating the pick with the other. "Hey, I have a question."

"You may ask it." He glanced up at her, but Starfire's eyes were on her wrist, anxious.

"What's 'Troq' mean?"

She stiffened and jerked her wrist back. Her eyes went wide and her eyebrows scrunched together. She looked hurt, but she also looked kind of angry. And a little weary. "Where did you hear that? From Val-Yor, no doubt."

"Yeah. What's it mean?"

She lowered her eyes to the table. "It means nothing."

"It's a slur, right?"

She looked slightly confused now, too. "It means nothing. It is a slur that other races throughout the galaxy have created for Tamaraneans."

"Oh, I get it. It literally means nothing, doesn't it? He's calling you worthless."

"Correct."

Robin picked up her wrist and tugged it a little, making her look up. "Nobody thinks that."

She tilted her head at him as he continued working the pick. "Of course they do. Val-Yor has clearly stated-"

"I mean nobody of consequence. Selina and Harley certainly don't think that. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven... none of them think that."

She was looking at him attentively now.

He sucked in a breath. "I definitely don't think that."

The lighting in the room was dim, but he could see her cheeks take on a pink glow. "You do not?"

"Of course not. I'd never think that about anybody, especially not you. Without you, all those civilians today would have ended up in the hospital. Or worse."

"I suppose. You seemed quite taken with Val-Yor, I feared that you would approve-"

"No. I don't. Val-Yor's not quite who I thought he was."

"Same goes for you, Spike."

Robin jumped. Starfire's handcuff clattered to the ground. Val-Yor stepped into the dim light of the room.

"I already explained it to you. She needs to be taken to the Citadel. It's where her kind belong."

Starfire trembled a little. Out of fear or anger, Robin couldn't tell.

"That's not how things work here. We have to help everybody."

"But putting the Troq where she belongs is good for the general populous! You don't understand. Earth closets itself and stays out of intergalactic affairs. You don't have to put up with them. They're savages, Spike."

Robin glared. He wrapped a hand around Starfire's wrist to keep her in place. The trembling definitely wasn't from fear, judging by the snarling sounds she was making.

"She's not- Tamaraneans aren't-" Robin choked on his own rage. "Val-Yor, you should leave."

He narrowed his eyes at Starfire. "I'd like to take my prize, Spike."

A birdarang found its way into his palm, and he growled at Val-Yor. "You're a hero. I can respect that. You help people. You do. But if you don't leave, I'm going to call the Justice League and have the Lanterns impound you for kidnapping, plus I'll alert my people in Tamaran that you tried to harm their last heir to the throne."

Val-Yor did not look pleased. Robin would probably have to report to the League, now, and make sure Val-Yor was being watched.

"I thought the Earthlings were different." He sounded a little sad, actually. "But you're no better than the Troqs."

Starfire trembled again, and Robin squeezed her wrist tighter.

Val-Yor stormed out of the room. Robin went to the door to watch him leave and was surprised by the presence of his friends there.

"Dude! Why're you sending him away?" Beast Boy asked, forlorn.

Robin shook his head. "He's not who we thought he was."

"What's Starfire doing here?" Raven demanded, arching an eyebrow at him.

Ah, crap. Raven had to know at least a little bit of what he thought about her. It seemed like she did, from the slightly accusatory tone to the raised eyebrow. "Why's she so upset?"

"You brought a girl over?" Beast Boy squeaked.

"Man, you lay off her," Cyborg said protectively.

Robin scratched his neck. "She was... um..."

In the end, Robin had to call a Titan (plus Starfire) meeting and explain it all from the beginning. The call from Catwoman and the trashed apartment and how he found Starfire all tied up.

Cyborg stood so quickly he almost knocked the couch back. "That ain't cool on so many levels. Where the hell did you send this guy, Robin? I need to go kick his ass."

"Um, I'm going to file a report with the Justice League. Attempted kidnapping."

"He needs to be taught a lesson, man. You can't go around callin' people crap like that and not-"

Robin shot him a look. He understood, he did. Cyborg was sensitive about slurs like that, both because of his ethnicity and his robotic parts. But there was no way Cyborg was more pissed about this whole thing than Robin, and if Robin could keep himself in check, so could Cyborg. No ifs, ands, or buts.

"But you're okay, right?" Raven asked. "He didn't touch you or anything?"

Starfire smiled sheepishly. "No. He did not. I thank you for your concern."

"Girl," Cyborg said from where he was sulking on the couch, arms crossed and back hunched, "if you ever need anything, you can call us. Got it? Anything at all, if it's a babysitter for that mutant worm 'a yours."

"Actually, there is... well..." She looked really embarrassed. "I cannot fly. The energy dampeners drained me, and the sun is not out and I cannot recharge."

"You can sleep here," Robin said quickly. He winced and looked back at the rest of the team, but they didn't seem to notice his over eagerness and they all nodded in accord.

And Robin thought it would be difficult sleeping at the Manor with Starfire there. This was so much worse. He thought of waking up and knowing that Starfire was right there, knowing that she'd be okay and maybe even get the chance to talk to her first thing in the morning. That thought was as comforting as it was horrifying.

That was how he resolved to have the Titans fix Selina's penthouse as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17 - Stranded

He was in her penthouse. Again. How did this keep happening? Actually, this happened because of a call from the Justice League. Clark, specifically.

A satellite with communications down. It needed fixing. Superman and Green Lantern were out of town and oh, hey, wasn't Robin on good terms with that feisty little Tamaranean girl? The one who'd torn up Gotham about a year ago? (It was eleven months, but Robin wasn't going to correct him.) Funny thing, Tamaraneans, they can breathe in the vacuum of space. Haha, isn't that interesting?

Yes, Clark, very interesting. Except that feisty little Tamaranean girl hates Robin. Well, not Robin, Robin. Dick, Robin. And frankly, she didn't seem too pleased with Robin, Robin anyway. She was still avoiding him, he was sure. Which was fair. He'd asked her to do as much. Which is why it bothered him even more that it bothered him that she hadn't sought him out since that thing with the Slade mask. And that was, like, three or four months ago. And the pajama shirt she'd worn didn't really smell like her anymore.

Oh, yeah, he was that kind of gone. He was like an addict. It sat in an empty drawer in his dresser. The same one he'd thrown the bracelet from the alternate timeline in. He didn't want to keep it with his stuff because it would make the smell to away. Yeah, he knew how that sounded.

Sometimes Robin couldn't sleep, okay? He'd been fighting crime since he was nine and he was seventeen now. Almost eighteen. He had almost nine years of psychotic villains and death traps to plague his dreams. Sometimes it didn't even take that much and the image of the big ring of a circus and an empty trapeze would keep him up. But he'd lay the shirt she'd worn on the pillow next to his and it was like her starbolts zapped away all of his terrible dreams. Sometimes he'd even had good ones.

And now it was night, because he'd procrastinated going to see her, and he was pulling a Batman, lurking around in her penthouse. She wasn't supposed to be asleep yet. It was only midnight. Although she must get pretty tired if she woke up when the sun came up, which he suspected she did. He couldn't go in through her skylight. He'd tapped on the window but she didn't wake up, and he couldn't just drop down on her bed.

So he'd come in the old fashioned way. Demagnetize the locks on the door in the lobby of the building, pick the lock to her door, laser he chain. Which he'd replace, it was only fair.

He entered her room, which smelled just like the shirt. He put a gloved hand on her arm and he muttered, "Starfire. Wake up."

He would have shot straight up in bed with a birdarang in his hand if someone managed to sneak up on him like this while he was sleeping. But she rubbed her cheek on her blanket and took deep, sleepy breath in through her nose, and she mumbled, "Dick?"

What? Seriously, what? Why couldn't she keep Dick and Robin straight?

He gulped. She didn't quite wake up so he shook her again. "Star, c'mon."

Now she shot straight up, blanket clutched in her hands. Oh... except... that wasn't a blanket. That was his cape. The cape he'd given her when she was supposed to go home and get married. So she was mumbling his name in her sleep- both names, actually- and sleeping with articles of his clothing. Oh, man. He gulped again and looked down at her.

"Um, hi."

"Robin?" She didn't sound happy. At least she said the right name. Which meant she hadn't put it together.

"Yeah. Hi."

She rubbed her eyes. "I am in pajamas!" she told him angrily. As though he hadn't noticed. "What time is it?"

"Like twelve-thirty? I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be asleep," he muttered, feeling insanely awkward.

She glanced down at her hands and gaped at his cape like she was surprised to find it there and she tried to subtly shove it under her blankets. She snapped her eyes back up to his and she glowered at him. "What could you possibly need from me?"

"Okay. Um, before I start, you breathe in space, right?"

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, her expression telling him that he was an idiot. "Of course I do not. There is no air in space. My lungs recognize the vacuum and switch off for the duration, and my body heat rises to compensate for the crushing coldness."

"Right, yeah, same thing," he mumbled. He was really eager to get out of here and right now he wasn't interested in the mechanics of her metabolism in space. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because we might need your help."

"Oh, Robin." She sounded distressed. "The last time I did the Titans a favor Silkie became giant and you made me leave him on a-"

"Hey, that wasn't a favor for the Titans; that was a favor for Beast Boy. And, Star, not to hold anything over your head, but we did help you with Val-Yor. Didn't you say something to me once about not letting your debts go unpaid?" That was a Batman move. He didn't like pulling Batman moves.

She didn't like having them pulled on her, apparently. She glared at him. "That was your fault to begin with," she snapped.

"Ah... C'mon, Star. Please? I need help. Just this once." And a very non-Batman move to balance it out.

She crossed her arms sulkily and glared at the wall. "Very well. Does the assistance start now?"

"No, 'course not. Meet us on the roof of the tower at nine tomorrow."

She sighed. "Fine."

If Robin knew what was going to happen the next day, he would have told Superman that the Titans were busy. And if that didn't work, he would have made a crackling static noise and hung up.

By nine o'clock that morning, they'd attached the extra hub of the T-ship. Robin didn't even know they had an extra hub. Cyborg said it was there for insurance purposes- in case one of their hubs was broken or the backup glass was cracked. Robin wondered if he didn't specifically have Starfire in mind when he built it.

They had the T-ship ready to launch when Starfire showed up, arms crossed as she lowered herself onto the roof. She appraised the ship, analytical.

"Is this not your submarine?"

"This baby's compatible with space, too," Cyborg said, patting the ship fondly.

"Interesting." Starfire walked around the ship, trailing hwr fingers around the side of it, looking intrigued.

"Alright, guys. We're on the clock for the League. Headsets on." He tossed an extra headset to Starfire, who looked as intrigued by that as she did by the whole ship. "It's on a constant feed, so we'll be able to hear you the whole time."

"Wondrous," she murmured distractedly, slipping the headset on.

They dab scrambled into their set hubs on the ship, Starfire waiting until they'd all taken their seats to float into hers.

The ride to the communications center was short and largely uneventful. Starfire stayed quiet. She seemed a little sulky, but Robin couldn't really tell. Maybe she was feeling a little awkward about being with the Titans as a team.

The communications center was dark when they landed on it. Cyborg and Starfire were still wearing their headsets when they disembarked. Starfire took a moment to marvel at the destruction of the place.

The lights were off, so they could only see what the beams of their flashlight showed them. Circles of light revealed tiles that had been wrenched from their places on the floor, splintered windows- which was pretty worrying- wires sticking out, the colored sections of the wires inside protruding from the thick, black cable.

"Now we know why communications from the station stopped," Robin remarked dryly.

"Everything is destroyed," Starfire murmured sadly, holding her hand under wires that were hanging loose.

"Alright, fly girl, out you go," Cyborg said to Starfire. She smiled at him and floated to the stabilizing chamber, which led to the exit.

Cyborg walked over to what seemed to be he main console of the station and observed it. "I knew it. We got a malfunctioning bifurcating dilator."

"Yeeeeah. That was my first guess," Raven said sarcastically.

"Can you fix it?" Robin asked.

"No problem!" Cyborg kneeled and lay down underneath the console on his back, fitting wires together and talking proudly as he worked. "I just gotta cross the conjoining wires with the transistor couplers, connect the oscillator to the main data port, then have Starfire fix the zeta beam stabilizer and the radio transmitter on he outside and we're good to go." When he finished speaking, the lights flicked on and a reassuring him started up, whirring loudly before fading into background noise.

Beast Boy clicked his tongue and crossed his arms, annoyed. "Can't he ever just speak English?"

Robin shrugged offhandedly.

Cyborg had stood up and was talking into his headset. "Now switch the bifurcation levels on the outside panel..."

"But why would someone want to wreck the communications system?" Raven asked.

"Aw, girl, you done good," Cyborg said into the headset, grinning. "C'mon back in, Star, we're about done here." He tapped at the screen on his arm while he talked, checking that the technical aspects of the communications center were working.

"Who cares? Maybe someone's having a bad day and decided to take it out on the station," Beast Boy answered Raven.

A drop of moisture dropped onto Raven's hood with a squish. "Not someone," she announced, looking up at the rafters. "Something."

…

Starfire was in the stabilization chamber, waiting for the hatch to close so that the inside of the communications station wasn't exposed to the vacuum of space.

The whole structure shook, throwing Starfire onto the ground. She shook her head to clear it and hovered in the air, hurrying back to join the Titans in the main room.

It looked the same as before- the lights were off, the tiles on the floor were tossed around, wires were hanging down- only it looked even worse.

The Titans were all poised for action, and a creature with a beaked, circular mouth and large arms was standing at the epicenter if the destruction. It opened its mouth and screamed, a huge sonic blast blowing the Titans back. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg fell in one direction while Robin was blown back by her. Starfire snatched him out of the air by his cape and they were both blown back against the wall.

"Do you know what that thing is?" Robin demanded, strapping back from the wall as the scream died down.

"It is a species from the planet Kegrib. Kegrebins are capable of surviving in space and at temperatures of absolute zero, and they attack using sonics located in the larynx."

"Weakness?" Robin pressed.

"Um... I have never battled one. I am unsure."

The other Titans were already in action. Raven levitated two discs of black energy, Beast Boy and Cyborg standing on each of them as they hurtled toward the monster. The boys hopped off the discs, which turned into spikes and were fired at the creature. Cyborg took Beast Boy's kangaroo tail and threw him at the monster, and Beast Boy changed into a triceratops and stabbed it with the horns on his head.

Kegrebins, however, have a particularly thick hide, and this hardly proved an annoyance. Beast Boy changed into an ankylosaurus, swinging at it with his clubbed tail. The creature caught it mid-swing and hurled Beast Boy at Cyborg, who just shot a blast from his cannon at the monster. The Kegrebin threw Beast Boy at Cyborg, and they would have collided painfully if Raven hadn't appeared on the other side of it. Cyborg emerged from the folds of her cloak and rushed it, but it opened its circular mouth and screamed, blasting Cyborg back into Raven.

Starfire fired starbolts at its back as it turned toward its fallen victims.

Robin went into leader-mode. "We gotta stop it before it screams again!"

It opened its mouth again and Starbolt tossed a starbolt into it, choking the creature and probably burning its tongue. Robin took a chain off the ceiling and roped it around the creature's mouth so it wouldn't be able to open it again, and while he did that Starfire took a few more shots at it.

All it needed to do to stave off the effects of her starbolts was raise its arm over its head as protection. The mouth was definitely the weak point, which was difficult because Robin had incapacitated it. It jumped high in the air and aimed to land right on her, holding a fist over its head.

"Starfire, watch out!" Robin cried.

Did he think she couldn't handle herself? She dodged it without a problem and shot eyebeams at it, not that it seemed to do much good. It got too close to her and Starfire was forced to dodge punches from its massive arms.

Three discs flew past her and exploded as they hit the creature. Smoke flew up and Robin landed in a crouch beneath Starfire, both of them looking intently into the cloud of dust.

The creature burst through the veil of smoke and rushed them.

"Come on," Robin said to her and started running along the length of the elevated walkway.

It was a dead end. "But…"

"Hurry, come on!"

She flew alongside him as he ran, waiting to see what he would do next.

"Dive!" he shouted over his shoulder as he hopped up onto the railing and pushed off of it.

She was a little alarmed. She put on the speed to pull a little ahead of him in his free fall. He looked up at the walkway to see the creature jumping off and he held out his hand to her.

"Going up?"

She even understood his joke- he was asking her if she was going up, like she was in an elevator. She smiled and took his hand tightly, a little worried that his glove would come off. But he obviously trusted her. She should trust him, too.

She pulled up, slow so that he wouldn't be jerked around in the air. A feeling of elation filled her chest as they crossed paths with the Kegrebin, who was dropping down to the acid below them. They were two warriors fighting side by side in battle. Which meant Robin trusted her with his life. The knowledge made her a little dizzy. And giggly. On Tamaran, a display such as this- deliberately risking one's life with the knowledge that their partner would save them- was only heard of if the people performing the act had a deep bond. Romantic or otherwise. Starfire was beginning to wonder what the nature of her bond with Robin was, exactly.

The other Titans were cheering them on as they landed, but Starfire was too busy concentrating on her fingers against his. Wishing he didn't wear gloves.

He untangled his fingers from hers. "Nice job, Starfire."

She smiled at him. "I thank you."

Suddenly he got uncomfortable. "Um, yeah. Thanks for, you know... not letting me fall."

Starfire tilted her head at him. "I would never let you fall, Robin."

Cyborg snorted. "Alright, you two. Let's blow this joint." He smirked at Robin. "Unless you wanna stay and goof around with your girlfriend..."

Robin went rigid. He turned away from Starfire and glared at Cyborg. "She's not my girlfriend!"

Starfire tilted her head him further. "What?" She couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice.

He turned to her, eyes wide, mouth set in a grimace. "Uhhhhh..."

"I am not your friend?" He didn't answer so she continued. "I am not a girl?"

Oh, she was terribly confused. And hurt at the vehemence with which Robin denied their relationship. Or what she thought was their relationship. Or what she thought might become their relationship... Starfire was so confused.

…

She was pissed. He got that. He didn't really get why, though. Oh, god, did she think she was his girlfriend? But that didn't seem right, either. It must be a miscommunication.

"Um..." he floundered helplessly. He spun back to the rest of his friends, but the offered no help at all. Cyborg looked a little apologetic, but also confused. Beast Boy looked amused, and he was visibly holding in giggles. Raven's eyes were clicking back and forth from Robin to Starfire- she was probably reading their emotions- and she looked kind of annoyed.

"Well?"

He spun back to Starfire. Yup, she was pissed. She was blast-you-with-beams-of-energy-just-by-looking-at-you pissed.

"Ummm..."

The communications station shuddered, knocking them all a little off balance. Robin put out his arm instinctively, and he wound up grabbing hold of Starfire's forearm as the station pitched to the side.

He glanced at her quickly. Concern shone in her eyes, but he could tell that she was hurt and confused and angry. None of that was good, but they couldn't do this right now.

"Are you-?"

The Kegrebin climbed out of the pool of acid and jumped on support beams, which was doubly bad because that meant that it was getting closer to them and was damaging the beams.

Robin pushed Starfire away from him and toward the T-ship. "Titans, run!"

The whole station was shaking and shuddering. Debris was falling as he Titans made a beeline for he T-ship. Acrobatic flips allowed Robin to keep clear of debris that fell in his way, while Cyborg preferred a much less subtle method of punching through anything that fell in his path.

Robin flipped into his seat and slid on his headset.

Starfire's voice came through the headset, very timid. "Robin, may I-?"

"Give me space!" he shouted at Cyborg.

Cyborg obediently started the countdown. "Ten... nine... eight..."

"No time," Robin snapped. "Initiate now!"

"...threetwoone go!" Cyborg finished, and the T-ship teetered in the air as the ground beneath it broke apart and was propelled away by the jets.

"Brace yourselves!" Robin commanded into his headset.

The station exploded, sending the T-ship spinning through the air.

There was silence as Cyborg wrestled the ship into a regular flight path.

Robin sighed. "Is everyone okay?"

"Define okay..." Raven answered.

The ship spun again as the Kegrebin fixed itself to the front of the T-ship, right in front of Robin's pod. He swore inwardly.

"I think we can shake it," Robin said calmly. The Kegrebin reared its head back and screamed with all its might, shaking the ship. "Don't separate. I repeat: Don't separate."

To his dismay, as soon as he said that, the T-ship separated into four different pods. Starfire's didn't come apart, probably because she didn't know how to do it. They'd neglected to show her before lifting off.

That gave Robin a profound sense of relief, and it almost made him feel guilty because he should be concerned for the others, too. There wasn't any time to do anything other than brace for impact.

They hit the ground hard, the Kegrebin flying in a different direction.

Still in his pod, Robin touched his hand to his headset. "Cyborg? Beast Boy? Raven?" he called into the microphone. Then, just to check, he said, "Starfire?" No good. It wasn't just distance that was doing it, the whole system was fried. Robin clambered out from his pod, swearing under his breath.

The hatch on Starfire's pod opened and she shook her head, touching her temple.

"Are you alright?'

"Fine," she answered curtly and unclipped her seatbelt. Robin cupped her elbow in an attempt to help her out, but she wrenched her arm away from him.

"I said I am fine. I do not need to be coddled." She stood and berry she'd off her clothing regally. She put her palms on the frame of the pod and swung her legs over, landing with bent knees.

She tossed her head back and frowned at him. "We should make with the haste to find the others."

"Yeah. But... but you're fine, right? No scratches or anything?" He wished she smile at him just to reassure him. Just so that he'd know she was okay. And he wasn't worried about scratches; he was much more worried about what he couldn't see.

She stared at him like he'd grown an extra pair of legs. "Of course I have a few scratches. As do you."

"Yeah, I know, but-"

She twirled away from him, signifying the end of their conversation.

"Hey! Come back!" He trotted a few steps to catch up to her. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"Looking for your friends." Her words were clipped and angry.

He growled and grabbed her elbow to keep her still. "Okay, you really need to stop-"

A nasally growl made them both turn. A sluglike creature came barreling toward them, head down and determined.

Robin shoved Starfire out of the way. "Watch it!"

He and the creature tumbled, and Robin stuck to its body. That was unpleasant, to say the least. They hit a rock and split apart, the goo from the creature's body stretching before it broke apart. Robin rolled, thrown off and tumbling down. He was kind of listless. What was the point? They were stuck on this weird planet, he was separated from his team, and Starfire was... hissy.

He stopped falling and he groaned, not feeling very inclined to move. The slug creature was over him then, growling and snuffling.

Fear froze him, and then he broke from his frozen position and wildly punched at it. His fist sank into the creature's body. Gross. He tried to push back with his other fist, but that sank, too.

Oh, god. He was going to die with his hands fist deep in the hide of an alien slug, probably eaten. This was embarrassing.

Robin heard a zinging sound and swiveled his head around to look. An arrow was headed right for him- rather, for the slug. It hit the creature and it exploded, goo and slime raining down over him. He was frozen, lying on the ground with his face scrunched in a disgusted grimace. Footsteps came closer and he cracked an eye open. Black boots.

Starfire stood over him, looking moody. "Are you quite done?"

"Thanks," he told her, rolling into a sitting position and ignoring her remark. "Where'd you get the bow and arrow?"

"I made it," she answered simply.

He decided not to ask where she learned that or how she got the materials or how she made it so quickly. "D'you think I can get cleaned up?"

She tilted her head. "Earthlings have an odd hatred for uncleanliness. There is a small pool of water some short distance to the east of the crest of that hill," she told him with a gesture of her arm. "While you do that, I think I will go ahead and-"

"Wait," he said, frustrated. "Maybe... maybe you could watch my back? Don't know if there are any more of those slug things around."

She frowned at him. "No more should attack. It seemed a territorial attack, and with that kind of aggression there should not be any more in the area."

"Yeah, but... Just..." he stammered, confused.

"Very well. I shall do the watching of your back. But hurry."

…

They were back on the trail to find the others after Robin had cleaned up a little. Robin kept trying to walk next to Starfire, but she was having none of that. He'd catch up to her and she'd put on a burst of speed. Then he'd match her pace and she'd speed up again.

"Star…" he called after he'd had enough of that. "Why do you keep running away from me?"

"I am giving you the space." She hadn't been looking at him, but now she flicked her gaze over to him quickly before turning it back to the odd canyon-type of terrain that stretched in front of them. Her expression was almost blank. "Is that not what you require?" Calculating, she leaped across empty space, over the canyon below them, and landed on a rocky structure that jutted out over the drop. They'd have to cross the ravine that way.

He jumped after her. "You're still thinking about that? Starfire, we're stranded on a hostile alien planet," he reminded her, exasperated.

"I know." She stopped completely and turned to him, an accusatory expression on her face and her arms crossed. "Did you hope the perilous space station explosion followed by our calamitous crash, then combat with a horrible slug-creature would make me forget?"

Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh… yes?" He smiled at her weakly.

She only seemed more annoyed. "Perhaps we would have more success if you searched the left half of the planet and I searched the right," she told him as she continued hopping across the rock structures that jutted out.

"I don't wanna split up!" He caught up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, will you please just stop and talk to me?" Even talking about what had happened would be better than being alone on an alien planet without Starfire.

She let him turn her around. She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms, her stance annoyed. "So you are now prepared to explain to me why I am neither a girl nor your friend?"

Okay, maybe it wouldn't be better. He was suddenly too hot, and those steam-geyser things around them weren't helping. "Uh… well… well…"

She took his utter inability to form a coherent thought as a slight, apparently. Arms folded and head in the air, she started walking and said, "It appears that the grishnik has got your tongue."

Robin sighed. "Shoulda let that slug eat me when I had the chance."

…

Starfire was trying not to think about everything too much. Give most of her attention to the planet- traverse it, study it, learn it. Robin seemed intent on talking to her, yet when it came time for him to actually say anything, he completely shut down.

"I hope we find the others… soon," Robin said to himself, which sort of hurt. Not that she didn't want the same thing, but it still hurt.

"Sh. No talking." Robin's face fell, which was satisfying. "The ground is very unstable here."

The steam that had created geysers before this seemed to be stronger here, cracking the earth and threatening to blow out of the cracks at any time. She carefully placed her feet on the whole pieces of earth, testing each one with a preliminary shift of her weight onto it before stepping on it wholly.

Robin was not being so careful. "Look, Starfire, I- AH!" His careless footing made one of the cracks burst open as seam poured out of it, so forcefully that he was blown into the air.

Starfire ran over to the edge of the canyon behind them, stretching out so she'd be able to catch him when he fell. She was angry with him but that didn't mean she'd let him fall to the bottom of the ravine. She caught him by the wrist, and for a moment she thought she might topple with his momentum, as she seemed unable to draw on her strength as well as her flight, but he steadied himself with a hand on the rock almost as soon as she caught him.

"Thanks." He said and he smiled at her. Oh, she loved his smile, and knowing that she'd just saved him from certain death made her want to throw her arms around him and hug him because he was safe. She couldn't of course. She recoiled from him and stood, clutching both of her elbows and dropping her head. "Uh…"he stammered, trying to catch up to her.

He walked next to her for a few moments before speaking up again. "Starfire, look. It's not that I don't like you. It's…"

"It is that you do not like me as a friend who is a girl," she finished for him, miserable. They were at another part of the canyon now, and it was splitting into two halves. She subtly placed herself on one side of the widening crack while Robin stayed on the other. He wasn't paying very much attention to the world around them.

"I don't think you understand," he said, and she found the kind patience in his voice patronizing. "On our planet, girlfriend means-"

"-a female with whom you have a pleasant and special association, including the sharing of enjoyable recreation and occasionally, the buying of bountiful floral arrangements." She was a little annoyed that he assumed that the root of the problem was her not understanding the language. Sure, she hadn't known what 'date' meant, but that word had multiple meanings. 'Girlfriend' had only one.

"O-kay. Maybe you do understand."

He was mumbling and she couldn't hear him. She wasn't sure how far away he was, as steam had risen and was blocking their view of each other, but she was starting to regret putting the gorge between them. "What?!"

She cursed herself. The steam cleared and she realized that there was much more space between them than she thought, and the realization made her feel relieved and slightly panicky at the same time. She wasn't sure how she could feel such opposite emotions at the same instance. Was it any wonder she was confused? She didn't even understand her own emotions.

Her voice echoing around them and beneath it Starfire could hear a faint rumbling. The rocks beneath them crumbled, Robin falling with flailing feet and Starfire dropping a little more gracefully. She tried to find something to grab onto. She saw Robin perform a set of acrobatics to safety, and a large part of her was glad that he was alright. She managed to catch herself on the edge of a rock structure, but it was unstable. She could already feel the rock tremble with her weight.

"Starfire, fly!" Robin shouted desperately.

"I cannot," she answered, feeling ashamed and frightened and as desperate as he sounded.

"What?" he demanded, and she wasn't sure if he didn't hear her or he didn't believe her.

She tried. She couldn't even think of a happy memory to ignite the feeling, let alone conjure happiness on her own. The rock crumbled around her fingers and she fell, letting out a desperate, terrified scream.

Robin came into her field of vision, diving purposefully. He grabbed her close by the shoulders and she realized he had his grappling hook gun in his hand. She let her hands clutch him tightly. She needed to hold onto him for more than one reason. She felt the pull of the line as he swung them into a small cave.

They rolled on the impact, mostly Robin pulling Starfire in the most effective way in order to absorb most of the fall, and they finally stopped, Robin kneeling next to Starfire and leaning over her, hands planted on either side of her head. They froze that way for a moment, Robin's forehead almost touching hers, his breath on her face, the heat from his body so close. Then he rolled away completely and she was still frozen, trembling a little because she was so sure she would die and now, thank X'hal, she hadn't. It was a bit of a shock.

He touched her arm, crouching by her. "You okay?"

"I require a moment to gather myself…" she mumbled, slightly embarrassed but still shaking so badly that it couldn't be helped. Robin seemed to understand, though, and he busied himself with something else.

…

Starfire finally got up to her feet and looked questioningly at the pile of wood- or what seemed to be this planet's closest approximation of wood.

"Care to do the honors?" Robin asked, keeping his tone playful. She still seemed confused and it made him smile. "Fire?"

"Oh! Of course." She crouched next to his pile of wood and placed her palm on it, letting a starbolt form between her fingers. The wood caught fire and the flames burned green for a moment, licking over Starfire's hand before she pulled it away.

"Starfire…" Robin murmured, keeping his voice gently and understanding a little concerned. "What happened back there? Why couldn't you fly?"

She was curled into herself, her hands clutching at her elbows with her head down and her back hunched. "Tamaranean powers are inclined by our emotions," she admitted sadly.

"So the way you feel affects your ability to fly," he concluded. He hadn't known that. He wondered if Raven knew that. It was certainly useful information to have in a fight, whether she was on his side or not.

"And right now I feel unfamiliar confusion."

He felt sort of bad. She didn't seem to want to talk about this, but he needed to understand if he was going to help her. "But… you've faced dangers before without your powers failing. Why stop now?"

"It is not danger that confuses me, Robin. It is… us." Oh. Now he knew why she didn't want to talk about it. Now he didn't want to talk about it, either. "Ever since Cyborg said 'the girlfriend', things are different between us."

"It's just a misunderstanding," he told her, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Everything's okay."

She shrugged him off and took a few steps away from him, refusing to face him. "Everything is not okay. We are not okay. I fear we will never be okay again and you will not tell me how you feel."

How many more of those slug things were around? Maybe one was hungry. "Uh… I'm not very good at that."

"Then how am I to know what you think of me?" she asked, turning to look at him.

Robin sighed. There was no way he was going to tell her every one of the thoughts he'd had about how, exactly, he felt about her. But he really couldn't handle her being mad at him like this. "Star, it's not that I don't like you. I do." He glanced up at her to see if she understood what he was saying. "A lot. But I can't."

"Cannot what?" Starfire asked, confused and annoyed.

"...Have a girlfriend," Robin forced himself to say.

Starfire seemed unimpressed. "Why ever not?" she demanded, exasperated.

"Because. I'm a hero. I don't have time to do what I do and also have a girlfriend." She still looked unimpressed. Which was fair, because he felt pretty unimpressed with himself. "Besides, could you imagine the type of media backlash that we'd have to handle if you and me started dating?"

Starfire furrowed her brow at him. "Dating? I did not say anything about the dating."

Um. What? "Yes you did."

"No. I have expressed confusion about whether or not I am your friend who is a girl and hurt that you so vehemently do not consider me thus." Confused, an ovular eyebrow hiked its way up closer to her hairline. "The dating is not a subject that has been breached."

"Okay. Um, I think you're a little confused. When someone has a girlfriend, they go on dates. Having a girlfriend is also called dating."

Now her eyebrows were gathered together, confused and thoughtful. She glanced up at him, eyes sharp and calculating. "Why?"

This was good. It was so much easier to talk about general boyfriends and girlfriends than it was talk about them, specifically. "Because when you have a... 'pleasant and special association' with someone, you want to show them off. You know... be official."

That word seemed to startle her. Her eyes rounded out and her lips parted, surprised. "Official?"

Robin rubbed the back of his neck, confused. "Ah... What's the matter?"

She frowned. "Forgive me. On Tamaran, relationships- that is, the way two people feel about each other in a romantic or non-romantic way- are much simpler. And less... official. There is no 'girlfriend'- there are friends, there are lovers, and there is the betrothed or the husband or wife." She paused and a blush creeped up her neck. "I believed the girlfriend to be between the friend and the lover. A bond that is strong- and pleasant and special- but not romantic.

Robin sighed, relieved. "I think what you're looking for is 'best friend'."

"Oh." She seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Yes. Perhaps. So is it true?"

"Uh, what?"

"We are… best friends?"

For some reason, hearing Starfire say that made his stomach lurch. And not in the good way. But she was looking at him so hopefully. "Um… yeah. 'Course."

She looked relieved. "Oh, Robin, I am glad." She closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck. "I was worried that I was not special to you the way that you are special to me."

His heart flip flopped. Oh, no. Robin had made a mistake. A big one. He put his hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her back. "Um, Starfire-"

As though it was summoned by the gods of inopportune moments, the Kegrebin burst through the wall of the cave.

"You okay to fight, Star?" Robin asked, assuming a defensive stance.

"I… believe so."

"Good." Robin jumped over the creature, making it turn around. He stood up against the wall of the cave, taunting it with his proximity. The Kegrebin swung a heavy arm at him and Robin ducked at the last second. Part of the wall fell on the Kegrebin, who cleared it away from him with a shout.

Robin went to repeat the attack, but the Kegrebin caught him this time, sending Robin sprawling on he floor of the cave. The creature advanced on him, but it turned when Starfire shot two eyebeams in its back.

She jumped over its back to join Robin on its other side. As she jumped, she sent a flurry of starbolts into the Kegrebin's hide. It blocked them with its arm, but it proved a good distraction. The Kegrebin opened its mouth wide and screamed, opening a hole in the wall of the cave. It turned to Robin and Starfire and opened its mouth to scream again, but Robin threw a disc at it, goo erupting from it and covering the Kegrebin's mouth. He took his grappling hook gun and released a hook, attempting to bind it. He only managed to wrap the hook around its arm, and it took advantage of that and whirled Robin around through the air. The line snapped and Robin was thrown into Starfire, and they both rolled out of the cave through the hole the Kegrebin had created.

He took his gun in his hand and pressed the release, but it only made an empty clicking sound. He tossed the empty gun off the side of the cliff and nodded at Starfire. "Let's fly."

She looked extremely worried. "But…"

He took her hand gently. "As long as we're together, we'll be okay."

They fell for a few seconds- all three of them, Robin, Starfire, and the Kegrebin- before Starfire pulled him gently into the air. They landed and she hugged him again, a quick, excited squeeze before she pulled away and literally bounced up and down because she was so excited.

"I did it!" she squealed happily.

Robin laughed. "Yeah, Star. Good job."

She stopped bouncing and smiled at him. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek quickly. "Thank you for your assistance, friend!"

Robin stared at her, mouth open. "Um… no problem…"

She gasped. "Look! Your friends!"

The battered T-ship hovered in front of them, Cyborg and Beast Boy inside.

"Are we going to be able to fly home in that?" Robin asked, putting Tamaranean princesses in the back of his mind.

"Just missin' a few pieces. Like me!" Cyborg said from inside his pod, holding up his arms which were missing hands.

…

Getting back to the Tower was more of a hassle than Starfire would have liked. They had to connect the rest of the pods and find Raven, who refused to leave initially.

Starfire hadn't realized how at home she felt on Earth until now. She'd even missed the traffic from the streets below.

Now she was laying supine on her bed with her knees bent, Silkie curled against her torso and her laptop balanced on her thighs. She felt kind of embarrassed. She hadn't known that girlfriend was the term for one involved in courtship. Researching, it seemed slightly ambiguous. As it turned out, 'girlfriend' did not have only meaning. Girlfriend could also mean a close female friend, although seemed to only be the case when it was another female who was speaking. Why did the Earthlings insist on making things so difficult?

Truthfully, a courtship with Robin would be… wondrous. The thought made her stomach flip and a smile pull at her mouth. She supposed she did want that, but she would never have gone about suggesting it in such a way. Besides, how could they possible pursue a courtship when she wanted what she wanted- independence, freedom, and fun- and Robin wanted what he wanted- order, strictness, and rules?

She wasn't willing to give her life up just yet. Although Selina had said that it wouldn't be like that, that it would just be a change and she would be as free as ever. And she did like helping the civilians.

But Robin hadn't asked her to join the Titans. He'd probably given. Which is what she wanted. Was what she wanted.

A sudden desire to throw the laptop against the wall overcame her and she bit her lip.

…

Best friends. It was a good place to be. Diplomatic, which seemed to be an occurring theme here. He got what he wanted- well, Starfire, really. Her companionship. Closeness. Emotional closeness, that is. And she got- well, he had no idea what the hell she wanted. None of his skills as a detective could help him figure her out.

He refused to be bothered by this anymore. He had work that needed to be done and-

He snapped his third pencil. Frustrated, he threw the pieces against the wall. Not very violently, it just felt nice to throw something.

He'd lost control. He shouldn't be thinking about this, not when he was still getting paperwork from the Justice League about the Val-Yor ordeal and raven with this thing with her father. And Beast Boy was a frantic mess because he hadn't heard from the Doom Patrol in a few weeks. He really, honestly didn't have time for this.

He sighed and picked up a new pencil and scooped the faded-white seashell bracelet he'd shoved to the corner of his desk up on the eraser and twirled it around as he read over the next form.

Chapter Text

It was night again. The Jump City sky never seemed to be black, even at midnight. It was a royal blue color, streaked with black and deep purple.

Beneath the bruising sky, the princess of Tamaran lurked in the shadows. Watching. Waiting.

It had been entirely too long since she'd seen Robin. She hadn't run into him and he hadn't come looking for her.

She'd waited for ages, but the Titans hadn't crossed paths with her. She hadn't even been watching them lately so she wasn't sure which one of them was supposed to be on patrol. Of course, Robin was notorious for being the only to ever want to patrol on Sunday, which was why she'd waited.

Floating down slowly enough not to leave a green trail of light behind her, Starfire touched down on the ground. The sidewalk clicked under her boots and she stopped casually in front of the jeweler's. A different one than she'd ever been to before, always a different one. She knew that was she was doing hurt the people who owned the store- although honestly, if the people in this city wanted starbolt-shields, she expected to get something out of it- and she didn't want to completely bankrupt any one store. A miniature starbolt gathered on the tip of her finger and blasted into the lock took care of that. She entered the jeweler's. Quiet. That meant a silent alarm.

She took to filling a bag. Yellow jewels this time. So many different kinds of yellow- this one like the sun and this one like dandelions and this one like honey.

This was sloppy timing, really. She expected to have a birdarang pinning her to the wall by now, or perhaps a bo-staffed pressed tight against her while Robin-

She was distracted from that particular thought not by a birdarang but by an arrow. The arrow snatched the bag right out of her hand and stuck it against the wall. Whoever had done that was still hiding. Playing. Not like Robin at all.

She sauntered over to the bag on the wall gave the arrow an experimental tug. That was interesting. Some sort of bonding agent stuck it to the wall firmly. Starfire rolled her eyes and turned her back completely away from the entrance to the store.

That did it. He was quiet- she'd discerned that this particular vigilante was male from the smell- cologne or something as potent- foolish to wear on patrol, really- and the sound of his movements. Judging by sound wasn't as reliable, but males and females moved differently. He wasn't as quiet as Robin, though, and a soft thud behind her alerted her to his presence.

"Greetings," she chirped politely, not turning away from her satchel.

"Uh… hello, there." Confused. So simple.

"Is there anything with which I can help you?"

"Well… you could stop what you're doing."

She turned finally, keeping one hand on the bag. A redheaded boy with a mask like Robin's and a quiver strapped to his back was looking at her, slightly bemused.

His eyes raked over her. "You weren't on the list," he mumbled.

"Pardon me?" Starfire asked politely, tilting her head to show that she was confused.

"Nothing. The Titans left us this list of bad guys and… well… you weren't on it. That's all."

"They left you a list? They are gone?" She couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"Yeah. We're in charge now." It was like he suddenly remembered he was supposed to be doing something about Starfire. He plucked an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, straightening his posture.

"Yes," Starfire said, unimpressed.

"So are you coming quietly?" The archer seemed confused as to why she neither attacked nor retreated.

"Coming where?" Starfire asked, tilting her head.

"Uh… jail."

"No thank you."

The archer narrowed one eye at her, the gesture along with the domino mask reminding her of Robin. "It's not really a 'no thank you' kind of thing."

"But I have not stolen anything!" Starfire pointed out, punctuating her protest with a pout. This archer was not as easy to throw as Robin was. It was disappointing.

"There's breaking and entering," he pointed out.

"You are committed to bringing me to jail, are you not?" she asked mournfully.

"Is there something I'm not getting here?" he asked, and his posture slipped. His arrow was pointed at the ground now. "Usually the bad-guys run."

"I am sorry to disappoint." She ripped the bottom of the bag, sending yellow jewels skittering along the floor. The archer lifted a foot in surprise.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?"

"I will do the seeing of you," Starfire said. Moving quickly, she ducked behind him and gave him a rough push on the back. He slid over some of the jewels on the ground and fell. His arrow fell from the bow and exploded right next to her, which was unpleasant but not unbearable. It wasn't a very big explosion, and Starfire was pretty heat resistant. She crossed her arms in front of her face to protect herself from the gems that were thrown into the air and disappeared under the cover it gave her.

Well, disappeared is a loose term. She perched in the shadows, watching. She was curious about this whole situation. The Titans were gone. She hadn't even known.

"Dammit!" The archer swore, emerging from the store. He flipped open a Titans communicator. She wasn't close enough to hear what the person on the other side of the line was saying.

"Shut it, fish face. I'll give a full report when I get back, but you're gonna want to let the TURF guys know about this." He pressed a button on his quiver as he shoved his communicator into a pocket on the strap and a motorcycle pulled up in front of him. It wasn't Robin's, but it was similar.

Starfire rooftop-hopped instead of flying- it was easier to stay hidden that way. When he went into the tunnel that went under the bay and let out to the Titan's garage, Starfire flew right to the island. Spying was tricky and she wished for Red X's cloaking device, but she convinced herself her black uniform and sticking to the shadows would be enough.

The archer- whose name, she discovered, was Speedy- walked into ops room.

"What happened?" Aqualad asked. She knew Aqualad. Not personally, but he'd been around Jump enough that she knew his name, at least.

"Shut up. Anything on the list about an alien girl?"

"You got your butt kicked by a girl?"

That was rude. Fortunately, he didn't get away with that comment. "You watch yourself, Fish Boy," a contralto voice scolded him. It was a dark-skinned girl sitting at the controls for the monitor. It was nice for spying that they were using the big monitor on the window. Starfire could see the images they were observing, although they were backward.

"Aw, Bee, I didn't mean it," Aqualad pouted.

"Don't gimme that crap. I'll show you another girl who could kick both your butts." She worked as she talked and images flicked across the screen. Slade, Fixit, Dr. Light, Warp, Phobia, Madame Rouge, the HIVE Five, both as a group and the individual members. All of their images came and went.

"Should we call Robin?" Speedy asked. "I don't see her up there."

"No! I don't wanna look bad in front of the boss. We've only been here a week and Speedy's already getting his butt kicked by some no-name baddy that didn't even make the list? Uh uh. We are not going to call Robin."

As soon as the words left her lips, the screen split in two. Although it was backward, Starfire could clearly make out the words 'Calling: Robin'.

"What? No! No!" Bumblebee fretted, pushing buttons frantically.

"Hey. What's up?"

Starfire's heart leaped into her throat. It was Robin! Backward and on screen, but other than that looking the same as ever.

"Man…" Bumblebee complained. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Cyborg set up the system to respond to your voice. Is something wrong?" he raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"No, everything's cool!" Bumblebee told him, smiling widely. "Speedy just got his butt kicked by some girl who's not even on the bad guy list."

Robin furrowed his brow worriedly. "Really? Meta?"

"Alien!" Speedy piped up, and Bumblebee shot him a dark look, which he ignored. "Man, you shoulda seen. She was a total babe, definitely a ten. Long legs, bro, and-"

Robin groaned, sounding annoyed, and that made Starfire kind of proud. She stifled a giggle behind her hand. "That's just Starfire."

"You do know her? Ten, right?" Speedy asked, excited.

"Why wasn't she on the bad guy list?" Aqualad asked. Ignoring Speedy seemed to be something the group accepted as normal.

A hand rubbed at the back of his neck in a familiar gesture that Starfire was glad to see. "Well… she's not really a full-time bad guy. I was hoping she wouldn't act up while you guys were there. Sorry, I should have anticipated that."

"What do you mean she's not a full time bad guy?" Bumblebee asked with a frown.

"It's a long story. She won't bother you guys again. Just to be sure, I'll send you guys a bio." That interested Starfire. What sort of information would Robin have on her bio? She was curious.

"But seriously!" Speedy called, tired of being ignored. "Ten! I'd even say eleven!"

Robin shot him an annoyed look.

Bumblebee sighed. "Anybody else you neglected to mention?" she asked accusatorily.

"No, that's it. Me and Cyborg went over the list in detail before we left. We honestly didn't think she would be a problem. By the way, what was she doing?"

"Stealing jewelry," Speedy mentioned offhandedly. "Weird, girl like that you'd think guys would be lining up to buy her jewelry. I know I'd-"

"Was it all the same color?"

Starfire frowned. She hadn't realized she was that predictable.

"Um, actually, yeah. All yellow."

"Huh. She keeps-" Robin froze mid explanation, mouth open. "Wait. Yellow, you said?"

"Yup. Actually, she didn't get to the stealing part, really. She didn't seem interested in the actual jewels, for a thief."

"Um, I gotta go. She won't bother you guys again. Sorry about that."

"Yeah, whatever. Don't let the Doom Patrol run you ragged, man," Speedy said dismissively.

"Thanks again for watching the city. Robin, out." And half of the screen winked black before restoring the pictures of criminals in Jump to their full size.

The new Titans talked amongst themselves, but Starfire wasn't listening anymore. What did Robin mean, she wouldn't bother them again? She floated through the air sulkily. She was tempted to break into another jewelry store and steal something from it just to spite him.

She flopped down on her bed, where she'd left her laptop. Silkie stretched a little next to her, warbling a sleepy hello. She opened her laptop, perfunctorily checking to see if Selina was online. It wasn't even as though Starfire had anything to say, it was just a habit.

She picked at her comforter, dropping her gaze to the pink duvet and wondering when the last time she'd painted her nails was. She didn't do it often, but Harley liked to call her on Skype and paint her nails as they talked. It became a sort of tradition.

"Starfire."

She jumped and let out an alarmed squeak. Robin was frowning at her from her computer screen. "Robin?" she asked stupidly. She couldn't help it. How was he there?

"Look, I just got a call from Titans East, and-"

"You are on my computer!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I know, but listen-"

"How?"

Robin sighed. "It's just… I traced your IP address, okay? It's not that much of a-"

"How many times have you done this?" she demanded, brow furrowed worriedly.

"What?"

"How often do you appear on my computer? Sometimes I fall asleep with it open. I do not like the idea of you spying on me."

He blushed as he realized what she implying. "Oh, stop it," he snapped. "I don't do that."

"Convenient that my desk is located across from my bed, is it not?" She was half joking, trying to push his buttons (it was so easy!), but a large part of her really didn't like this.

"Come on. Please listen?"

She nodded at the screen. "Speak."

"Don't rob jewelers' any more. Not until we get back, and would it kill you not to do it then, either?"

"I hardly need pilfering to sustain life," she told him, huffy.

A smile twitched at his lips. "Ah… That's not what I meant."

"Who are the Titans East?" Starfire asked with a tilt of her head, curious.

"They're filling in for us while we're away. Don't make it harder for them."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in-" he began automatically, then he snapped his mouth closed and glared at her again. "I'm not gonna tell you that."

"Please?" Starfire asked woefully, batting her lashes at him.

"Stop that. We're dealing with a few things from the Brotherhood of Evil."

"The Brotherhood of Evil?" Starfire echoed. "That sounds… rather ominous."

"Yeah. So would you just cooperate with the Titans while they're there?"

Hurt welled in her chest. It was odd; she didn't expect to feel this way. "Did you think I was incapable of protecting the city?"

He'd been looking at something about level with the keyboard- probably papers or an article. Which was annoying in and of itself. But now he flicked his gaze up to her and furrowed his brow, confused. "What?"

She shifted a little, uncomfortable. "I would have helped. If you asked."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to form a coherent thought. He failed. "Um…"

"I do live here. I helped with the space station. I helped with Val-Yor. Do you think I am not skilled enough?" His lack of an answer was making her more agitated.

"Um. That's not really-"

"You did not even say goodbye."

He looked terrified, honestly. His eyes were wide and his mouth was working, although no words were coming out. "It was kind of a last-second thing."

"Not too last second to call the Titans East, though," she said tartly.

"Starfire-"

"Pleasant shlorvaks," she snapped.

"It's not even night here." Starfire narrowed her eyes and moved to shut her laptop. Robin widened his eyes at her and shouted, "Star, don't-!"

She huffed to herself as her laptop clicked closed. Who did Robin think he was, anyway? He couldn't just hack into her laptop and-

A loud ringing came from underneath her bed. Starfire floated until she was horizontal over the floor and landed on her stomach on the hardwood, reaching an arm out to feel for the ringing noise. It was her video chat bracelet. She pressed accept just to make it stop ringing and Robin's form flashed into life on her bracelet.

"Starfire, you can't just ignore me when I'm trying to-"

"Go away," she growled, and she covered her hand in a starbolt and closed her fist over the bracelet, melting the metal and cracking the frame at the same time. She tossed the melted bracelet on the corner of her bed. Then she stared at it. Oops. She hadn't meant to do that. That was a gift from Selina.

Now that she wasn't talking to him, she wasn't mad anymore. She was hurt. And Selina wasn't online and she didn't know what to do about it. She batted the melted scrap of metal off her bed and onto the floor. She gathered up Robin's things- a folded birdarang and his cape, although she also slipped on the seashell Dick Grayson had given her because it had become a sort of security blanket- and she burrowed under her blankets with them.

The next morning she felt rather sluggish. She'd hardly had time to get dressed and brush her hair when there was a knock on the door. Which was odd. Half expecting Harley to appear in her doorway and pull an oversized mallet out of her back pocket, Starfire answered the knocking.

"Hello?" she asked as she opened the door. She'd seen people in movies leave the chain on and peek through the space between the door and the frame, but anything that Starfire would be afraid of certainly wouldn't be deterred by a chain.

It was a man dressed in a blue uniform. "I have a delivery? There's no name on the package, but it has this address…"

Starfire snatched it from him. She hadn't thought to put on her hologram ring to disguise her eyes and eyebrows. She closed the door and called through it, "Thank you very much." She felt bad for being so rude.

He mumbled something and left.

She squinted at the box suspiciously and placed it on the table in her kitchenette. It was innocent looking, a generic white box with red ribbon tied around it. What was it that Harley made her watch? Peter Pan? Starfire half suspected a bomb to be in the box. She poked it experimentally. Gingerly, she tugged at the ribbon so that the fancy bow came undone. The lid came off next, and Starfire poked through glittery wrapping paper until she felt something hard.

"Oh…" she breathed.

It was a video chat bracelet to replace the one she'd melted. All of these types of bracelets were cuffs, so there wasn't much variation there, but engraved on the sides of the bracelet, framing the screen, was a pattern of shells. The engraving continued over the surface of the bracelet except for where the screen was located, intricate shells swirling over the metal. The engravings were filled in with some kind of yellow gemstone, the color of the sun. Starfire gulped.

The screen flicked on, although she was expecting that. Robin looked sheepish. "Hi."

Starfire smiled at him. "Greetings."

"So… um… sorry."

"Apology accepted." Her smile faded. "Although you did not need to get a gift."

He choked. "It's not a gift. It's…retribution? For you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Anyway, it's my fault that your other one broke. So there you go." He relaxed, like he was relieved to have justified his actions.

"Robin…" she murmured.

"Just please lie low for a while? I'm asking you nicely. When the Titans get back you can pilfer as much as you like. Well, I mean, not really."

"Where are you?" Starfire asked forlornly. "Are you in danger? Why have you gone?"

"I… Russia. Don't come looking, okay? Everything's fine. We're just being preemptive."

She sulked a little. "When will you come back?"

He seemed alarmed that she'd ask. "Why? Are you okay?"

She found she couldn't make eye contact with him and she backpedalled. "Yes, I was just curious. It is not important. I will not be a bother anymore."

"Starfire?" Robin called, and he didn't say anything after that. She brought her gaze back up to his face and was quiet for a moment. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Indeed," she said, nodding.

"Okay." He seemed relieved again, and he gave her a tiny smile. "Robin, out."

"Goodbye," she mumbled, and she saw an odd look cross his face as the image winked into darkness.

She admired the bracelet for a moment. She didn't want to just sit in here. Truthfully, without the Titans, she found herself a little bored. Maybe she should go help the Titans East with things.

Ooh. That was a good idea, actually. That would show Robin that she was thinking about maybe switching sides. Well, not so much switching as blending better.

She patted Silkie on the head once before streaking out of her window and back to the Titans' island. She held up the black communicator to the door. Why hadn't the Titans done something about that, honestly? It had been almost a year.

No alarms went off, which was odd. They must have been turned off for some reason. Starfire went up the elevator and lingered outside the common room. These Titans East might not like her, she realized belatedly. It didn't help that she'd just engaged in battle with Speedy.

High pitched beeping filled the air, which confused the other Titans as much as it confused Starfire. Cyborg appeared onscreen, in snow gear. "Okay, now that you guys are all situated, I figured I'd see if you don't have any questions."

"Yeah. When're you gonna install flat-panel computer displays in the Tower back home?" Speedy asked.

Cyborg frowned. "You know, it ain't that tough. You could probably google it and do it yourself."

"Yeah, but-"

Cyborg interrupted him. "Hang on a minute, Speedy."

Starfire tilted her head. She wished she could see.

And then she wished she hadn't wished that. The door slid open and she fell rather unceremoniously on her face.

"Hiya, Star," Cyborg said cheerily from the screen.

She stood quickly, clutching one elbow nervously. "Greetings, friend."

"Woah," Aqualad murmured, surprised. "What's she doing in here?"

"Alien girl!" Speedy shouted, surprised. He reached behind his back for a bow.

"Hold it, Speedy," Cyborg said. "What's up, Star?"

"When I realized that you were gone, I thought it would be prudent for me to offer my assistance," she told him meekly.

"You're gonna help out," Cyborg said for clarification.

"I would like to!" She smiled nervously.

"Sparky?" Bumblebee called, looking up at the monitor. "What's going on, now?"

"Guys, meet Starfire. Starfire, these're Speedy, Aqualad, Bumblebee, and-"

Two adorably small twins, identical except for their front teeth, which one of them seemed to be missing, zoomed in front of her. They stared up at her with doe-eyed expressions on their faces.

"-Mas y Menos."

"Wait, wait, wait. She's a bad guy," Bumblebee said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"She wasn't on the bad guy list," Cyborg pointed out.

"Right," Bumblebee muttered.

"Play nice, Bee. Star's okay to help. But I should probably run it by Robin-"

"Must you?" Starfire complained.

"I'm not gonna answer that cuz I'm pretty sure you know what I'd say."

"Robin is not in charge of me," Starfire sulked.

Bumblebee snorted. "I like her."

There was an explosion onscreen and Cyborg turned to it. "Whoops. Gotta go," he told them, and his screen winked out.

The five members of the Titans East appraised her.

"So, what do you do, exactly?" Aqualad asked. He didn't sound as skeptical as the question was normally meant to sound, just curious.

She held her palm out flat and charged up a starbolt. "I fly, my strength is superior to that of humans… I am quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as well as weapon-based combat."

"I don't know about this…" Aqualad said doubtfully.

"She does have the home field advantage," Bumblebee said slowly. "Plus, it'll be nice to have another girl on the team."

"Yeah but just last night she was-"

The large screen at the front of the room flashed on. Robin was glaring down at all of them, a red hat crooked on his head and a red and green jacket covering him. He narrowed masked eyes, and Starfire knew he was looking at her.

"What's up, boss?" Speedy asked.

"Get out."

"Huh?"

"Everybody out except Starfire."

"Don't blow a gasket there, Boy Wonder," Bumblebee advised, not happy with being ordered around.

"Bumblebee," Robin growled, and she sighed and ushered the boys out of the room.

"Yes?" Starfire asked when everyone was gone but her.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "This isn't what I meant."

She frowned. "Who said I had to do what you wanted?"

"Don't," he snapped. "Don't do that, Starfire."

"I honestly do not understand why you are becoming so agitated," she told him, confused.

"What are you even doing, anyway? Joining? The second I stop asking? The second I leave?"

She opened her mouth to disagree, but then she closed it and tilted her head. She hadn't thought of it that way. She just wanted to help out. But perhaps Robin not being there had something to do with her sudden eagerness, subconsciously. "I… do not know," she answered truthfully.

Robin's expression softened. "Are you interested in joining?"

She felt her eyes get wide. "I do not know that either. I am trying it out. The test drive?"

"You do realize you can't just waltz in the Tower and expect everything to change. I have several warrants for your arrest, Starfire, and you were just active last night. I don't think it's a very good image for the Titans if we have a former criminal on our side."

"I have aided you before," she reminded him indignantly. "I am only allowed to help when it is convenient for you?"

"That's not what I meant. Don't twist my words like that."

"Why are you angry?" she asked softly.

His frown got deeper. "Can't you just lay low? With all of this crap with the Brotherhood of Evil going on, and us not being in Jump…"

"You not being in-?" She laughed, feeling almost giddy. He wasn't angry. He was worried. Worried about her.

"What?" he demanded.

"Robin, are you worried about me?" she asked coyly.

"What? No. I never said that."

"You are!" she exclaimed gleefully, clapping her hands together.

"Stop it. No I'm not."

She floated and twirled in the air once before approaching the screen. "Indeed, you are!"

"Starfire," he complained.

"Say you are!"

"I'm not!" he shouted, exasperated.

"Then there is nothing else you can say that will make me doubt my decision." She smiled at him sweetly, hovering in front of his eyes with her fingers laced together behind her back.

"I'm not happy with you doing this."

"Then there is only one thing you need to say."

"I'm. Not. Worried. About. You," he said, slowly and clearly. "You're perfectly capable."

"Then we are agreed," she said with a smile.

"No, no we are not, Starfire…"

She flipped upside down in the air and landed on her feet. "Pleasure speaking to you," she told him and started walking to the door.

"Starfire, get back here!"

"Tempting, because you asked so nicely," she said over her shoulder.

The door hissed open and Starfire blew through it. Trying not to think about how much of the Tower Robin probably had under surveillance, or the possibility that his face could appear on the wall in front of her, heading off her sulking tantrum with a lecture.

The only problem with storming out of the common room was that Starfire now had nowhere to go. Her penthouse was an option, but then she'd just be leaving like Robin asked and she didn't want to leave this way.

Luckily, her dilemma was solved before she could get much further. "Easy, tiger," the soothing contralto voice called, and Starfire skidded to a stop as Bumblebee landed in front of her.

"You do not trust me. I understand. Perhaps I have made a mistake. But I simply wish to bring you aid!" Starfire explained, speaking too quickly.

"Hold it!" Bumblebee interrupted. "I'm not blaming you for anything. If Sparky says you're trustworthy, then whatever. I trust you. Not that you won't have to earn it, but I'll give you a chance."

"Oh," Starfire said dully. "Then… I may remain?"

Bumblebee smiled. "Yeah, for now." Her companionable smile faded and she looked a little awkward. "But, uh, I gotta ask. What's the deal with you and Robin?"

"He aggravates me at every possible opportunity, is the 'deal'," Starfire answered shortly.

Bumblebee grinned. "Oh. Then in that case, you should be fine when it comes to handling Speedy."

…

It wasn't ignoring Robin's orders. Honestly. He's expressed displeasure, but he never actually ordered her to stay off the team. And that was as good a loophole as any for Bumblebee to accept Starfire onto the team.

Speedy was still wary of her, and she got the distinct feeling that Aqualad didn't trust her. Mas and Menos seemed to be happy with the arrangement.

Starfire was emptying clean uniforms from her closet into a black duffel bag she'd found in Selina's closet. Bumblebee set her up in Terra's old room. It was a little disconcerting, actually, but Bumblebee didn't know about Terra. Being a little outside the loop made it hard to tell when exactly the Titans East had been formed, but Starfire guessed it was around two or three months after the whole Terra incident.

The room wasn't so bad, and in fact it was beautifully decorated and painted, plus the bed was round, which was comforting. Starfire was torn between feeling like she was intruding and wanting to be polite to Bumblebee's offer. In the end, her manners won. That was a part of her princess training- the host's needs above your own petty desires.

Silkie was watching her pack. Starfire had his pet-carrier- which Selina also had lying around, which wasn't all that surprising- and he'd been refusing to get into it. A few zorkaberries in the crate would change that, so Starfire was unconcerned.

Her communicator- a proper yellow and black one instead of her old black and yellow one- beeped. A sigh escaped from the alien's lips. That was probably Robin, scolding her. Again.

Starfire flipped the communicator open and answered with a saccharine, "Hello?"

"Hey, girl, I know you left like ten minutes ago but if you wanna be a Titan, you better get your butt back here. There's some B-list bad guy up in here, Calls himself Control Freak?" Bumblebee ducked as a ray of white light went off over her shoulder.

"Oh! Surely!"

"Thanks. Bumblebee, out."

Starfire shoved Silkie forcibly in the crate, wincing at his squeals of protest, and zipped up her duffel bag. Control Freak wasn't that big a deal. Starfire disliked dealing with him, as he nursed what Robin said was a 'crush' on her and was quite rude about it at times, but they should be able to handle him easily.

Starfire burst through the window of the common room, which had already been broken, to find Bumblebee systematically punching holes in a white cube that held her trapped in the middle.

"Bumblebee?" Starfire called, putting her bag down.

"Hey, Star. I'm fine," Bumblebee answered, sounding annoyed but unharmed. She let her stinger zap the side, the electric blast creating a hole in the cube the she kicked bigger. "This stupid containment field was made for Raven. It blocks her energy, but not mine. Go help the boys, Control Freak went after Speedy, I think."

The alien glanced at Bumblebee once more to make sure she really was fine before shooting down the hall, taking a right in search of Speedy. He was standing against the wall, looking smug. "Speedy?"

"Oh. It's you." His tone was bland- he was neither pleased nor displeased, although Starfire still didn't like the way he said that. "This guy's a joke. He tried to stop my tech with a device made to stop Robin's. He has no idea what he's doing. Let him run around the Tower and wear himself out, then we'll snap cuffs on him and bring him to the station."

Darn it. Why did Control Freak keep disappearing before she could help? "Where has the Control Freak gone?"

Speedy shrugged. "If you really wanna find him, he went the other way. Really, it's no big deal, though."

She'd show him. The Titans were going to get her help, whether they wanted it or not. She found Mas and Menos trapped in a blue electrum cage. "Friends, are you well?"

"Yes, Miss Starfire. This cage was made to trap Beast Boy," Mas informed her, glowering at the cage.

"But it won't keep us still for very long!" Menos added. "We will be fine. Go find Control Freak!" He punctuated his command with a point down the hall, which Starfire flew down.

The hallway looped around back to the Ops Room, where Starfire just caught sight of Aqualad using aquakinesis to stop Control Freak in his tracks. The gamer teen landed on the ground in an unglorified position, shaking his hair out of his eyes. His equipment shorted and he sighed. "I brought this cool magnetic repeller for Cyborg, but who cares?" he moped, hanging his head.

The door hissed opened behind Starfire and the rest of Titans East ran in, ready to help. Control's Freak's gaze alighted on Starfire and he grinned. "All right! We got 'em now! It's a team up! Use your star-thingies on the archer, I'll take the overgrown insect!"

Starfire crossed her arms moodily. "I am not on your side, Control Freak. I am with the Titans now."

The teenager glowered at her. "Yeah, right. I'll buy that. You just wanna beat them yourself." Control Freak stood and brushed himself off. "I don't wanna fight you guys anymore." A click of a button on his emote and he was inside the television on the large screen in front of them. "Your powers are stupid!" The screen went black and Control Freak was gone.

"Who zaps out in the middle of a fight?" Speedy demanded, exasperated.

"I don't know, but we'll catch him," Bumblebee promised.

Aqualad was screwing the faucet back into the sink- the water pressure he'd used to knock Control Freak off his feet knocked it right off- and Mas and Menos were swirling around in a twister with a broom and dustpan in their hands. Starfire was helping Speedy put an extra pane on the window- the Titans kept extras in their garage, conveniently.

"Somehow," Bumblebee added as more locations came up with a negative-sounding beep on the computer. A different kind of beep echoed through the room and Starfire hovered back from the newly replaced window pane as Cyborg's form appeared on it.

"Everything okay? The Tower's sensors detected weapons fired."

"We had to deal with Control-" Aqualad Started, but Bumblebee pushed him out of the way.

"Controlling Silkie! He's eating everything! He must have chewed through one of the sensors. Bad Silkie!" Bumblebee scolded, and Silkie shrank into Menos's arms. Starfire frowned at Bumblebee.

Cyborg frowned at Starfire. "You gotta get him under control or he's gonna be an outside larva." An explosion went off behind Cyborg and he turned to it. "Uh oh. I gotta go."

The screen faded to blackness and Starfire gathered Silkie in her arms. "I do not want Silkie to live outside!" she mourned.

"Why'd you do that?" Aqualad shouted, angry at Bumblebee for pushing him or for lying or for both.

"They're trusting us to protect the city!" Bumblebee shouted. "Do you want them to think we can't even handle some second-rate bad guy who didn't even make the list?"

"I did not make the list either," Starfire reminded her, taking the pieces of paper from Bumblebee's hand. It was very thorough other than Control Freak's not being on it, even going so far as to include the Puppet King. "They must have forgotten."

"We need to get some more information on him," Aqualad stated, trying to rally everyone instead of arguing.

The alarm went off, the lights flashing red. Starfire grinned. This would be the first mission she would get to be involved in that she didn't cause. "Titans go?" she asked hopefully.

"Titans go," Bumblebee agreed, putting her hands on her hips and grinning back.

…

The Titans East met up at the pizza place that the regular Titans liked to frequent. Being a hero was exhausting! First, as a group they stopped a bank robbery. There were so many alerts that they needed to split up after that, and Starfire stopped the Ferris wheel from rolling off its platform and injuring civilians. Meeting up with the Titans at the pizza place, it was clear that they felt underappreciated. Starfire didn't have that problem- the civilians had just come to accept her as a normal part of life in Jump City.

"We still need to find Control Freak," Aqualad reminded them as they ate their pizza solemnly.

"Titans East! Your arch nemesis is back!" Control Freak shouted on a TV screen across the plaza from them as though he was summoned.

"Looks like he found us," Speedy remarked.

"That's right! I'm back! And this time I have masterminded the new ultimate Titans challenge!"

Bumblebee floated to look Control Freak in the eye. "Bring it on," she challenged, her hands on her hips.

A ray of white light engulfed all six of them and they were transported to a black place with no feel of up or down.

"Where are we?" one of the twins demanded.

The other added, "I don't like the looks of this!" as a spotlight flicked on overhead.

"Welcome, Titans East. After much analysis, I have created a series of events, redesigned to challenge your specific powers. If you succeed, you will have proven your worth as Titans. But failure will mean the city the real Titans trusted you to protect will be destroyed." He broke his spiel for maniacal laughter. "Oh, did I mention? The new Ultimate Titans Challenge will be televised, so that everyone can watch your defeat!"

This wasn't good. Starfire was bathed in a white light and, to her horror, she was zapped next to Control Freak. She shook herself, the teleportation leaving an odd effect on her, and she growled at him. "Cease this game immediately!" She sprang toward him, arms outstretched to grab him by the shoulders. He pressed a button on the remote and she was frozen. No, not frozen… paused.

"Here's what I'm gonna do for you, my lovely," Control Freak began, crossing his arms over his chest. "I have a test prepared for you if really do wanna hang out with those Titans wannabes. If you're stringing them along, I invite you to join me as my queen!" He clenched his fist theatrically. "What do you say to that?" His voice was hopeful and he unpaused her.

It was rude, but she couldn't help it. Laughter erupted from Starfire's throat, so gripping that she couldn't stand anymore. Control Freak didn't look amused at all. "I am sorry," she choked between peals of laughter, "but are you attempting to do the flirting?"

"I… no! Shut up! Stop laughing!"

Starfire covered her mouth with one hand and held one over her belly. "I am attempting to!"

"You're going to regret this!" he told her. He brandished the remote again.

Abruptly, all laughter stopped. It occurred to Starfire that she should be grabbing the remote from Control Freak's hand instead of antagonizing him- although she really couldn't help it- and she lunged for it. She wasn't quick enough, though, and white light engulfed her again.

"Starfire, lovely alien powerhouse from the planet Tamaran," Control Freak's voice said from the dozens of monitors around her that showed his face. "Your challenge is to deactivate a bomb on the top of the skyscraper by pressing the deactivator."

"This is a joke?" Starfire asked, skeptical. "I have the ability to fly." She jumped into the air and hovered to demonstrate.

"Not anymore, you don't!" Control Freak's voice rang out as she was bathed in white light yet again.

She crashed to the ground in an unceremonious heap. "But how did you-?" The monitor changed from showing Control Freak's face to displaying a timer, which had 120 seconds left on it. She only had two minutes left to stop the bomb! Oh, this was bad. And Robin would be furious with her. She pressed her hand to her forehead, thinking. Experimentally, she lifted a car a few inches off the ground. So she still had her strength. Holding her hand in front of her face, she lit a starbolt. Those still worked. She just couldn't fly.

The building in front of her was probably between fifty and seventy-five stories tall, judging by height, but it was probably closer to fifty. Too high for the stair or an elevator to be of any use. Just because she couldn't fly didn't mean she couldn't become airborne. Robin was airborne much of the time, although he was far superior to her in gymnastics, and he used grappling hooks and a glider-cape.

An idea struck her. She narrowed her eyes at her starbolt-covered hand and took a deep breath in and one out. Here goes nothing.

Hands cupped in front of her, Starfire let energy flood into her palms. She could feel the heat from her own starbolt, which was really saying something. She kept gathering it, spreading her hands and molding the energy until it was about two-thirds as tall as her and three times as wide. When she unleashed it, the energy exploded out of her palms, hitting the ground where she aimed it at her feet and shooting her up. She was up about thirty stories now, which was a pretty good start. She broke the window as she landed through it, crossing her arms over her face to protect her eyes, and she rolled on impact. She needed to do that again, except that she was depleting her energy and she needed a flat surface under her.

A table was sitting in the room she'd broken into and she dragged it over to the window so that it was sticking out a little bit. She stood on the end gingerly, trying to think of how odd it was that she'd never been scared of heights before but now she really didn't want to look down. The starbolt she was trying to create now didn't have as much power as the first one, and she worried that she'd unleash it and the table would break without propelling her. She had to try though.

She shut her eyes instinctively as she was propelled upward, which was a mistake. The rooftop was flat with a lip, and she lunged for it- too late, since her eyes were closed, and she was left dangling off the side. This was a bad idea. Being afraid of falling was a new sensation, but it was very real now- even though the drop would likely not damage her much, she would likely crater the ground on impact, which did hurt a bit, and that would mean the bomb would go off. Which would be varying degrees of awful, depending on the strength.

If only Robin was here to help her… No. Thinking like that wasn't going to help. What would Robin do if he were in this situation? Probably a ridiculous flip of some kind. She couldn't do that, but she could probably flip her legs over the side… Oh, her arms burned from holding her weight, but she had to ignore it.

She rolled on the roof, panting from adrenaline and her arms feeling like weights. Fifteen seconds left. Not too bad. She scrambled over to the button and punched it down, stopping the timer. Hopefully the others were successful in their endeavors. Her collar disappeared, returning her flight, and even though she was exhausted, she scanned the ground for the Titans East. Aqualad was pretty hard to miss, and she landed in front of him. "We are victorious?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Victorious?!" Control Freak appeared in front of them, having come out from a TV screen on the wall next to them. "You guys are more than that! You're so cool! I- I mean I didn't think you could pull it off, but you did!"

Speedy raised an eyebrow. "I can't believe the bad guy just zapped himself right in front of us."

Control Freak realized his mistake, now, and he reached for his remote. Before he could press any buttons, Mas and Menos snatched it from his hand.

"Your Ultimate Challenge has been cancelled," Bumblebee quipped before delivering a blow that knocked him on the ground. Speedy clipped handcuffs over his wrists and two policemen helped him into the back of a car, mumbling something about 'the right to remain silent'.

"Alright, Titans East! Now that I know what you're capable of, I'm gonna make things even harder for you! I'll be back!" Control Freak shouted before the cop could slam the door closed.

"Hasta la vista, Control Freak!" Mas and Menos said together, glad to have their native Spanish back.

Bumblebee's communicator beeped and she held it open in front of her to reveal Cyborg, still dressed in a coat and hat. "I got reports of missiles, explosive devices, and a… mechanical shark?!"

She smiled at him. "Don't worry, Sparky. We've got everything under control."

"Great, I knew you could handle it. It looks like we're going to be gone for a while. You mind staying longer?"

The Titans did a quick look around at all of the civilians who were now cheering for them. It certainly did feel nice, especially since the others were complaining about not feeling appreciated. Bumblebee's smile grew wider and she answered, "Nah. This place is beginning to feel like home."

…

Part of being a Titan meant paperwork. Starfire didn't like paperwork. But she refused to let Bumble do all of it. Starfire chewed on the end of an eraser as she bent over one of the forms. This should have been done earlier- she went on patrol last night. She'd gone with Speedy, as she wasn't allowed to go on her own yet, and she promised him that she'd do the appropriate paperwork. Her computer was propped open in front of her, the screen providing light for her as the sun began setting. She'd have to get up and turn the light off soon, but for now she was just using the computer as a light source.

"You're filling that out wrong," Robin told her.

She didn't even glance at her computer. She was getting used to this, weirdly. "How?" she asked, tilting her head at the paper.

"That's the cost of structural damage, not the amount of money stolen."

She sighed violently and flipped her pencil over to erase the line.

"You're doing well," he complimented her.

To be polite she looked up at him. "I thank you. Being a hero is rewarding, if a little exhausting."

"I'm glad you think so."

He was smiling at her and she was smiling at him and it was nice. But their silence went from comfortable to a little tense, so she continued with the paperwork. "I apologize for being boring, Robin. I am not much for conversation while doing this work."

"That's okay. No one is." He paused and added, "And you're not boring."

She bit her lip to hide her pleased smile. "Thank you."

Silence again, this one more comfortable. "Um, Star?"

Finishing writing in the next figure, she looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Since you're… You know, enjoying yourself… Ah… Maybe you'd like to join the team?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and she sucked in a breath. "Oh! That is a kind offer. I do get along well with Bumblebee and Aqualad, and Mas and Menos seem quite happy to share my company, although I think Speedy distrusts-"

"Wait. No. I meant… Our team. The original." He wasn't looking at his camera or even at his computer screen, and his hand was scratching at the back of his head adorably. "You know- me, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy… I mean, Silkie's already getting used to the Tower, isn't he?"

"Oh…" Starfired murmured softly. "Robin… I think…"

"Yo! Robin!" That was Cyborg's voice, coming from off screen. "We got trouble!"

Robin winced. "Starfire… I… Just… Think about it, okay?"

She nodded wordlessly as he jumped out of his chair and he mumbled, "Robin, out."

Instinctively, Starfire answered, “Goodbye."

Chapter Text

Rain was pattering down on the windows. Starfire had been painting shells- she was in the middle of painting this one to look like a dring'r, a playful animal native to the jungles of Tamaran.

She stopped because an annoying and insistent tapping noise was coming from her window.

Things were going well with the Titans East. They'd accepted her into their group, and she even moved into a bedroom there. Of course, it wasn't exactly to her liking, being Terra's old room. But it was thoughtful of the Titans East. Silkie had moved into the Tower, though. Mas and Menos seemed especially taken with the mutated silkworm.

Tonight she'd gone back to her penthouse. She hadn't slept there much in the month that had passed since she moved into the Tower, but she never really got used to thunderstorms. She wanted the familiarity of her round bed and her own space. She tried to get Silkie to come back with her, but he hid under the refrigerator and wouldn't come out for her.

She wasn't very happy about her peaceful night getting interrupted by tapping on the windows. She couldn't see anything outside that might be causing the noise, and just as she was thinking that it was probably just a branch in the wind, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky. Red X was hanging upside down directly across from her. The night was so black that she hadn't seen him before. She let out a muffled squeal of surprise and not long after that, he shimmered to life inside her room.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "It is highly inappropriate for you to come to my dwelling in the night and-!"

"Shut up," Red X commanded gravely. "I don't have time for our usual yell-flirt-reject thing. I need your help."

Starfire narrowed her eyes at him and tilted her head, at once intrigued and suspicious. "Help? What sort of contract have you gotten yourself into this time? Your love of money is strange to me."

"It's not like that this time, cutie. I really need you."

Her expression softened. "What is wrong?"

"I'm… supposed to kill the Titans."

She froze completely. She wanted to smack him and recoil at the same time. "What?" she managed, her voice coming out shrill.

"Calm down. I'm not actually going to do it."

A ferocious growl escaped from her lips and she caught him by the collar. "You realize that you could have begun with 'I am in the middle of rejecting a contract' and it would have been a much more pleasant way of speaking to me?"

Red X grabbed her wrists and wrenched her hands away from his suit. "You didn't have to jump to conclusions. And I haven't exactly rejected the contract." He leaned back on her dresser, looking meek.

"But you intend to?" Starfire demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Well… It's not that simple. It's the Brotherhood of Evil." He narrowed his eyes at her to gauge a reaction, but she wasn't familiar with the organization. "I'm already in and I can't get out. Plus, they're protecting me from one of Luthor's hit-men. That's why I didn't come to you sooner- one was trailing me."

"I do not like this, Jason," she hissed impatiently. "You accepted a dangerous deal for your own sake, completely regardless of anything or anyone else."

"Hey, the Brotherhood has the ability to clear out all of my problems in one fell swoop. That's not something I can just pass up. Besides, isn't this a good opportunity to spy? I'm on the inside."

Starfire sighed. "I admit that that may be useful. What can I do to help?"

"I need someone on the inside with me. Someone to watch my back while I watch the Titans'. I need you, Kory."

Starfire chewed her lip, debating. But in the end, it wasn't really a question, was it? She'd do whatever it took to ensure Robin's safety. "I will assist you."

"Good. Get your stuff." Red X turned to face the dresser he was leaning against and he pulled open a drawer, tossing black skirts on Starfire's round bed.

"Pardon me?"

"Get a duffel bag. We have to go. Now."

"But I must inform Catwoman of my-"

Red X looked at her over his shoulder while he yanked open another drawer, taking out her black tops and piling those on top of her skirts. "No time. I don't know how long I have until they're going to start tracking me again and I don't want them to find me here. Move it."

Her clothes were packed- changed of uniform as well as two civilian outfits. Hairbrush, toothbrush, and any makeup she might need was thrown into a bag with her clothes, which she neglected to fold. Selina wasn't online right now, but Starfire typed her a quick message telling her not to wait around for Starfire to answer her, but that she was okay.

Red X pulled her onto the back of his X-cycle and they were off to a strange place filled with strange people to fight against the Titans. Her only comfort was that Silkie was safely tucked away in the Tower with the Titans East instead of having to be on his own in her penthouse.

…

And that was how she ended up at the Brotherhood's base in Paris.

She'd been there for almost three weeks. She absolutely hated it.

The whole structure was underground. The lack of real sunlight was bad for her powers and her mood. It felt like a prison.

The structure was rounded, although the rooms were square. The part where teenaged recruits were housed was much different than the part where the main Brotherhood kept themselves. The main section really did feel like a base- rooms for the adults, technology, training equipment. And, oddly, a large rotunda type of area with a freeze machine in it. The Brotherhood never told their younger counterparts the entire plan, like what they were going to do with the Titans once they were captured. But Starfire had a few ideas.

Those ideas were running through her mind now. She was lying on her stomach on the plain twin-sized bed every extra room was stocked with, on top of the black comforter that rested on top of crisp white sheets, the same in every room. The pillows were somewhat flat, although the pillow sheets were clean when she arrived and now she was breathing in the scent of her own shampoo.

"Sulking again?"

Red X's voice- or, rather, the digitized voice that sounded eerily to Robin's that he spoke with- cut into her morbid thoughts.

"I do not sulk," she answered without lifting her head. "I am thinking."

"Brooding, sulking, same thing." The bed depressed and his hands were on the side of the mattress, not touching her. He shifted his weight onto his forearms and bounced the mattress up and down playfully. "Come on. Get up."

She twisted moodily and shot a weak starbolt at him.

"Ow," Red X complained.

"Please. That did not hurt, unless you are weaker than I thought."

He didn't say anything, but she imagined him frowning at her. "Someone's in a bad mood."

Starfire just made a face at him.

"Come on. I'll take you out."

Starfire tilted her head at him. "Out?"

"Yeah. Dope. It's Sunday."

"Oh!" She'd forgotten. Sunday. The Brain refused to run the base on Sundays. It put Madame Rouge in bad moods most Saturday evenings. Starfire didn't understand it, although Red X said it was a 'religious thing'. She still didn't understand, but at that point Red X told her not to worry about it, which annoyed her.

On Sundays, the teenagers had free reign. They were all bugged at all times, so they weren't exactly free. They weren't allowed to fight or steal- the Brain gave them all a sum of money. The exact amount, Starfire wasn't sure. It went to their bank accounts and she walked around with plastic card, and that was all that mattered. She didn't care about the money.

Many of the recruits were in this only for the money. Money was injected into every aspect of their lives. 'If you're not in bed by lights out, it's a fifty dollar dollars off your pay.' 'Poor training technique. That's twenty dollars.'

Of course, some were in it for the recognition. See-More, in particular, seemed to be trying to move up in the ranks.

"So we'll go out. I'll show you Paris and you can tell me about how you're worried about your boyfriend even though I try to change the subject."

They couldn't actually speak about the Titans. They were bugged at all times. That was one of the worst parts about being here, other than the overall lack of sunlight. Being on the inside the way she was, it meant that she knew the Titans were safe. But it also meant that she knew that very soon, they wouldn't be.

Red X left to change into civilian clothes and Starfire pulled on jeans, sneakers, and a top. She slid a headband into her hair the way Harley showed her. Red X came back into her room dressed the same way- jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers.

"Ready, Miss… what's it again? Kory Anders?"

Starfire gave him a small smile. "Yes, Mr. Todd. I am all yours."

"Your boyfriend probably wouldn't like that," Red X remarked as Starfire joined him in the hallway.

She sighed. "He is not really my-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's go."

Starfire's outings with Red X- or, as he preferred to be called when he was out of costume, Jason Todd- really were enjoyable. The Parisian sun was nice, when she got a taste of it, and the food was delicious. Red X spoke some French, although Starfire was much more fluent. That must mean that Robin spoke it. And that thought always brought down her mood.

She was grateful to Red X for trying so hard to cheer her up. Even if he was obligated to do so, since it was his fault she was in this mess in the first place.

He paid for her coffee (decaf for her- Red X refused to allow her to have any other kind) and her little French cake, and if Harley was here, she would be telling Starfire it was a date. But it really wasn't a date. It was more like Red X being apologetic and an excuse for both of them to get away from the Brotherhood of evil and concentrate on not being… evil.

"Jason," Starfire said suddenly, interrupting him mid-sentence.

He glared at her for the interruption. "What?"

"That man in the blue coat just picked the pocket of that woman in the purple pea coat holding the little boy's hand." She gestured behind him with her chin and he turned to look. He smiled at her, and she thought for a second how it was kind of nice that she could see his facial expressions.

"Sorry, Kory, I'll be right back." Red X stood up, not in any great hurry, and he walked over to the mother and child. He stepped on the child's shoelace as he walked past them toward the pickpocket, and the mother had to stop to tie it.

He walked behind the pickpocket, slowly and not in any great hurry. He wouldn't be caught, but he wasn't afraid of what might happen if he was. Red X was more than capable of taking on a common pickpocket.

He returned to the woman and spoke in broken French, using the incorrect 'you' form on top of poor grammar, but the woman clapped her hand over her mouth and stared at the money in his hand incredulously. In English, she thanked him and tried to give him some of the money as a reward, but he didn't take it.

Red X slid back into the seat across from Starfire. "Time?" he asked.

She glanced down at her watch. "58.7 seconds," she told him.

"Yes! Under a minute!"

"Barely," Starfire reminded him.

"What about your time, last time you tried?"

She scowled at him. "It was not my time that was insufficient, it was my methods. And only you had an objection."

"Not 'only me'. The pickpocket had an objection, as did the woman you handed the money back to. Glowing eyes is not acceptable when you're Kory." Red X took a sip from his coffee, which was some kind of concoction of coffee and chocolate.

"Not all of us were in trained in stealth and forced to master it under threat of death," Starfire snapped irritably.

"You make it sound so hard," Red X shot back.

"How is your situation with Lex Luthor, anyway?" Starfire asked. It was okay to talk about that in spite of bugs. The Brotherhood knew all about that.

"Now that I'm in the Brotherhood, I was able to convince Lex Luthor- rather, Phobia and I were able to convince Luthor- to draw up a new contract that states me as free from further services. All gone," Red X finished, curling his fingers into his palm and then spreading them wide to indicate a 'poof' motion.

"That is good, except that now you are in service to the Brotherhood of Evil, are you not?" Starfire asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Thanks for your concern, cutie, but no. Just this one job. Well, that and a quarter of the pay."

Starfire made an alarmed noise in her throat. "A quarter of the pay? I have been allowing you to pay for everything I have wanted since-!"

"Hey! Easy! It's fine. I got plenty more where this came from." He leaned back in his chair. "This-" he indicated to the coffee and piece of cake he bought her- "is just a thank you."

"I do not need it," Starfire sulked.

Red X shrugged. "When it comes right down to it, does anybody really need to be thanked?"

"I do not wish for your psycho-banter."

"You're just mad because I'm right."

"The reasons I can list for not sending a starbolt into your face are dwindling by the second."

By the end of the day, Starfire really did feel better. She felt refreshed from the sun and just revitalized from getting out of the base. By the time she flopped down on her bed, she was so tired from walking around Paris and being annoyed at Red X that she fell asleep before she could crawl under the covers.

She was woken by the alarm system, which woke them every morning Monday through Saturday. Starfire dressed lazily, pulling on her black boots with a yawn and sliding on her gauntlets. She brushed her hair, only half paying attention, and she literally collided with Red X in the hallway.

"Good morning," she murmured, still slightly groggy.

His eyes narrowed at her. "Something's up. Stay quiet. Don't do anything to draw any kind of attention to yourself, got it."

Any sense of tiredness completely vanished. "What do you mean?"

"I heard General Immortus and… just careful. I'll try to find you instead of sticking to regular formation."

The rotunda area with the freeze-machine was where they'd been meeting first thing in the morning, and today there was a large screen projected onto a piece of canvass that hung from the wall. It was a globe, spread flat so they could see all of it at once.

General Immortus was watching the teenagers group up with a watchful eye.

Anxious silence filled the rotunda. Something was up, indeed.

"Today, my rotten children, is the day. I have it all planned out." General Immortus pushed a button on the top of his cane and a slide filled the screen. Faces of the Titans were matched with faces of the Brotherhood. "If your picture is on here, you will spend the day until exactly 1200 hours familiarizing yourself with the corresponding Titan. If not, you'll be here as backup. You'll be familiarizing yourself with the building's internal structure, and a select few will be learning how to operate this." He gestured at the machine that took up half the room.

Starfire studied the screen, her heart racing. First she noticed the lack of her own face, and then she noticed the dire situation the Titans would find themselves in. The matchups were formidable. The Brotherhood played on each Titan's weakness. Mammoth against Cyborg, Gizmo against Gnarrk, Psimon and Kyd Wykkyd against Raven, Angel against Bumblebee, and the worst was Madame Rouge against Robin.

There was a flurry of activity as people swarmed around her, trying to get closer to the screen. Starfire felt her knees grow weak, and she doubled over as spots danced in front of her eyes.

"Get up, Starfire," a voice hissed in her ear. A push on her back and a pull at her shoulder made her straighten out.

"I fear I will be sick," she murmured back.

"Snap out of it. There're eyes," Red X snapped, and he forced her to look up at General Immortus. The old man was glaring at her, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"We must do something!" Starfire said as Red X pushed her forward, weaving her through people and presumably trying to break Immortus's line of vision.

"I'm pissed that I have to stay here, too, but whining about it doesn't help."

She was in no mood to speak in codes. "X! We have to help the-!"

He slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm serious. Shut your pretty little mouth if you're not going to say anything useful."

Gizmo was handing out jetpacks now. Kyd Wykkyd and Psimon were already gone. General Immortus was moving out. Time passed in a blur, the spots in front of Starfire's eyes shimmering and swirling.

"Star," Red X murmured. "Sorry for what I'm about to do next."

Her eyes snapped up to his. That was never a good thing to hear.

Red X grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped his mask up so it rested on the bridge of his nose.

"X'hal! Are you-? Mmf!"

He cut her off with a kiss- rough and not very pleasant. She squirmed under his grip.

"Ew, dude. Get a room."

Starfire opened her eyes to see See-More shaking his head at them.

Red X laughed. "Yeah, working on that. Got caught up in the excitement." He tilted her chin so that she was looking at him she glared at him, furious. He slipped one hand to the small of her back and pressed the teleport pad on his belt.

They shimmered away and back again, coming into existence in Red X's room.

"You did not have permission to do that!" she snarled at him.

"I know, I know, but it was the only thing I could think of that would let us leave and not have anybody come snooping around after us." Red X took his mask and crumpled it, then he tossed it on the ground and stomped on it. That crushed the bug inside it.

"What are you-?"

"Shut up," he muttered, and he shoved her onto the bed. He clambered over her and sunk his fist into the jewel on her neck plate, crushing her bug in the process.

She starbolted him in the chest. "Explain what you think you are doing!"

A lopsided smile crossed his features and he chuckled. "Man, I hope, for their sake, nobody else tries to do that to you. That even hurt."

"This is not funny," she snarled.

"Okay, I know. I don't… we're supposed to stay here. Presumably, so that we can help hold the fort and secure the Titans when they're captured."

"Captured?!"

"Sh. Now, the way I see it, it'll be the perfect opportunity for us to help them out- once they're all rounded up and security gets low." Red X was pacing now, thinking and planning. "For that to work, you have to stay in character. You hate the Titans, remember, and you definitely do not pass out when their dooms are revealed."

"I could not help it. It truly is hopeless."

"I meant what I said about keeping your mouth shut if you can't say anything useless," snapped the thief. "Okay, so, I figure one of us should contact the JLA."

"They will not believe us," Starfire said quickly.

"They will when they can't contact their sidekicks cuz they're frozen blocks of ice."

Starfire's heart sank. "I will go," she murmured, tears pricking at her eyes. "I can fly to the Watchtower and-"

"No, you will not go," Red X informed her. "I'll go."

"Surely it would be easier for me to fly to the satellite?"

"No. We're criminals, cutie. We go up there, we're handing ourselves in. You'd get kicked off the planet. Is it your goal never to see your Birdie Boy again?"

"That does not matter as long as he is safe," she snapped. Then her expression softened. "But if you go, you will become incarcerated."

"Yep. I hope you put me in your speech at your wedding." Red X calmly bent to pick up his mask and shook out the broken fragments of the bug. "Um, you might wanna, I dunno, mess up your hair a little. People are supposed to think we ducked out for a quickie."

Starfire glared at him. "That had better not mean what I think it means."

"Probably does. Sorry." He didn't sound very sorry at all.

Starfire muttered to herself.

"Go back out there. I'm going to try to slip out. Remember me fondly."

Back out in the rotunda, speakers had been set up for the amusement of the recruits left to watch the base.

"Calling all Titans!" Robin's voice rang out across the room. "The Brotherhood of Evil has been listening. I'm breaking off all further communication." Some people started to mutter amongst themselves, angry that Robin had figured it out. There was some beeping and then, resigned, Robin's voice came again. "Take care of yourselves. You know what to do." A horrible, high pitched beeping filled the room, and some people around her clapped their hands over their ears, but to Starfire the sound was a relief.

Maybe Robin escaped.

Being at the base without Red X was horrible. She was anxious and spacey, and most people ignored her. She felt alone and watched at the same time. She couldn't eat, which ordinarily pissed Madame Rouge off because it was a waste of resources. Of course, Madame Rouge wasn't here now. Starfire could only hope that it was because she'd lost Robin and was looking for him.

The day passed tensely, like she was in some kind of dream where she knew that something was going to happen to her and she couldn't stop it. Her shift to watch the ice machine and the frozen Titans- Wildebeest and Hotspot- started at eleven that night. Each teenager remaining was supposed to hold watch for two hours then switch the shift.

Her shift was supposed to be with Red X. That was convenient, and she used one of the holograms he gave her. She placed hologram-Red X between the door and the ice-sculptures of frozen Titans, but not in a likely path of anyone who would walk in the room.

And the sculptures of frozen Titans was what had her attention.

She'd heard about it. There was a lot of upheaval when it happened, but Starfire couldn't watch. Robin had been captured and frozen. Of course he had. Robin was good, but he wasn't 'escape from a fight with Madame Rouge unscathed' good. And of course he went out like a hero, sacrificing himself to turn off Titans communications. Didn't he realize how worried she was about him?

Approaching the ice-statues- Robin, Menos, Aqualad, Speedy, Argent, Wildebeest, and Hotspot- she wondered if they could see or hear. It was best if she assumed they could. Stopping in front of Robin, she peered into his face, searching for any sign of life. Surely he wasn't dead. He was just put in stasis. …Right?

Starfire floated and crossed her legs in the lotus position, looking at him worriedly. She cleared her throat and started speaking awkwardly. "I… I know what you are thinking. I am with your enemy. You are most likely furious. I can imagine the things you would be saying if you were not frozen. But I was only here to help Red X. He has a plan, Robin, do not you worry. He has gone to carry it out. I am here to keep an eye on you. I know that I have not done a very good job. I did not know what to do…" She reached a hand up to touch his cheek, but she dropped it quickly. "I hope you will forgive me."

She landed on the ground and inspected Robin, walking around him in a circle. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Robin, perhaps I will be able to melt you out of there?" Heat flooded into her hand, not quite a starbolt but loose green energy, and she touched his cape. She hoped to reveal the yellow material, but all that happened was that it melted.

"Oh," she muttered, upset. "It appears that I cannot free you with heat." She stepped in front of him, peering down at his masked face. "Robin, what do I do?"

"What, indeed?" Starfire cringed. That was Madame Rouge, undoubtedly. "Idiot girl. You thought you could spy on us? The Brotherhood of Evil?"

Starfire stayed meek. "You are right. It was foolish of me. I have made a great mistake."

"Yes, child. You have." Madame Rouge stretched an arm out and grabbed Starfire around the neck. The alien kicked futilely, lifting her arms to wrap her fingers around Madame Rouge's hand for leverage. She couldn't breathe even a little. Wet choking noises escaped her throat when she tried. The spots she saw earlier returned, but they were much bigger and blacker and they moved in on her more quickly.

"Come, child. Put up some fight. You are boring me."

Starfire was thrown against the wall, pain exploding on her back. She gulped in air. Filling her lungs stung so badly, but the pain was coupled with the most relieved feeling she could ever imagine. The mixture of pleasure and pain was as addictive as the actual air and all she could do was breathe for a few moments. Her vision returned, although she was lightheaded, and she panted. "I do not wish to fight you." It was true. Starfire was too depressed and upset to use her powers. Right now, she didn't care much what Rouge did to her. She wanted to sink into the woozy blackness.

"Very well, then." Madame Rouge stretched her legs and she was next to Robin. "Then the boy dies."

"What?" Starfire demanded softly, the word leaving her throat raspy. Her blood froze, figuratively, anyway.

"It would only take one little push," Madame Rouge purred, and she nudged Robin in the back. "You do know what happens to a person frozen like this when they hit the ground, don't you?"

"Leave him alone," Starfire snarled. She gathered starbolts in her hands and her eyes flooded with green light.

"There is the fight in you," Madame Rouge crooned, pushing Robin in the back one more time. His feet were right against the ledge of the platform he was standing on.

Starfire let out a war cry and launched herself at Madame Rouge. The woman's laughing turned to a pained yell when Starfire wrapped her fingers, coated in starbolts, around her wrist. Rouge couldn't shake Starfire off, so she pushed Robin again with her free hand. He tumbled and Starfire reacted instantly, dousing her starbolts and catching him safely, setting him on the ground.

"I will not let her harm you," she promised.

"It is not him you should be worrying about."

A fist slammed into her as she turned to the voice. She was knocked into a wall again, and a cage of rubber made from Rouge's fingers trapped her there. "We will freeze you and sell you to the highest bidder," the older woman whispered in Starfire's ear.

She shot eyebeams blindly, and Madame Rouge cried out in pain. "Those infernal powers," she muttered as her body reformed around the hole Starfire blasted into it.

"Mallah, end this foolishness."

That was not good either. The Brain's robotic voice cut through to them.

"Don't bother freezing this one," Rouge snarled. "I will kill her."

Starfire blasted starbolts at the ape, but he was surprisingly quick for a creature of his bulk. He was like a tank, slow and steady in his approach, never ceasing. In a last ditch attempt, she shot a starbolt at the Brain, toppling him over. Madame Rouge reacted instantly, catching him with stretched arms.

This turned out to be a bad move. Mallah crushed his paws into the wall beside her, roaring furiously.

"Do not kill the girl, Mallah," the Brain instructed. He wheeled his way over to her. "It is such a shame, Starfire. You have so much potential." There was a small pause. "Mallah, show me her neck."

Rough, apish hands went to Starfire's chin and she lit starbolts as a warning. Ignoring that, Mallah growled at her and grabbed both her fists in one hand, forcing them above her head on the wall. Mallah's strength rivaled her own. Starfire didn't know if she could break his grip without breaking her wrists in the process. As it was, he was grinding them painfully into the wall.

He forced her chin back and he observed the red just-formed bruises on her neck.

"That was foolish of you, Rouge. Marks on the skin will drive down the price. I never gave you clearance to kill the boy."

"It was a necessary risk. He is fine."

Mallah forced heavy handcuffs onto her wrists and she gave in to blind panic. "No… Please, do not," she muttered, trying to wriggle her wrists free of the power dampening cuffs.

"Too late for that, little girl," Rouge crooned, a malicious smile on her face. Mallah dragged her to the ice machine, her kicks and attempts at biting completely ineffective.

"Any last words before you join your little friends?" Rouge asked, crossing her arms and smiling smugly.

The panic melted away and Starfire glared back at Rouge. She tossed her head back defiantly. "Yes. You will regret this," she said calmly.

It was important for a warrior to be bold in the face of their defeat. She squared her shoulders and assumed a glare, sharp eyes and a slight frown. Air whooshed around her and she forced herself to keep her position.

Being frozen was not how she imagined it. She wasn't cold. She didn't black out. She didn't know if she was breathing or if her blood flowed or how she was even alive. All she could feel was numbness. She couldn't see anything outside of her peripheral vision, and the view was dizzying when they lifted her onto a ledge. Next to Robin, as what she assumed was part of a cruel joke.

It couldn't have been more than a few hours when the action started picking up. Beast Boy, Jericho, Herald, Pantha, and Mas broke into the base- although Starfire didn't learn some of their names until later. Being frozen was very trying on her patience, but Mas and Menos- who was fortunate enough to be freed from just a touch of his brother's hand- unfroze them after a short amount of time.

Being unfrozen was not as numb as being frozen. Actually, it hurt. She found herself gasping for breath, even though she didn't feel suffocated while she was frozen. The sensation of blood returning was quite painful, and what was worse was that she couldn't activate her powers to heat herself up because of the handcuffs she still wore. She wasn't used to feeling cold.

Robin rounded on her immediately, apparently not feeling the effects of being unfrozen as much as Starfire. "What the hell is wrong is with you?" he scolded. Starfire shrank away from him and lost her balance, the heavy power-dampening handcuffs too much for her to handle in her current state.

"I am s-s-s-sorry," she mumbled, leaning her back against the wall to try to help herself stand.

Robin frowned at her and crouched down to her level, reaching in his belt for a lock pick.

"You should be," he scolded. "You almost got yourself killed." He lifted the hand that wasn't working the lock and made her tilt her head back so that he could see the bruises on her neck.

"I d-d-did not int-t-tend for that to happen," she shivered.

He muttered something under his breath and the lock came undone. He slid the handcuffs off of her and she let her energy flow, heating herself up and enjoying the feel of warmth as it streamed through her body.

She grinned at Robin and hugged him tight, not letting go even though his shoulder was pressed into her neck and that kind of hurt. "Oh, I am so glad you are not frozen or harmed or captured or-"

She stopped talking abruptly when he pulled back and cupped her face in both his hands. "I'm glad you're okay, too." He squinted at her. "You are okay, right?"

"Yes! All fine!" she told him. She stood and pulled him up with her.

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I could really use a hand."

Starfire beamed at him and took his outstretched hand to lower them both to the ground.

The other Titans seemed glad that Robin was okay.

"So…" Raven started. "Does anyone actually have a plan?"

"Yes!" Starfire exclaimed, lighting starbolts and allowing her eyes to glow. "We kick the butt!"

"With plans like that, I can hardly believe you got yourself frozen in the first place," Raven deadpanned.

"Just like old times!" Cyborg growled, smiling ferociously.

"Except better," Beast Boy added.

"Let's finish this," Robin said determinedly.

The five of them scattered, and Starfire followed Raven into the air.

"Can you spread your energy into a ray and shoot it like that?" Raven asked, calculating.

"Yes," Starfire answered

"Good. Take my hand and do that."

Starfire obeyed, and Raven spun them around. Starfire's starbolt energy and Raven's dark energy mixed in a spiral, knocking Torpedo on his back.

Starfire smiled at the empath, who returned a small smile of her own. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Robin had reconvened below them and they landed to help.

"Is it just me, or is this getting easier?" Raven asked.

Madame Rouge landed in front of them, clucking her tongue. "Children. When will you learn?"

Before she could step closer, Hotspot and Wildebeest tackled her. Starfire smiled at the irony- they were her first victims.

"Like I said; it's getting easier."

"I say it is time we left," Mallah rumbled from above them.

"Agreed," the Brain established. Mallah scooped up the metal base and tried to escape, but Aqualad and Tramm stopped him with a wall of water. Mallah tried another route, but Bumblebee and Speedy headed him off.

Starfire and Raven lifted Robin and Cyborg to the top of the ledge, and Beast Boy flew up in the form of a sparrow.

"No one's leaving," Robin informed them.

"Then you leave me no choice." Steam escaped from the top part of the Brain's base, extending the top. Mallah took the glass case that held the Brain and jumped up to one of the supporting structures. "A little something to keep them busy, perhaps."

A platform raised from the ground, dozens of robots standing with laser guns at the ready. Raven raised a shield to block the rays from harming them.

"Aw! Just when this was starting to get fun!" Cyborg whined.

Raven nodded at Starfire and they took off, Starfire shooting starbolts and Raven slicing dark energy through the air. Starfire noticed Cyborg staring at a strange piece of machinery and she landed next to him.

"It's a fusion device. And a big one!" He muttered, seemingly to himself, but Starfire was listening intently. "I have no idea how to shut it down. We need a miracle."

"No," she said brightly, "we need a friend!" She rocketed away, scooping up the Herald by the elbows.

"There is a fusion device that Cyborg cannot dismantle and it will blow the entire base high as the sky if it is not taken care of and I believe that your skills will make it-"

"Uh, what?" he interrupted her.

Starfire placed him on the ground next to Cyborg. The Herald looked from Starfire to Cyborg to the machine and back again. "Any requests?" he asked, raising his horn in preparation.

"Far away would be good!" Cyborg answered.

The Herald opened a portal to space and Starfire helped Cyborg push the bomb through. Cyborg raised his hand for a high five and Starfire opted instead for a hug. Cyborg was surprised for a minute, but he returned her hug and even twirled her around happily.

Things had quieted down around them and Cyborg went to investigate. Starfire helped Mas, Menos, and Kid Flash arrange the frozen villains on the platforms the Titans had been on.

"Dudes, check it out!" Beast Boy called, and Starfire stopped and turned to look at him. Beast Boy threw the Brain into the path of the freeze ray and he quipped, "Brain freeze!"

Starfire didn't understand the apparent joke, but the others let out a groan of disapproval.

"What's going on here?"

Starfire froze. She knew that voice. That was undoubtedly… oh no. She was in trouble.

Catwoman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Zatanna were standing near the exit, none of them looking very happy.

Nobody else moved, either. "Well?" Superman asked in a kinder tone, and that seemed to break some people out of their spells. There was a lot of murmuring, and Starfire was torn between going to Selina and hugging her and hiding from her.

"Miss me?" a familiar voice asked, and Starfire jumped as Red X shimmered into existence next to her.

"I believe you abuse the teleport abilities of the suit," Starfire mumbled.

"No. I. Do. Not," he protested, punctuating each new word with a teleport.

Starfire giggled in spite of herself. "What happened? Why did you take so long? And why is Catwoman here?"

"Well… Turns out, the Justice League is kind of hard to find," Red X admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "So I went to Gotham, thinking that maybe I could find Bats. And I couldn't. I did find Catwoman, though, and she seemed really interested in what I had to say. And she helped me contact Batman, and the rest of the League kind of came with him."

"I see," Starfire said, keeping an eye out for Selina.

"But it looks like you guys have everything wrapped up. I missed the fun," Red X mourned.

"Oh, no, the fun is only just beginning," Starfire mumbled which made Red X raise an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, Starfire!" The same voice she recognized earlier called. She was pulled against leather and hugged fiercely. It was a short hug, hard and possessive. Selina pushed her back slightly and smoothed down her hair, acting more motherly than she ever had before. "Are you hurt? You're okay, aren't you? Oh my god, look at your neck. Who did that to you?"

Starfire batted Selina's hand away from her chin and she touched her bruised neck self-consciously. "Please do not worry. I am perfectly fine, Catwoman."

"Ohhhh," Red X drawled. "This makes sense now."

"Catwoman, please. I am okay."

"Yeah, okay." Selina took a small step away from Starfire and crossed her arms sternly. "Damn, Starfire, I go for three weeks without hearing from you, and then this kid shows up stalking around Gotham. You really had me worried, and Harley too. Even Ivy was feeling it, but that might be because me and Harley have been kind of high-strung lately."

"Catwoman," Black Canary called from across the room. She was holding a girl by the shoulder, and Starfire vaguely wondered what was wrong as a wave of relief crashed over her.

"So," Red X started, his voice full of mirth, "you and Catwoman, huh?"

"She helped take care of me when I first arrived here." There was no need to make fun of her about it, and Starfire didn't see what was so funny, anyway.

"You live with her? Do you two have pillow fights and everything?"

She narrowed one eye at him. "Are you creating fuel for a fetish?"

"I guess, if you wanna look at it that way."

Starfire glared at him, but it was only halfhearted. Not because she wasn't frustrated by his single mindedness but because she was so tired.

Filling in the slightly uncomfortable silence, Red X said, "You're not gonna believe what happened to me."

"I think you will find that there is not much I will not believe, at this point."

"No, but really. You won't. So I kinda had to explain all that crap with Lexcorp and everything to Bats, because he didn't believe my credibility or whatever, and cutie- he wants to train me."

He was right. She couldn't believe that. "Excuse me?"

"It's true! I'd have to get rid of the Red X suit, which kind of sucks because I won't be able to reproduce the teleporter, but damn! I mean, he's the Goddamn Batman, for Christ's sakes!"

Starfire was glad. If Red X could start over, then surely she could too? Plus, Jason seemed so excited. It would be good for him. But her happiness for her friend didn't shake her tiredness. "That is wonderful. I am sure your technique will only improve." A yawn slipped out at the end of her sentence.

"Hey, I could take you with a hand behind my back." He paused so that Starfire could retaliate, but she didn't. "You good?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes. I am simply tired." Starfire leaned back against the wall and slid down it so that she was sitting with her back against it.

Red X crouched next to her. "Yeah, me too. I'm sorry it took me so long to get help. I didn't know what to do and I was scared shitless that something happened to you. And all the Titans too, I guess."

"Jason, please. I know you did the best you could have done. I am fine now, and that is what is important," she said wearily.

"Yeah. Okay, cutie." He put his hands on his knees and he stood, peering down at her. "You get comfy, I'll go see what I can do to help."

Comfy wasn't a very accurate word, but Starfire found her head drooping and her eyes drifting shut anyway. She didn't really sleep- there was too much noise and commotion all around her, but the next thing she was really fully aware of was someone shaking her shoulder.

Her head snapped up and she let her eyes glow, startled. This fierceness was greeted with a soft chuckle. "It's only me."

She shook her head to clear the sleep from it. "Robin," she muttered happily.

"Hey." He was crouching in front of her and he moved to her side so he could rest his back against the wall. From the looks of it, fatigue had struck him, too. "How're you doing?"

"Tired," she mumbled, pulling her knees up so she could rest her forehead on them. "Can we not leave?"

"No. They're interviewing people."

She went rigid. "What?" she spluttered, her voice high pitched.

Robin chuckled again. "Don't worry. Catwoman already gave him an earful about leaving you alone. I saw everything, anyway. I'll fill him in about your fight with Rouge, unless you're really eager to talk to Batman."

"You may be my guest."

"Speaking of your fight with Madame Rouge, you could probably use some ice for that."

"For what?" she mumbled, still too sleepy to really focus.

Of course, Robin's fingers on her throat changed that ad all of her attention snapped to him. "You'd think this thing would've protected you," he muttered disapprovingly at her neck plate.

"It is meant to protect the heart from a downward thrust. And I believe it did help, a little. I am not dead," she pointed out.

"Thank god for that," Robin mumbled under his breath. Starfire probably wasn't meant to hear, but she couldn't help that her hearing was slightly better than most human's.

Companionable silence settled over the teenagers, each of them resting their heads against the wall and breathing evenly and deeply. It was rhythmic and soothing, and Starfire honestly couldn't find much of a reason to keep her eyes open. All that was going on was other teenaged heroes lounging around like them and older heroes walking stiffly, capes swishing, bringing one or two away from their groups of friends to interview them.

Even breathing became deeper and Starfire felt her head drooping to the side in spite of her attempts to sit up. Her sleep was extremely light; she was constantly aware of the wall at her back and the murmurs of people around them and, most importantly, of Robin at her side.

Apparently, though, she wasn't as aware of herself as she thought.

"Hey," a familiar voice murmured at her ear. "Star."

She groaned sleepily and cracked an eye open.

Selina smirked at her, her eyes narrowed with mirth behind her goggles. "Sleep well?"

Starfire's eyes widened as she realized exactly how she was sitting. Her temple was against Robin's shoulder, and what made it worse was that his head drooped on top of hers. She was stuck against him. Gloved fingers rested over hers on the floor.

"Selina?" the alien princess muttered sleepily,

"Sh. Don't get up. Just wanted to warn you that Batman's about to come by. He won't be very amused by this."

Starfire sighed and allowed herself to sink further into Robin. The slight movement didn't wake him, but he stirred a little against her and his fingers twitched, closing around hers. She flicked her gaze up to sneak a glance at Selina, but she was gone.

There was no click of boots on the floor or any other indication of impending approach. He just appeared. His voice was deep but loud, unpleasantly booming into their pleasant silence.

"Robin." The name came out of Batman's mouth like a growl.

The fingers around hers clenched and his head snapped up. Robin's body tensed, going from relaxed sleep to alert defensiveness immediately. He didn't relax when he realized that it was Batman who had woken him. "What?"

"I want to interrogate the girl."

He moved his fingers away from hers, assumedly to rub his eyes. He didn't get up, though, and he let her stay snuggled against him. "You agreed not to."

A beat of silence, then Batman grumbled, "It won't take long."

"I have all of her information," Robin growled.

"I don't know what you're protecting her from."

There was no noise after that and Robin relaxed, so Starfire guessed that Batman had gone away.

"Me neither," Robin mumbled to himself against Starfire's hair. "I guess I'd like it if someone protected me from him." He brushed her hair away from her face and, louder, he said, "Star."

Pretending to sleep seemed to be the best option. She didn't know if Robin wanted her to hear what he'd just said, and she'd been pretending to sleep, so far. It was easier to keep doing that than it was to wake up and deal with things.

"Starfire," he called again. She tried to resist the urge to squeeze her shut eyes tighter and remained limp against him. Robin eased out from under her and attempted to lower her to the ground.

Remaining asleep through all that would be suspicious, Starfire knew, so she took a sleepy breath in and fluttered her eyes open. "Robin?"

He froze. She probably could have chosen the moment to awaken better, as Robin currently had one hand on her waist to keep her from falling and another on her head to keep it from lolling. "Um- I- Sorry!" he squeaked and removed his hands hastily.

"For what?"

"I didn't mean to... ah…"

"I do not mind your touch, Robin," she told him softly.

A deep blush spread from his neck to his cheeks and he gulped. "Right. Um, anyway."

Robin hastily left and Selina slid down next to Starfire in his place. She was quiet for a moment, then said, "You know you're in trouble, right?"

Starfire hung her head. "I am truly sorry for any worry I may have caused you."

"I just can't believe you never called me, Starfire."

"There was not any time. Red X called for my assistance without giving me any time to-"

"I don't believe that for three weeks in a row you've been too busy to call me," Selina answered. She didn't sound angry, but somehow her matter-of-fact tone made it worse.

"I did not have my computer or-"

"Red X didn't have his computer? And what about your bracelet? You should have brought that, if not your computer. Really, Starfire. I shouldn't have to tell you this."

Guilt made Starfire's stomach feel heavy. She gulped away a bad taste in her mouth. "I am sorry," she whispered, her voice too weak to come out any stronger.

"I know you are. But I think I'm going to put you under house arrest. And I mean at Gotham."

Starfire snapped her head in Selina's direction. "What?" she demanded mournfully.

"Yeah. I think that'll do. It'll be good for Harley to see you again, in any case." With that, Selina stood and clapped her hands together to rub the dust from the ground off them. "You'll come back to Gotham with me. You can stay in the penthouse, if you want. It'll be just you and Maven in there. This isn't a punishment to most kids, you know."

It wasn't even that Starfire didn't want to be with Selina, or that she thought Selina was being unfair. But she had just joined the Titans, at least temporarily. She was hoping to make it a permanent switch. But it wasn't meant to be. Starfire sulked, but she didn't actively raise any protests. She raised her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, leaning her forehead on her thighs.

"I think Batman's going to have Robin under house arrest, too," Selina mentioned offhandedly.

Starfire widened her eyes at her. "What?"

"Oh, yeah. Emotional crisis, he's questioning his leadership. All that stuff. But you probably don't care."

She glared at Selina, who just smiled back knowingly.

Maybe 'house arrest' wouldn't be so bad.

Chapter Text

Lots of Batfam in this chapter. This chapter will be fluffy. Unashamedly so. We need some fluff. We haven't had fluff since the last Wayne Event. Playing Hide-and-Go-Seek with the Batfamily is infuriating.

Chapter 20 – Hide and Seek, Kiss and Tell

Starfire pulled on the dress Selina helped her pick out. It was made of sleek material, deep purple- a little pinker than the new uniform she picked out for herself- and it was a halter cut. The back was deep, which was new for Starfire, but she liked it. The cut suited her. The seashell bracelet hung faithfully and familiarly on her wrist.

"You always wear that," Selina remarked as she put an earring in.

Starfire held her wrist out in front of her face. "It is… special to me."

"At least it's in season, this time," Selina said with a shrug. "Ready?"

Starfire nodded.

Selina led her down to the limo Maven had arranged for them, and they piled in. Their destination, of course, was Wayne Manor.

"Okay, I think I should warn you. There's going to be a girl at this party- Barbara Gordon- and she has no romantic affiliation with Dick Grayson."

Starfire shifted in her seat and narrowed her eyes at Selina. "That kind of thing would not bother me, anyway, Selina. I have tried explaining to you that I am not interested in Dick Grayson."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just a warning." Selina paused. "Bette Kane'll be there too. No romantic affiliation, either. But, you know… watch out."

Starfire sighed, fogging up the window. "It will not worry me, Selina. I promise."

…

She really should have taken Selina's warning more seriously. Starfire couldn't remember the name of this event, or the theme… Perhaps it was related to Gotham University? Or the Wayne Scholarship for young academics? There certainly were very many younger people here.

Starfire stepped into the room- Mr. Wayne hadn't waited for the two of them as he usually did- and immediately, a redheaded girl found her and shook her hand.

"Hi! My name's Barbara, but I want you to call me Babs." Babs was tall for a girl her age- still shorter than Starfire, but taller than most. Her hair was a carroty color that Starfire liked, and her grin was wide and sincere. She wore a pastel blue dress that matched her eyes, and her hair was curled nicely in a way that Starfire could never get hers.

"Oh! Greetings!" Starfire managed.

Selina let her hand linger on Starfire's shoulder. "Barbara, this is my niece, Kory."

"Oh, I know. I've heard so much about you from Dick!"

"You… have?" Starfire asked, blinking at her surprise.

"Yeah, Dick's my best friend. Don't worry! He's only mentioned good things. I've been dying to meet you, honestly." Babs looped an arm through Starfire's, dragging her away from Selina. "Lemme guess. He hasn't mentioned word one about me."

"Um... no, I apologize," Starfire said distractedly, scanning the crowd for Dick. Babs was coming on a little strong, although she did seem perfectly nice.

"There's someone else I want you to meet. Her name's Bette. She's kind of an airhead, but she's nice. Man, it'll be nice to have someone else to talk to at one of these things."

The poor alien girl was too stunned to do anything other than let Babs drag her off wherever she wanted to.

Thankfully, Babs wasn't going to drag her too much further. "And here's Bette. Bette, this is Kory!" Starfire couldn't help but notice how excited Babs sounded at the very fact that she was indeed Kory.

Bette didn't seem as pleased. She was a breathtakingly beautiful girl, petite with just the right amount of curves. Her dress was bright red, like her lipstick, and her hair was ringletted expertly, framing her face before being pulled half-up.

After observing her with a blank expression, Bette extended a hand gracefully. "My name is Mary-Elisabeth, but everyone calls me Bette." She flashed Starfire a wide smile, showing her exquisitely whitened teeth.

"My name is Kory… Forgive me, Babs already informed you of that." Starfire chuckled nervously.

"Don't be nervous," Babs told her. "I'm sorry, I'm probably not helping, I just… I've wanted to meet you for a while."

"Oh. It is the okay, you do not need to apologize. Truthfully, I am surprised that I have not seen you here before today," Starfire commented a little awkwardly. She'd just realized that she'd never had a real friend before. The Titans, sure, and even Red X to a point. But that all kind of just… happened. She wasn't sure how she should behave.

"Yeah, well, my dad's the police commissioner here, so I try to stay, you know, out of the spotlight. But Bette's here, and Dick let slip that you'd probably be here, and I kind of have an open invitation here. So I figured, why not?"

"I could think of a couple reasons."

Babs scowled over Starfire's shoulder and Starfire turned to see. Looking between the two girls a little nervously was Dick.

"There you are," Starfire murmured, glad to have him there so that she could feel at least a little familiar.

"Yeah. You should probably not listen to anything Babs tells you, by the way. Hello, Bette," he added with a nod in the blonde's direction.

Bette beamed at him and fluttered her eyelashes. "Dick," she cooed in response.

He gave a small sigh but smiled at her.

Bette took the opportunity to latch onto his arm and begin chattering about tennis as he shot Babs a sidelong glance. She snorted and whispered to Starfire, "He'll be busy with her for the next hour."

"He will?" Starfire asked, her voice coming out harsher than she intended for it to.

Babs put a hand on Starfire's back and led her to another part of the room. "I'm going to introduce you around. Starting with who not to talk to. That-" Babs jerked her chin and Starfire followed its direction, "-is Vicki Vale. Don't ever say so much as a friendly hello to her if you're not prepared for your face to be plastered on the front of the first page."

"She is a…" Starfire paused, unable to remember the word. "Paparazzi?"

Babs grinned. "Not really. She's a reporter. She'll do anything to get her scoop. Don't ever talk to her without me or Dick near you. We have a lot of practice with dealing with her."

"Very well," Starfire said with a nod.

"That over there is Ted Kord," she nodded her head a man who seemed to be around twenty or so. "He's cute. He's a friend of Bruce Wayne's. Very rich. Affluent. And a good sense of humor." As she was speaking, Ted caught her eye and smiled, which Babs returned along with a soft giggle.

Ted Kord excused himself from talking to another young-looking man and approached them. "Babs. It's good to see you."

"It is, isn't it?" she asked, a pleased smile on her face.

"And you must be Kory. I've heard a lot about you." He stretched his hand out to her.

Starfire tilted her head at him, confused, and then belatedly remembered that she was meant to shake his extended hand. "I have heard that quite a lot tonight," she told him, reaching out her hand, too.

Ted lifted her hand once she slid her fingers to his palm and kissed the back of her hand, a gesture that confused her even further.

Babs swatted his shoulder. "Oh, leave her alone."

"Now, now. Don't be jealous. I think she's jealous, Kory," Ted added with a wink.

Oh, Babs was correct. He certainly was attractive. Guilt itched at her when she thought that, and she found herself scanning the room for Dick.

He caught her eye as he seemed to be slipping away from Bette and she dropped her gaze to the floor as he made his way over to them. "Why did you leave me alone with her?" Dick groaned to Babs as he took a place next to her.

Babs shrugged, her expression innocent. "Because it's funny?"

He glared at her. He nodded at Ted. "Hey, Ted. Kory." And his gaze dropped to their hands, which were still touching.

"Dick," Ted greeted, letting go of Starfire's hand and holding his own out for Dick. He chose to shake Dick's hand instead of kiss it like hers, which Starfire wondered about for a moment. "You're too much of a hotshot to say hello to me at your own gig?"

"It's not- I wasn't- I've been kinda busy. Sorry."

He clapped Dick on the back. "I'm kidding, dude." Ted took Starfire's hand and tugged her onto the dance floor that Dick had just vacated. "Care to dance?"

"Oh! Very well!" she agreed with a smile.

"Excellent. I'd ask Babs," he said, loud enough for said redhead to hear, "but last time I asked, she told me that if she had to pick between me and a sentient, alien bug, she'd pick the bug."

"That is a very… creative insult," Starfire told him as he whisked her away from Dick and Babs.

"It's not as far-reaching as you'd think." Ted took one of her hands in his and put his free hand on her hip while she placed hers on his shoulder.

"I admit that I am not very good at the dancing slowly," she mumbled, nervous.

"Don't worry about it. It's easy. Besides, Kory, I don't think you and I will have very long to enjoy each other's company."

She tilted her head, confused. "Why is that?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, Barbara can be a bit stubborn. I ask her to dance and she says no, but I dance with you and…" he let his voice trail off and he nodded at something over Starfire's shoulder.

"Um… Kory?" Babs asked from behind her, looking a little sheepish. "Do you mind if I cut in?"

"Cut…? Oh! You mean dance! Of course!" Starfire stepped away from Ted and Babs stepped into her place. She smiled at the two of them.

"Need a partner?"

X'hal. Everyone was sneaking up on her today.

"You wish to dance?" she asked Dick as she turned to face him. The dance floor was much more crowded than usual.

"Sure, if you want to phrase it that way."

"I would enjoy dancing with you," she told him.

Oddly, he glanced around nervously before smiling at her. "Good. I mean, thanks."

Dancing with him was somehow more comfortable. Perhaps because she knew him better than Ted. Mostly, though, Starfire thought it was because every few minutes, a girl would come up to ask Dick to dance with her or a man would request a moment of his time and he'd wave them off, saying that he was talking. It made her feel like her really wanted to spend the time with her.

That lasted for a while, around half an hour, at a guess, when Babs flung herself between them and threaded her fingers through Starifre's. "Go away," she told Dick, swatting at him and swaying in little squares with a very confused Starfire. Then Babs nodded her head behind Dick at the reporter she'd warned Starfire about. Vicki Vale. She was watching them all, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry," she told Starfire, still dancing goofily with her. "Vicki causes a lot of problems for Dick and Bruce, and occasionally my dad, too. Dick usually watches out for her, but, I dunno… he seemed distracted for some reason." She narrowed her eyes at the disguised alien accusingly, a playful smile on her lips.

Starfire didn't know how to react. They didn't dance for very long, and Babs grabbed little snacks off of a silver try for them to munch on as they left the dance floor. Being here with Babs was much more enjoyable than being here on her own. It was much less awkward, and Starfire hadn't made any girl friends, really. Raven didn't seem averse to her, which was a start, but not quite the same as friendship.

Babs grew bored after some more mingling and some picking at hors d'oeuvres. "Stay here," she told Starfire, and then she slunk into the crowds. Seconds later, she reappeared with Dick in tow, hauling him by the elbow.

"I want to play a game," she announced when she'd stopped in front of Starfire.

"A game," he deadpanned. "I was talking to the Gotham Secretary of-"

"I want to play hide and seek," Babs clarified, as though the specification of the game made a significant difference.

"What?" Dick demanded, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Please," she pouted at him.

"I- we probably shouldn't leave."

"What, you're too grown up for a game of hide and seek?" she teased. "I'm older than you. We used to play all the time!"

"Yeah, but we were, like, ten."

"You were ten," Babs corrected him with a sharp poke in the chest. "I was twelve."

"Babs," Dick groaned, annoyed.

Babs narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed too, and she snatched Starfire by the bicep and pulled her into Dick's line of vision. "Kory's playing!"

Dick sighed.

"I'm taking that as a yes. Come on. We're going to hide. And if you don't come look for us, your punishment will be me telling Kory stories."

"Stories?" Starfire echoed, confused.

"Yep. Lots. And lots. Of stories." Babs gave Dick a wicked smile.

"Fine, fine, I'll play," he muttered darkly, although he was actively trying not to smile.

"A game?" Starfire asked as Babs grabbed her by the wrist and whisked her away. Again.

"Yeah! Hide and seek!" Babs released her wrist to tap Bette on the shoulder.

"What is hide and seek?" Starfire whispered to Dick as Bette turned around.

"It's a kid's game. Babs is just messing around. We're probably just going to go down to the kitchen and get real food." As he said that, Alfred passed by with a silver tray full of the little finger-foods parties like these always served and he raised his eyebrow at Dick, who muttered out an apology immediately.

"We are not too old!" Babs was saying as she pushed Bette toward Dick and Starfire with a hand on her back. "Besides, Dick's playing."

"…Fine."

"What are you two still doing standing around here? Go on!" Waving her hand at them, she ushered them into the hallway. "Dick's it," she announced gleefully.

"What?" he spluttered. "I can't… That's not… We're not actually going to play hide and seek."

"Sorry, majority rules." Babs stuck her tongue out at him and she snatched Starfire's wrist and pulled her down the hallway.

"Bruce would disapprove," he told her halfheartedly.

"That hasn't stopped me before. Start counting!"

The girls- one leading, one struggling to keep up- rushed down the hallway. Babs was very deliberately winding through halls and up stairs, and Starfire's head spun as she tried to remember the route they took. When they approached a door, Babs jiggled the knob.

"Locked," she murmured to herself. "Gimme a sec." Her hand buried itself in her red hair and she brandished a bobby pin at Starfire. "No match for me!"

It really wasn't. Starfire had never seen someone pick a lock so quickly. Perhaps not even Red X. She raised her eyebrows at her new friend, who simply shrugged. "I saw it on TV one time."

As the girls stepped into the room, Starfire realized why it was locked. She gasped. "This is Dick's room, is it not?"

"Bingo," Babs chirped. She flipped on the light and sat on the edge of Dick's bed, leaning her elbows on her knees and her chin on her palm to watch Starfire.

"We should not be in here," Starfire said dully from the doorway.

"Hide and seek! Everything's fair game, if you can get into it."

Hesitantly, Starfire stepped into the room. Dick lived at boarding school, if Starfire remembered correctly, and it showed. The room wasn't very personalized. Instead of posters, there were framed articles from newspapers on a backboard, like a collage, hanging on the wall. That was odd. And familiar, but Starfire couldn't place where she'd seen this before. On closer inspection, the newspaper collages were all smatterings of the super-heroic and super-criminal activity in Gotham. That wasn't so strange, really- children in Jump had posters of the Titans and there were even pictures of her floating around in her black Starfire outfit, although how that came into existence, she couldn't guess.

What was strange about this was how organized it all was. There were several Batman and Robin headlines and pictures, one of Batgirl and Robin, one of Flamebird and Robin, one of- oh. That was her. She approached one collage and inspected it.

"Find something interesting?" Babs questioned, sounding curious.

"I- no," Starfire answered quickly. If Babs noticed the picture of her as Starfire and realized the similarities, Selina would kill her for being so obvious.

Babs wasn't easily swayed. "Let's take a look," she chirped and hopped up next to Starfire. "Ooh, yeah, that Starfire chick. She's an alien, like Supergirl and Miss Martian."

Starfire laughed nervously. "I did not even know aliens exist," she said lamely.

"Oh, yeah, they do. I even met Supergirl once. Dick has a huge crush on Starfire, though," she mentioned, smiling widely.

Starfire squeaked and a blush creeped up her neck. She turned back to the collage and pretended to inspect it. "Does he?"

"Oh, yeah. Huge. I mean, like, he has it bad. It's a little pathetic." Babs paused, but Starfire couldn't muster an answer. The other girl didn't seem very bothered by that. "Sucks for him, though, 'cause I heard Starfire and Robin have something going on," she continued, oblivious to Starfire's odd reaction.

"You… what? Where did you hear that?"

"You know. Around. It's pretty easy to see, really."

Starfire was uncomfortably hot and she gulped hard. "What is?" she asked stupidly.

"The both of you are."

Starfire whirled around to find Dick leaning against his doorframe.

"Oh, darn. You found us," Babs deadpanned.

"What are you doing in here?" he scolded her, ignoring Starfire.

"If you must know, I was telling Kory all about your crush on Starfire."

He went rigid and glanced at Starfire. "I don't have a crush on Starfire," he explained, although a faint blush covered his cheeks.

"Do, too. A huge one."

"Do not," he snapped.

"Who's prettier, do you think? Starfire or Kory?"

This wasn't good for multiple reasons. First, Dick would start to look at them side by side, and that would expose her for sure. Second, she really didn't want to know the answer to that. Third, she was getting nervous. When she got nervous, she got the hiccups, and when she got the hiccups, starbolts erupted from her mouth. Selina would be furious if her cover was blown over a case of hiccups and a game of hide and seek.

"I'm not going to answer that," he hissed at Babs.

"Please," Starfire interrupted desperately. "I am confused by the rules of this hiding and seeking game. Who is the 'it', now?"

"I am. You two go hide."

"Fine," Dick agreed quickly, apparently just as glad as Starfire was of the change in subject. "And don't go into anymore locked doors!" he called over his shoulder as he closed the door.

"Roger," Babs answered.

He sighed and let out a preparatory, "Okay. I don't actually have a crush on Starfire. Babs is just-"

"Babs can hear you. And yes you do!" Dick glared at the door, and Bab's voice wafted out to them again. "I'm counting!" she sang.

He muttered under breath and grabbed Starfire's wrist. That was happening too much, and normally she'd wrench her hand away from his, but she was too confused to be moody. Plus, she'd get lost in here if she had to wander around on her own.

Strangely, he took her into the library, and he didn't bother to turn the lights on. Starfire could see well in the dark, but she didn't think he could. He released her wrist and walked to the opposite end of a table before finally stopping.

"I don't have a crush on Starfire," he repeated urgently.

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Dick, it is fine. I do not see why it is the big deal."

He considered for a moment. "I don't- it's not, I guess. I'm not, like, a creepy fanboy or anything."

She giggled at the image. "I do not think it is creepy. I think it is sweet."

"I- you what?"

"Having the crush on a hero is not very strange, is it?"

He ran his hand through his hair and leaned on the table in front of him, his palm on the surface and his arms straight. "I guess not. Why?"

"I admit to having one of the crushes on Robin," she told him with a lighthearted giggle.

He toppled over as though someone had pushed him. His arm just gave out from under him.

"Dick?" she called anxiously, a hand over her mouth.

"… 'm fine," he muttered

"Are you certain?"

"Yes," he answered shortly.

She just wanted to make him feel better. Perhaps it was a taboo to admit those things, and that was why he was so anxious about it. Turning away from Dick, who seemed to be pulling himself together, she perused one of the aisles of the library.

"What sorts of books are here?" she asked curiously.

"Um… I dunno. All kinds. Interested in anything?"

"Oh! There are many on foreign languages!" Many of the titles she could understand- lots of them were about ancient cultures and those that weren't were about fighting techniques unique to the region. Bruce Wayne must have been some sort of collector. She frowned at one language for which she couldn't even recognize the alphabet, never mind read it at all. "Please, what language is this?"

After a few seconds, Dick joined her and looked where she was pointing. "Oh. That's Japanese."

"Do you speak it?"

"No. Bruce has been pressuring me to learn. Never got around to it."

"You do speak more than one, yes? When we first met, you mentioned that English was not your first language." She continued down the aisle, tracing her finger over leather spines of old books, desperately wanting to read each one of them. She loved books.

"Yeah, I guess I did mention that. Romani is my first language."

She turned to him. "Romani! How odd! I speak Romani, as well!"

He stared at her, wide-eyed. "You would, wouldn't you?"

She tilted her head at him. "Pardon me?"

"Nothing."

Something on the spine of a book caught her eye and she put her hands on her knees, leaning forward to peer at it. "Is that a Batsignal?"

"A- what?"

"A book on the Batman, perhaps? I did not think much was known about him, let alone enough to fill a sizeable book." She reached out a book to pull it from the shelf.

"No, wait- Kory, don't touch that!"

Faster than she thought an average person could move, she found herself yanked off the ground and pressed against a bookshelf.

"What-?"

"Sorry," Dick muttered. He was so close to her. Books were sticking into her back and the actual shelf was uncomfortable, but she hardly noticed any of that. His eyes were so blue. She'd never seen an eye color like that before. "Um," he continued, "you're probably wondering why I did that."

No, actually. She wasn't. She was currently wondering why his hands were still on her waist and why he was so close to her. "I probably am," she echoed.

"Yeah. It's because… because… um…"

"Yes?" she prompted, and speaking made his gaze drop to her mouth.

"Kory?"

"Yes?" she asked again. Something about the way he was looking at her made her brain get fuzzy.

"Do you mind if I… um…"

She giggled a little, unable to help herself, and she gently trailed her fingers up until they were under the lapels of his jacket. She tugged him forward just a little bit. It wasn't enough to actually get their lips to meet, but it seemed to be enough to get her point across.

His hands left her hips and he braced himself on one of the shelves behind her. His kiss was soft and slightly hesitant.

Starfire had never kissed anyone before. Not really. There was Robin, but that was for the language transfer, of course. There was also Red X, but that wasn't anything like this. This was electric. This was dizzying and powerful and-

Short. Too short. "Dick?" she breathed, confused at the lack of contact.

"Sorry, sorry," he answered. "I just… I can't do this until… Kory, I have something I need to tell you."

That alarmed her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. I just need to tell you something. It's not bad." He assured her. Really, if he wasn't going to kiss her, the least he could do was step back. As he spoke, his breath brushed over her cheek and it was very distracting.

But he had a point. It felt odd conducting lip contact with someone who didn't really know her true identity. "Dick I have something I need to tell you, as well," she admitted.

"Let me go first. Bruce would kill me if he knew I was telling you this-"

"Please, Dick. Allow me to-"

"I know that you're Starfire," he blurted.

She felt her eyes widen surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah."

"Selina will be angry," Starfire mourned.

"She… knows I know."

"Glorious!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck, relieved. It was much easier this way. "Then there is nothing about which we must worry, and I feel much better now that you know my-"

"That's not all."

She tilted her head at him again, confused. What could he possibly have to tell her that was more of a shock than that? "Yes, it is."

He chuckled at that. "No, Starfire, listen." But he didn't continue after that.

"Is it Babs?" she asked timidly.

"What? Babs? No! Of course it's not. Jeez."

"Bette?"

"Bette?!" he repeated, incredulous. "You honestly think… How could you… It's not somebody else. Not really. It's me. I…" He stopped again, his voice getting stuck in his throat. Then he sighed, annoyed. "Oh, fuck it."

One hand slid to her back and another went to her neck and he crushed her to him. This kiss was different. He kissed her harder and kept his mouth open this time. The first one was much more restrained than this. She got caught up in him. She noticed everything. Humans were normally cooler than Tamaraneans, but he seemed warm against her now. Their chests were pressed together tightly and his fingers were threading through her hair.

He broke the kiss again. "Okay. That's enough. I need to tell you." To punctuate this, he took a step back from her. "Starfire, what I've been trying to tell you is that I'm r-"

The light flipped on. "Okay, seriously? I could have picked a better spot than this with my eyes closed."

Dick smacked himself in the forehead. "Bad timing," he told Babs, annoyed.

"Oh? What are you two doing back there?"

He blushed furiously and glanced at Starfire. She shrugged at him. "We- nothing!"

Babs smirked at them. "Right. Suuure. Well, Kory's 'it', now."

"Oh… of course," she muttered, unconsciously smoothing out her dress.

Babs appraised her with a raised eyebrow, and Starfire purposely didn't meet her gaze. Dick had been torn about whether or not he should stay with Starfire, but seeing Babs watching Starfire seemed to decide him. Taking his friend by the elbow, he pulled her out of the room.

Infuriatingly, as Starfire wandered down the halls, she felt as though someone was behind her, watching her or waiting for her to notice them, but she'd turn around and of course there would be no one behind her. It reminded her of being in Jump, but at least in Jump it was probably just Robin watching from an unseen perch.

She finally found Bette, who insisted that Starfire needed to tag her. Which was odd. Bette left Starfire in the room- like many others, it had armchairs and a fireplace and large windows. Starfire couldn't imagine how three people could use so many rooms- and she realized belatedly that she was lost.

The couch was soft and Starfire stretched out on it. She wasn't used to walking so much, preferring to hover at times, and her feet were aching. The shoes really weren't helping.

"Taking a nap?" Dick asked.

Starfire wasn't even alarmed that he'd snuck up on her. He'd been doing it all day. "I grow weary of these shoes," she told him, wiggling her toes.

He stood over the couch, peering down at her. "You know, I wanted to apologize."

"You did?" she asked mournfully. "I wish you would not. That means that you regret it."

"Huh? No, not for… for the actual… I mean, I wanted to apologize for back in my room."

She scrunched her eyebrows together in thought. "For having a picture of me? I thought it was the cute."

Unintentionally, she'd made him flustered. "Ah… I was hoping you didn't see that. And it's not a picture- it's from a newspaper."

"If that is not what you were hoping to apologize for, then what is?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

"I… It's probably not a big deal. Just, Babs was teasing me about it before, and I always take being teased too seriously." He gestured to the cushion of the couch that her feet were on and she bent her knees to give him room. "I don't really know how to… um, when Babs asked me if I thought…" He coughed, interrupting himself. Interested and concerned now, Starfire sat up to look at him better. "When she asked me if I thought Kory or Starfire was prettier."

Her stomach did an odd flip. "Oh. Yes. That is troubling you?"

"I was wondering if it was troubling you," he admitted, not quite able to make eye contact with her.

She shrugged. "I was not, no."

He relaxed. "Oh. Never mind, then."

She paused, her eyebrows furrowed. "It is now, however. What is the problem?"

Dick sighed, exasperated with himself. "Great. Um, anyway, I just wanted you to know that… I think you're… you know, pretty."

She bit her lip to keep herself from smiling like an idiot. Not counting all the times that Red X had called her 'cutie', this was the first time anyone had commented on her appearance. And for some reason, she realized suddenly that it meant a lot to her what he thought. "Thank you," she said softly.

He turned to her. "No, that's not all. I mean… You always are, when you're here. But what I meant was…" In a swift motion, Dick reached for her hand and pulled her ring off her finger. The hologram flickered furiously before it faded completely, darkening her skin tone and shrinking her eyebrows, revealing the green-on-green of her eyes. "…I kind of like Starfire better."

She looked into his eyes, afraid. Afraid that he was lying and afraid that he wasn't. Afraid that she was dreaming.

Very slowly, like he wasn't sure if it was okay, Dick raised his hand and touched her cheek. Her eyes fluttered down, then she looked back up at him. "I think you're beautiful," he told her, and the look on his face told her that it was important to him that she knew that. But what was she supposed to say? Thank you? That seemed to diminish it. If it was Babs, she might say something intelligent or sarcastic, or something that Starfire hadn't even thought of.

That wasn't much of a problem for long, because Starfire found her mouth occupied with things other than talking.

Lips pressing together softly, whispers of touches. How was it that every time he kissed her, he surprised her with a new experience? They were both kneeling on the couch, Starfire slouching and Dick with his back straight, possibly to give himself more height. It was more of a series of caresses than what she had become familiar with, through the few interactions she'd had with Red X and the previous ones with Dick and even the language transfer with Robin.

Kisses weren't limited just to mouths, either. His lips ghosted over her cheek, peppering feathery kisses over her jawline. Fingers twisted in her hair and she let hers flick around a lock of hair at the nape of his neck.

"Hey! Break it up!"

Dick shoved her away from him so hard she literally fell off the couch before she could even react. Babs looked as surprised by his reaction as Starfire was, or as close as she could get, anyway. She closed the door behind her and stepped into the room. "Okay, well now that the two of you have progressed from bedroom eyes to bedroom activities… Bruce is looking for you. He texted you twice," she told Dick innocently.

Starfire had slid the ring back on, reactivating the hologram. Babs shouldn't have seen anything she wasn't supposed to. Well, nothing specific. There was nothing that could be done about her walking in on them.

Dick rose to his feet and opened his mouth to scold Babs, then snapped it shut and turned to Starfire. "Sorry," he mumbled.

She pushed her hair out of her face and looked up at him. He extended a hand for her to take and she did, even if she didn't really need it. Once he'd hoisted her to her feet, he put a hand on the small of her back. "Go back to the ballroom. I'll be right there."

That was odd. "But I do not know the-"

"Down the hall to the end, make a right, go the end of that hall, take a left, then take the stairs." She gaped at him, absolutely sure she couldn't remember all that, and she knew there had to be more stairs involved. Robin swallowed down what may have been a chuckle. "Um, Bette should be around there somewhere. She'll take you the rest of the way."

Starfire nodded and exited the room, and the door closed behind her. Now, that was right, a left, then stairs-

"You didn't tell her yet?!" Babs's voice exploded from inside the room, followed but shushing noises.

Starfire glanced at the door, but continued down the hall. Left- no, right, left, stairs. What could that have been about?

She looked around the hall. "Bette?" she called. "I require assistance." The blonde girl didn't seem to be anywhere around here. Great, not Starfire was even more lost.

"You're lost aren't you?"

Starfire whirled around. "But- but- but you were not there a moment ago when I-!"

"I'm sneaky! I'm the number six tennis champ in the country- second in the northeast- so that explains that." Bette beamed at her, satisfied with her own explain. "By the way, I never said, but I like your dress."

"I thank you. Selina insisted that I try something new- coming to these parties often, I have worn several cuts of dresses, but never halter ones."

Apparently, talking to Bette Kane about clothes was dangerous territory, as she talked the entire way to the ballroom and walked fairly slow, too, and Starfire thought that she'd accidentally promised to go shopping. Bette was talking so quickly, it was hard to keep track.

Bruce raised his eyebrows as Bette and Starfire walked in, and she was still gushing about clothing. Almost immediately, Bette was swept up onto the floor and Starfire was alone again.

Not that that was bad. She enjoyed it. It gave her a chance to reflect. She'd admit, she never saw this coming, the apparent relationship she had with Dick. Yet at the same time, she wasn't surprised at all. She'd felt- something. Secure? Comfortable?- around him since she'd met him. He was easy to be around, even if the last time she'd seen him he had been difficult.

And then it hit her. She would only see Dick every few months- he lived at boarding school and Starfire lived in Jump, in Selina's penthouse or maybe even in Titans' Tower. She wasn't even sure anymore.

Her eyes widened. Teen Titans. Robin. She leaned against the wall. Her heart did a flip flop and her stomach twisted and she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Then she started to panic.

How did this happen? She was sure that she felt something deep and important for Robin- maybe… maybe she loved him. But how could she love Robin and engage in kisses with Dick Grayson so easily? That was one of the drawbacks of feeling her emotions in such an unbridled way. It drowned out her better judgment and it made her forget everything except… feeling. Emotions were like a fire, all of them. Some needed to be stoked and some needed to be extinguished. Almost all of them had a lifespan- only rarely did sadness last forever, or even simpler things like fatigue or worry. Of course, sometimes the damage from a flame was irreversible.

She needed damage control. She needed to-

A hand reached out to her shoulder. "Kory?"

She jumped. Being so high strung and having a mild panic attack made her edgy. "I really wish for you to stop sneaking up on me," she snapped.

"Huh?" Dick removed his hand and furrowed his eyebrows at her. "What's wrong?"

He was blaming himself, she could tell. He was worried and confused and- something else. She meant to comfort him, to calmly explain that it wasn't his fault. She just needed to rethink the fact that she could possibly be in love with someone else… who she'd never properly met… This was confusing and frustrating and not very good at all.

"Excuse me," she said, and she whirled away from him. Out. Out. She needed to get out. The balcony. She didn't run, although she walked quickly and bumped into as many people as she would have if she really was running. The breeze was cool and she hurtled over the railing of the balcony as it whispered over her bare arms.

…

Starfire was laying supine on her bed at Selina's Gotham penthouse- not the one the Sirens had inhabited, but the one she had purely for herself. Selina was still dressed in her formal clothes, while Starfire was curled up in thick pajamas, for comfort. Her arms were folded on her pillow and her face was buried into her elbows.

She had gotten back around an hour and a half ago, breaking every one of Selina's rules by flying in her Kory disguise. Selina didn't seem angry, though, and now she was doing her best to comfort her. Selina wasn't always the most maternal of figures, however.

"If you just tell me what-"

"I do not wish to talk," she told the older woman again.

"C'mon, Kory. I'm sure it's not the end of the world."

Starfire wasn't crying, although she felt as though she would feel better if she could. "I am doing the screwing in-"

"Up," Selina corrected automatically.

"-up of my friendships and my relationship with the Titans. They are the only ones I know. Of course it is the end of the world!"

"How'd you do all that in one fell swoop?" Her tone was mostly curious and not very soothing. But it was better than nothing.

"I conducted lip contact with Dick," Starfire lamented, looking up at Selina.

Selina grinned happily, then her smile slowly faded. "Oh man! I owe Harley twenty bucks now! You couldn't hold out until the next one could you?"

Starfire blinked. "You… were placing wagers on when I would kiss Dick?"

"Mmmm, no. It was whether you'd kiss Dick or Robin. We were also throwing in side bets on how long it would take you to bodily harm Red X. That's moot now, I guess, but my bet was that you'd snap sometime between yesterday and two weeks from now."

"I am glad to know that the complexities of my social life are amusing to you."

"Anything I can do to help," Selina said with an affectionate pat on Starfire's head.

Starfire groaned as Selina slinked out of the room, either to change into pajamas or to call Harley with the news.

The jingle of a bell caught Starfire's attention, and she was reminded forcibly of Silkie. Isis hopped up next to Starfire, purring loudly and snuggling up to her. At least someone cared about what she actually felt.

Chapter Text

Chapter 21 – Titans Complete

Finally.

Finally he was back in Jump. Finally fighting crime again instead of running drills with Bruce. Finally ready to take his new uniform and alias- all conceived by himself with help from Alfred and Bruce- for a spin.

That's right. With Jason doing boot camp with Bruce now, a few decisions had to be made. Should Robin continue to be Robin and have Jason get his own identity? Jason had come up with Red Robin on his own. It was a nice portmanteau of the Red X identity and the Robin identity, and part of Robin wanted to cling to the green, red, and yellow. But it wasn't right anymore.

So, he passed the suit on to Jason. Jason, of course, made a bunch of cracks about dressing like a stoplight and going by a girl's name (it wasn't!) and the nice-boy cape instead of the usual tattered ends. Not to mention complaining about relinquishing his villain status in favor of a good-guy, a sidekick, no less.

Upon returning, Robin- now Nightwing- had to show his friends his new digs. Cyborg made fun of him for the symbol ("Can't ditch the bird-brain insult, huh?") and Beast Boy commented on the new shape of his mask, and he asked if he had any extra Robin uniforms laying around and if the position was open, adding something about a Beast Boy Wonder. Raven didn't have much to say, except that now he looked like a bruise instead of streetlight. His friends really knew how to be supportive.

He was antsy. Because he was helping out with training Jason, he couldn't come back as soon as he wanted. It'd been a month since the Brotherhood of Evil had been frozen (they were unfrozen now, held in secure prisons around the world, kept separate on purpose), and Robin was getting worried that the Titans didn't need him. They were relieved he was back, though, so that was good.

The holdup with Jason meant that Starfire had been back for a while, while he'd been stuck in Gotham. He'd asked and the rest of the Titans hadn't heard from her. She hadn't been active and the others didn't know where her penthouse was, so they couldn't even check.

Cyborg made a big dinner celebrating Nightwing's arrival back at the Tower, so he had to stay for that, and then Beast Boy and Cyborg guilted him into playing video games for an hour or two. By the time he got out of there, it was past eleven. He took the N-cycle. He loved the N-cycle. He designed it after the bikes he'd seen on his trip into the future, although of course he couldn't copy all the tech. He'd painted it black and blue to match his uniform, with silver accents because it looked awesome. He didn't go so far as to call the bike his baby, but he wasn't very far from that.

He rode into the wealthy part of the city, then tested out the grappling hooks that were stored in the gauntlets on his wrists, swinging up to roof.

He landed on the flat roof and he took a deep breath. He couldn't just go in there and kiss her senseless. First of all, he was Nightwing. She might not recognize him. Second, she hadn't actually kissed Robin, so even if she did recognize him, she would still be confused.

He didn't have to worry about that, though. Her penthouse was empty and all the lights were off. Empty! He'd waited weeks for this, and her penthouse was empty. He was about to try the beach when his communicator rang. Cyborg's face appeared when he flipped it open.

"What's the trouble?" Nightwing asked, annoyed at the interruption.

"Your welcoming committee," Cyborg answered with an amused smirk.

"Huh?" That could be any number of people. Professor Chang, who'd had a grudge against Robin since the whole xynothium thing, Mumbo, Mad Mod… Slade…

"Hot alien chick's trying to get your attention. She's at the jeweler's on Main."

"Oh. I'll meet you guys there in-"

"Uh uh," Cyborg interrupted, shaking his head. "Me, Rae, and BB are stayin' outta this. Well, I mean, we got a pool goin', but other than that-"

"What?"

"It's all you, Romeo. Go get 'er."

He felt himself blush and he scowled at Cyborg. "Um… thanks?"

That was unpleasant. He slid the communicator into a hidden compartment on his suit- he wasn't quite used to not having a belt yet- and grappled away to Main Street.

The jeweler's looked inviting. The door was swung all the way open. Which was unusual, to say the least. He approached the open door and examined it. Lock picking classes from either Catwoman or the Brotherhood's villain classes showed- the door wasn't damaged at all and the windows weren't broken.

"Starfire?" he called stepping into the shop. Nothing was broken or taken as far as he could tell. It was all very neat. "Star?"

He was tackled into the wall by orange and… purple? Shaking his head to clear it, Nightwing almost bumped noses with Starfire. She was squinting at him, head tilted. "Robin?" she asked, confused.

She was thrown by the outfit. She was supposed to be. The switch between himself and Jason was supposed to be seamless. The story was, Robin quits the Titans for good, Nightwing joins as the new leader.

"Yeah, it's me," he said.

Her suspicious expression gave way to a happy smile and she threw her arms around his neck. "I have missed you!" she told him, speaking into his chest. "I was in Gotham for a short while, but our paths did not cross. How have you been?"

Nightwing pushed her away a little and tilted her head back, his hand cupping her chin. "I've been fine. You changed your uniform," he observed, dropping his hands and appraising her.

She was so happy, she lifted her arms over her head and twirled before leaping into the air. "Yes. And you have changed yours!"

"I like the purple." God, he was horrible at flirting.

She giggled at him. "I like the blue." Landing in front of him, she raised her hand to the symbol on his chest.

He took her wrist and tugged her closer to him. She raised her eyes to his curiously.

"Starfire…" he mumbled. He was supposed to explain to her right then. Tell her that he was Dick Grayson and hey guess what, they'd already kissed three times and now it was seriously time to define the relationship.

But… but she was close to him now and they were touching. He hadn't factored touching into the equation, even if that touch was just his fingers around her wrist. It was enough to make his pulse shoot up and his palms sweat under the Nomex.

"Yes?" she asked softly in response to her name.

He froze for a moment, dropping her wrist quickly. He opened his mouth to talk, but he couldn't get any words out. He sighed at himself and cupped her face in his hands, tilting her head back and kissing her softly.

She was rigid, and he hoped that was surprise and not indignant shock. After a second, she fisted his suit in her hands and pulled him closer to her.

They were kissing finally. A real kiss, where they both knew exactly who the other person was.

Well, that wasn't true, was it? She still didn't know that he was really Dick Grayson.

He leaned away from her. "Starfire I need to-"

She wasn't done with him yet. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him again, hard and eager and he got swept up in it. He pushed her back forcefully so that she'd obey. "Hey, hang on. I need to tell you that- Oh, jeez, the cameras," he grumbled, as one of the ones in the corner caught his eye.

"Taken care of," she said nonchalantly. "You wished to inform me of something?"

"Yeah. I'm… Where are the jewels?"

"What?"

"The jewels you stole."

"I did not take any. I simply tripped the alarm and disabled the cameras. I am no longer interested in thievery."

"Oh," he said. "You know, there are so many better ways you could contact me. You could have hacked into the Tower's communication system- for that matter, you could have just gone to the Tower- you could have lit a damn Batsignal, Star-"

She just shrugged in response.

Rolling his eyes at her, he said, "I bet you're done stealing jewels now, huh?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I figured out the pattern."

"Pattern? There was no pattern."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh really? You just happened to steal red, green, and yellow gems."

Her eyes widened as he said that. Maybe she really hadn't done it on purpose, which was even better. "Wh-what?"

"Either you're getting jewels for a traffic light collection or you've had somebody on your mind more than you thought." He would be embarrassed about it if she didn't seem so horrified herself.

"X'hal… I did not even realize. I…"

"Starfire. It's okay. I mean, don't steal. But…" He sighed. "Come here."

She glanced up at him warily before doing so. He took her wrist and spun her around, to her confusion, and snapped handcuffs in place over her wrists. "Robin?" she gasped in surprise. "Why-?"

"Sh," he soothed. "It's okay. Come on." It took more pushing than leading on Nightwing's part, but they ducked into the alley where he'd parked his bike. "Okay, good. You know I have a warrant out for your arrest," he told her.

She sighed. "I am aware. But I thought…"

"I can't just make that all go away," he told her apologetically. "You're going to have to come with me."

She turned her gaze to his bike, curious. "How do you expect me to ride on that vehicle while I am detained?" Her voice wasn't sarcastic or sharp. It was actually kind of interested.

"In front of me," he answered.

She lowered her eyelashes at him. "I see."

Oh, man. He couldn't handle it when she did that. He stepped in front of her and she just watched him, eyebrows slightly raised. He cupped her chin in his hand and stroked his thumb gently over her lower lip. She parted her lips and she looked down at his thumb and for a second he thought she would bite him and his grip on her chin got a little tighter.

He braced himself with one hand on the bricks behind her and he leaned forward. She didn't lean back, although she angled her lips so that they brushed against his cheek.

"Robin," she breathed.

Oh, just doing that was enough to make everything around him blur with the desire to crush her lips against his and run his hand over the curve of her waist and trace his fingers over the top of her belt. It was different than the way she said his name at the event. She was timid and confused then and now she sounded desperate and encouraging and he didn't miss the growly quality her voice had.

"It's Nightwing, now, actually," he corrected her.

"Ooh… I like that," she purred.

He chuckled and stroked his thumb over her lip one more time before he leaned forward and said, very softly, "Reach into the first pouch on the right in my belt and pull out the spray bottle." He moved his hand so that he was caressing her upper jaw just below her ear and his two middle fingers could stroke at her hair.

"Why?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Oh, Starfire, just do it. "Because," he murmured, stroking his fingers down her jaw and bringing his hand up again to cup her face. She did it and he felt her take the bottle out.

"Spray it over the mask," he murmured, stepping back just a little and dropping his hand away from her.

Her eyes widened. "Oh!" She turned the bottle to look at it better. She furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a questioning look. "You carry this around with you always?"

She would never stop asking him questions. "I don't, actually. Just do it, Star."

She did without another word and she stowed the bottle back in his belt.

He stepped up close to her again and he nuzzled her jaw with his mouth. "All you need to do is pull it off. If you want."

Batman would kill him for this, but he was so beyond caring.

"If I want?" she echoed like that was the most ridiculous sounding thing she'd ever heard. "X'hal, Rob- Nightwing." She lifted her hands to his face and she ran them through his hair, the snapped chain of his handcuffs feathering against his face. He leaned his head back, enjoying her touch far too much. She slid her fingers down his temples and across his cheeks, caressing the skin at the edge of the mask with her thumbs. Carefully she slid her index fingers beneath the material and she put her thumbs on top. Agonizingly slowly, she pulled it off. It felt odd, pulling it off so slowly. Reflexively, he shut his eyes as the mask left his skin.

She slid her hands to his shoulders and she leaned forward, pressing little kisses against his cheekbones and just under his eyes and at the corners of his eyes and across the bridge of his nose that made his stomach flip.

"Please, allow me to see," she whispered against his ear.

He grabbed blindly for her hand. "Ah, Star, you probably built this up a lot and-"

"X'hal, Nightwing, I said please," she muttered impatiently.

He chuckled and brought one hand up to her chin and his eyes fluttered open.

"Oh my..." Her eyes were wide and she pressed a hand against her mouth. "Dick?!"

"Shhhhh," he muttered, running his thumb over her bottom lip again. "Surprise," he said sheepishly.

She honestly looked like she might hit him. She was trying to form words but she appeared to be having a difficult time. He scratched the back of his neck.

"Ah... Yeah. Um, you see why I couldn't tell you before this. And I really shouldn't be telling you now. But-"

She grabbed two fistfuls of his tunic and pulled him close until their chests were touching, which he tried not to think too much about. She pressed her lips against his, and for a moment they were both still. Just reveling at the contact.

He brought his hand from her chin up to her cheek and he slid his thumb over her skin. That jolted her alive and she threw her arms around his neck and their kiss was slow and hard. The hand that was bracing against the bricks wandered over the curve of her waist and caressed her stomach and he even touched the little bit of skin between her boot and her skirt, while his other hand explored her face and hair and her neck where it was exposed.

She touched him wherever she could reach. Both hands cupped his face, then they were in his hair, then they were tracing over the bird symbol on his chest. They clutched at his cape, they pulled him closer by his tunic, they pressed him closer against his back.

After some time, he experimentally flicked his tongue against her bottom lip and she whimpered before opening her mouth even more for him and he explored her mouth, gingerly touching his tongue against hers. She responded by stroking her tongue against his and tugging at his shoulders.

He never wanted to stop kissing her. Breaking for air felt like suffocating from lack of Starfire. He hung on the noises she made, little coos and sighs and he swore she moaned at one point.

He didn't know how long they'd been doing this. His mouth was getting sore and her hair was frizzing under his fingers, so it had to be a while. But it just wasn't enough; it wouldn't ever be enough.

She bit his lip harder than was nice and he furrowed his eyebrows and growled against her lips. "Hey," he complained softly, his voice gruff and kind of scratchy.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze before she flicked her gaze back down to his lip and kissed him softly before sucking gently on his bottom lip, soothing. She broke the kiss shortly, leaning against the wall and looking at him. A range of emotions flitted across her bright emerald eyes. He just looked back and pressed his fingertips against his bottom lip, which was throbbing after her bite.

"I am still angry with you."

"Yeah, thanks, I got that," he mumbled.

"Oh, the entire time I have... You were... And you knew! You knew that I was me and I had no idea that you were you! Oh, and that must mean Mr. Wayne is-"

"Hey," Nightwing interrupted softly. "Shhhh." He put his hand on her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

She leaned into him briefly before she leaned back against the wall, pushing him away a little. "Oh, Dick, you must think I am so foolish. It never occurred to me that you were you! You were you the whole time, and I felt so guilty and confused about Robin and Dick and you are you!"

Nightwing scratched the back of his neck. "Ah... you gotta stop calling me that."

"What?"

"I'm Nightwing, okay? At least as long as we're in public."

She blinked at him before continuing her tirade. "Oh, you must think you are so clever, having me do the falling for all of your different identities. Oh, the dancing, and the ice- I was angry with- with- the other you for that for weeks! No wonder you were being the sweet to me as Robin!" She punctuated her displeasure with him by shoving him in the chest at his name. "Oh, X'hal, that means that... I told you that Robin was... Oh, you are so..."

He raised an eyebrow at her inability to finish a sentence. "Are you okay?"

She glared at him. "This is not funny, Nightwing!"

She continued to worry and yell at him but he couldn't concentrate on that. He was too busy memorizing her. The way she looked when she really felt. She was angry, but she was also confused, and a little embarrassed, and surprised, and... happy. She was thrilled that he was him. She was trying to hide it, but he knew. He knew it because of the way her eyes were wide and open instead of slanted and narrow, and because of the way she tilted her head so that it would be easy to kiss her again, and because of the way she said his name.

Oh, he loved to hear her say his name. He leaned forward, bracing himself with both hands on the wall, and she shut up immediately and looked kind of confused. He put a hand on her neck and coaxed her into leaning her head against the wall and he kissed her softly. She twisted her fingers in his tunic and sighed against him and he peppered little kisses over her mouth and jaw and the part of her neck that he could reach and over the chest plate and on her shoulder.

"Starfire," he murmured, lifting his head to rest his cheek on her temple. Which conveniently put his mouth on front of her ear. "You're so beautiful. Did you know that? You must."

She blushed and leaned back a little to look at him. "Do not think you can do talking sweet to make it up to me," she scolded halfheartedly.

"Right. I prefer actions over words."

She blushed again and he congratulated himself for that.

"Well, Mr. Grayson," she purred, roping her arms around his neck, "Now that you have me, what do you wish to do with me?"

Ah. Now he was blushing. "Wait, I have you? You're not gonna fly away or blast me?"

She squinted one eye and looked up thoughtfully before fixing him with a smile. "Not unless you do the upsetting of me, no."

"Star. You have to serve some kind of time for your crimes. The thievery in Gotham, the four jewel runs here-"

"Three!" she corrected him indignantly.

"No, the visit you paid Titans East counts. Breaking and entering."

She leaned back and her hands slid to his shoulders. She pouted at him.

"Hey," he grumbled. "Don't do that. It's not my decision."

She sighed. "You are going to send me to jail, yes? Arkham, correct?" she asked woefully.

He put his knuckle under her chin. "I'd never send you to Arkham. That's for the crazy guys. You'd probably go to Blackgate or Belle Reeve. But I thought you could handle whatever containment center we put you in?"

Her arms tightened around his neck. "Truthfully, I did not expect to become so attached to you. My Earth boy. I do not wish to be separated."

A smile tugged at his mouth and she tilted her head at him. "That won't be a problem, actually. I was thinking community service."

"Community service?" She didn't understand. Her eyes were round and her eyebrows were crinkled and he kissed her between them.

"Yep. You'd be under house arrest, of course. Not really house arrest, that wouldn't be very effective at all. Maybe a proximity detector..."

"Nightwing?" she interrupted, confused and impatient.

"Community service, Star. The Titans serve the community every day."

She gasped. "Oh! Joining the Titans!"

"You'd be forced to do it, of course," he said hastily. "It's a punishment."

She nuzzled his cheek. "And you shall be in charge of my punishment, yes?"

His face flooded with heat and he stepped away from her. "Um. Jeez, when you put it like that it sounds..."

She giggled and he shook his head at her.

"You know, we're going to have to make it look official." She tilted her head to show she didn't understand. "So, um, I'll have to negotiate the terms. You might need to do more than just help the Titans. You didn't usually steal very high grade gems, and property damage was low. It shouldn't be that bad."

"As long as I do not have to leave you," she said softly.

Which made him grin like an idiot. "I'll see what I can do," he assured her. "Um, do you have my mask?"

"I wish you would not wear it. Your eyes are glorious."

"Heh. Thanks. Not the point."

"I believe it may have fallen on the ground while we were distracted by lip contact." A starbolt flared into life in her hand and she swept it over the ground.

"Thanks. Got it." He fixed it over his eyes. A key from his belt found its way into his hand and he held it in the air. Starfire held her wrists out for him obediently. The individual cuffs, broken but still clasped around her wrists, slid off. "I need to cuff you again," he murmured.

"I do not like handcuffs," she sulked.

"I'll take them off when we get to the Tower," he promised. "Besides, you're more than capable of breaking out of them." He ran his fingers over her wrists and clasped a cuff over one of them. "Too tight?"

She laughed. "I am fine. Continue."

The cuff closed around her other wrist. "Don't snap the chain," he warned her. "Just this once."

"Very well. I will need assistance in mounting this vehicle." She nudged the R-cycle with her foot.

Nightwing slid his hands to her waist and lifted her onto the bike in front of the seat, his hands slipping to her thighs to push her up. "You know," he said, his fingers touching her knee, "you could have floated up."

"I thought we were putting on the show," she answered innocently as he clambered on behind her. "What captive would place herself on the vessel to bring her to her prison?"

"An obedient one."

"You insult me."

"Sorry," he said with a chuckle, and he started the bike.

Anyone who saw them would see exactly what Nightwing wanted them to see- Starfire detained and Nightwing- who wasn't even associated with the Titans yet, much less her- bringing her to the Tower for holding.

The engine echoed around them, the sound bouncing off the walls back to their ears. Immediately, Starfire hopped off the bike and snapped the chain on the handcuffs, walking around and looking at things curiously.

Nightwing took his helmet off and glared at her. "Dammit, Starfire, I told you not to break the cuffs!"

She turned to him innocently and tilted her head, apologetic. "I thought you meant outside?"

"I did, but I have to replace all the ones you break. They're not free, you know. That's two in one night."

There was a bang and Nightwing snapped his gaze over to the T-car, under which Cyborg was situated. He rolled out from under it, rubbing his head. "Whoa, Rob, am I interrupting something?"

Nightwing glared at him. "Shut up. And it's Nightwing now."

"I know, I know, I just haven't thought of a good nickname yet. I'm feelin' Wingz. With a Z." Cyborg turned his attention to Starfire. "Howdy, li'l lady. Ya here for keeps?"

Starfire tilted her head at him. "Keeps?"

"I was going to run it by you guys first," Nightwing told him.

"Shit, dude, at this point we'd trade you for 'er. Don't bother askin' BB and Rae about it, they're cool with it. Go bring 'er up to her room."

"My room?" she echoed, confused. "I do not…"

Nightwing offered her a small smile. "Um, I kind of figured that it be smart to… you know, prepare. I ordered furniture and things for Cyborg to put in a spare room for you. If you don't like it, we can change it."

"That is very thoughtful!" Starfire told him. Then she frowned. "How could you be so sure I was planning to join the Titans?"

"I was hoping," he mumbled, and he pushed her toward the elevator.

When the doors whooshed closed behind them, she raised her eyebrows at him and said, "You were doing the hoping, were you?" She looked pleased with herself.

"I… shut up. Besides, you were already on the team with the Titans East here, and it wouldn't make sense to keep you on as an honorary while you were in the same city as us. It only made sense to prepare a room."

"Oh," she said, deflating.

Nightwing sighed and added, "But yes, I was hoping."

She beamed at him and he chuckled.

"Okay, I know that you didn't have all that much pink at Selina's penthouse, but I kind of… I don't know, I thought you might like it," he explained nervously as he typed in the code for her door. There was too much to explain to her now, too much to take care of, to go into alternate futures with her now.

"Oh!" she gasped as the door slid open. She jumped into the air and flitted around the room, observing her dresser and opening the door to her closet. "Dick! I- how did you- the bed is even round!"

He stepped into the room with her and leaned on the door. "If there's anything you need from Selina's penthouse, just tell Raven and she'll get it for you. Sorry, but you're probably going to be under house arrest here for a few days. Probably longer, actually. And if-"

She settled down on the ground in front of him. Directly in front of him, way invading his personal space.

He tried to continue speaking. "And if there's anything else-"

"Thank you," she told him, and she leaned forward and kissed him softly

"No problem," he answered groggily.

"I think I will like it here, Dick." She hovered away from him and landed on her bed, standing. She flopped down on it, her head hitting the pillows. She rolled on her stomach and batted the pillows onto the floor. "I have missed Silkie lately, too. He is here, is he not?"

"Yeah. He's been sleeping in here, according to Beast Boy. I think he misses you." He paused and when she didn't say anything, he continued. "Okay, well, I'll let you… get acclimated. If you need anything, my room's right across the hall, and Raven's is right next door…"

"Dick?" she called, propping her chin on the heel of her hand.

"Yes?"

"Do you not wish to join me?"

"Ah…"

"If you do not, that is fine," she said, sounding disappointed.

He turned and punched in the locking code before sitting next to her on the bed.