#secret apprentice

Chapter 6: The Last Date

Starfire sighed after closing the communicator. She knew what she had to do. She peeked out of her room; Robin wasn’t there. She flew to the security room and disabled everything. Then she ran to the main room. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven were there. Robin came in, he was wearing blue jeans, snickers, a white t-shirt and a varsity red jacket on top. He was still wearing his mask. “Star, where were you?”, he stopped to look at her. The rest of the team looked at both of them in awe. “Dude! Why are you two looking that cool?”, Beast Boy yelled running to the couple. “Wow, Star, you look like a model”, Cyborg joined in. “You look like a human”, he joked as he looked at Robin. “Are we going out?”, Beast Boy asked excited. “Let me get my cool outfit”, he was about to walk out but Raven stopped him. “We are not, they are”, she slowly spoke to the shape shifter trying to signal to him that the couple was about to go on a date. “Oh...”, Beast Boy laughed nervously. “Star, you look amazing”, Robin pointed out. “Thank you, Robin and Cyborg. Beast Boy is right”, she clapped excitedly again. “He is?”, Robin and Cyborg asked. “Am I?”, BB joined in. “Guess there is a first time for everything”, Raven blatantly stated. “Yes! Since I have recently did the opening of  my heart to you, my friends, I wish to continue by showing you a place that I have been going to when I was feeling the sadness so I can make the happiest memories with you there”, she lifted herself up. “But, Star, I thought we were-“, she cut him off. “Let me just-“, Cyborg was about to leave maybe to go check the security room but she grabbed his and Robin’s hand, and flew them away. Raven and Beast Boy followed her through the night sky. There was one hour and a half until Slade and Blackfire landed on Earth when she left the Tower. She was scared of what was coming, but she had to put her friends out of danger.  

They flew through the woods and then landed on the lodge. She knew this was dangerous, but it was the only plan she had and it was a safe place were Blackfire couldn’t find them. Slade didn’t trust Starfire that much, so he hid most of his things when he wasn’t in the lodge. His room was always locked either way and he had taken his computer, weapons, uniforms and everything that could identify him. She didn’t know if Red X had done the same thing, but she guessed he had. He went to lodge before she did, so he should have taken everything. A part of her was still thinking about how he left. She felt guilty for hurting him. But why did she hurt him? And was he even hurt?

When they landed everyone was amazed by the beautiful house. “Starfire, is this yours?”, Robin asked. “I guess being a hero has its benefits. Can this be our vacations house? Can we have a beach house?”, Beast Boy asked Robin. “We are surrounded by water in our house”, Raven answered before the leader could. “Come in, friends, you will like the inside better”, the Tamaranean hopped to the door. She did the face recognition check at the entrance and the main door opened. The Titans entered after her. They were amazed by the inside too. “Wow, Star, you’ve got taste”, Cyborg pointed out. “I like it”, Raven walked into the dining room, which was all surrounded by glass walls. There was no sign of Slade or Red X. Beast Boy went into the kitchen. “Sweet! There’s tofu”, she didn’t know that, but she was glad. Cyborg sat in the living room and turned on the TV. Raven sat with him as they looked through the different channels. “So, you come here when you want to be alone? How did you find this place?”, Robin asked looking around but still standing by her side. “I was wondering around this area after flying for a while and then I found it. It reminded me of the pictures in the magazines. It was on sale, so I called, and they let me have it as a gift from the city”, she smiled. “It’s almost out of the city”, he mumbled. The mall where she got the dress wasn’t that far from here, he thought. It was closer to the lodge than to the Tower.

“Where can I ask for my gift from the city?”, Beast Boy entered the conversation, following Robin to the living room as they both admired the place.

“Isn’t the Tower our gift from the city?”, Raven asked looking at Robin. “Cyborg made the tower”, Beast Boy cut in. “I made it, but I didn’t pay for it. I asked Robin for the things I needed to build it and he gave them to me”, Beast Boy gasped dramatically. “What? How come you don’t buy me the things I ask for? Like the moped! I had to work for tofu aliens to get it and I don’t even have it now!”, he shook his head, acting like he was crying. “Because I didn’t pay for those things that Cyborg asked me to buy”, Raven moved a little bit closer to Cyborg as Beast Boy sat by her left side. “Then your daddy bought them?”, Beast Boy raised his right eyebrow as he teased the masked boy who stood in front of him. “This discussion is so mature…”, Raven rolled her eyes, crossing her arms on her chest. “He is not my…”, Beast Boy started laughing. “Man, it’s okay if your millionaire daddy payed for everything. Can we send him a thank you card?”, Cyborg joined into the teasing. “He didn’t pay for the Tower and it isn’t a gift from the city. It was given to us by the league”, Robin explained, sitting down on the seat next to BB. “What? Who are those league dudes? Or dudettes?”, Beast Boy moved forward pushing Raven lightly when he did. “It sounds important and you are not the right person to know that type of information”, Raven pointed out. “Dude! I just think it’s unfair that Robin gets to know the cool stuff, the grown-up stuff and we are left in the dark”, Robin moved forward too, still sitting on his seat. “It’s a long story”. Robin sighed. “Besides, you are the one with access to a grown-up with the mask. Sounds logical to me, I don’t think there’s anything else to explain”, Cyborg turned his attention back to the TV. “Oh, come on! I want to meet your dad, at least take us for a vacation in... Gotham”, Beast Boy whispered the name of the city trying to sound mysterious. Gotham! Robin looked up to the kitchen, he didn’t see Starfire where he left her.

“Next time you save the world from tofu aliens, I’ll take you”, Robin jokingly said as he stood up. He looked around the kitchen and the dining room. The bathroom was empty too. Then he walked to the other side of the lodge, to the corridor where the bedrooms were. The first door was Starfire’s bedroom. He saw a couple of soda cans on the floor but no sign of Starfire. Then he walked into the next room: there she was.

Starfire was sitting on the edge of the bed, her back facing the door. In her hand she held a post card with a picture of Gotham. On the back, Red X had left her a note that said, “in case you were wondering - X”. She was amazed by how much the city resembled Jason; he was just like that. Kind of dark, but more intriguing than scary.

“Star?”, she heard Robin’s voice calling her name. She didn’t want to, but she hid the picture inside the top of her dress. Lucky for her, it was not that big of a post card. Then she turned around. “Hello, Robin”, she smiled at her friend.

“So, our date...”, Robin mentioned as he entered the room. She stood up and took his hand, guiding him out of the room.

She took him to the front patio, pulling him by his hand as she giggled. When they arrived, she showed him one of her biggest smiles, making her eyes smile too. Then she sat down on the middle of the grass. He sat next to her. She was sitting with her legs flexed to the side, just like a princess would do. Robin sat with his legs stretched out and his hands by the sides of his body. “Are you okay, Star?”, he asked. She nodded. “I am so sorry that you felt like you said you did, Star. I really am”. She looked to the night sky. “When you started to go away without saying anything to me, I felt left out. You are my best friend and I didn’t know why you were leaving or if you were coming back”, he sighed and let his head down. “I was scared of losing you”, he finished, and she turned her head to look at him. “Robin...”, she said in a soft tone. “That day on the Ferris wheel, when the robot took you, I was so angry that it took you away from me, from us. But that night, when I caught you flying away, I felt something else. You wanted to leave because we didn’t notice that you were struggling with your sister’s visit. I’ve never forgotten that day in particular. You are so strong and one of your biggest strengths is in your emotions. I am not like that, you know. So, it was hard for me to understand how much something could emotionally affect you to the point where you wanted to leave the team. But when I got it, I promised myself I would be there for you. To take care of you and protect your heart too. That’s why it pains me to hear that you have been struggling to that point”, she moved her hand closer to his and put her fingers on top of his. “Robin, you are the most amazing friend I could have asked for. You do not have to say sorry”, she assured him in her usual caring way of speaking. “Starfire?”, he moved a little bit closer to her. “Yes, Robin?”, he turned his face to the side, to check what were the rest of the team up to. Starfire looked back at the lodge too. The trio were sleeping on the couch in front of the TV. Raven sat in the middle of the two boys. Beast Boy had his head on Raven’s shoulder. Cyborg was sleeping with his mouth open which made Robin and Starfire laugh.

“I think they were having too much fun before”, Robin jokingly added. “Are you, Robin? Are you enjoying this night?”, the alien princess asked, turning back his attention to the Boy Wonder. “I am, Star. I am enjoying this night with you”, as he said that she blushed. “Are you making those happy memories you wanted to make?”, Robin asked back. “I am. I wish to make many more happy memories with you”, she lowered her head, trying to hide her blushed cheeks. “We will, Star, there are many more adventures to come, many more battles to fight and places to go”. “Are there also many more dates to go on?”, she lifted her head up once again. Yes, she was blushing but at this point she didn’t mind showing him how he made her feel. “This is our first date”, he pointed out and now he was blushing too. “Not quite the first. You went to a date with Kitten and perhaps you could say I did the tagging along”, she giggled at the end of her sentence. “I guess you could say that. Do you think we make a better couple than Kitten and Fang?”. She laughed out loud. “We most surely do” and then she realized what he just asked her. “Robin?”, his eyes were looking at the sky at that moment, but he turned to her when she called for him, like he usually did. “Yes, Starfire?”. She repeated the question he made in her mind. He did say “couple”, did he? There was only one way to find out what he meant. “Robin are we a couple?”, she asked and he smiled. “Would you want- “, as he was about to finish asking her something that he had been wishing to for so long, a big bright light flew through the dark sky. It was her que.

She didn’t want to do it; she didn’t want to leave him. Not like this. Not after what he was about to ask her. But this was her duty. “Trouble!”, the leader immediately declared. “What was that?”, Robin stood up and so did she. The Tamaranean lifted herself, levitating by his side. “Robin, I have to go”. He was shocked and confused. “Why? Do you know what that was?”, she just shook her head. “It is nothing, believe me. Robin, I have to leave”, she spoke softly, closing her eyes at the end, but he grabbed her hand, trying to keep her from leaving him. “But, Star, we were- “, she pulled her hand out of his. She hugged herself and then she flew away.

What she didn’t notice is that when she left, something of hers fell into Robin’s hands. He picked up what looked like a piece of paper but when he came close to it, he noticed it was a picture of Gotham. He knew she had been curious about the city, but why did she have a picture of it? He turned back the post card just to find a handwritten note signed just X. Was it that same X? It couldn’t be.

Robin went inside the lodge and woke up the rest of the team. “What’s up, man? Isn’t it like 2am?”, Beast Boy tried to go back to sleep, but Raven pushed him away before he could put his head back on her shoulder. “What is it?”, Cyborg asked worriedly. “It’s Star. She’s gone”, the leader couldn’t hide the sadness in his voice. “Again?”, Raven moved so she could be sitting on the edge of the couch. “What do you mean she’s gone? She’s been taken?”, Cyborg tried again. Robin shook his head. “Something appeared on the sky and then she said she had to leave. When she did, this fell from her dress”, he gave the post card to Cyborg. Beast Boy and Raven got close to look at it. When Cyborg turned it around Beast Boy gasped. “Dude! My theory, Starfire and Red X, they are working together”, Raven pushed him back to his seat. “How can we be sure that this X means Red X?”, Raven asked. She was angry, she wouldn’t believe that Starfire was working with Red X, that she would be capable of stealing the T-Ship. “Yeah, man, what if it’s just a note from someone else or fan mail”, Robin sighed. “This note is from someone who knows her. At least that’s what I can tell from the message. And the X, well... I am not sure. It could be him; it could be someone else or it could be...”, he shook his head again. “Who else could it be?”, Beast Boy insisted, and Robin backed away to the door. “There’s only one way to find out”, the team followed him. Raven took Cyborg and Beast Boy shifted into a pterodactyl to help Robin fly back to the Tower.

Starfire made a quick stop at the Tower. She flew as fast as she could and took the communicator Slade gave her out of the backpack. She waited for a minute, then he called. “Children, I am on Earth. We have landed on a deserted area out of Jump City. But we need something from the museum. Red X, I need you to go get everyone out of there. Starfire, I need you to be Red S again, you have to get in through the secret door in the basement. It’s activated through a button that’s under the replica of the Gordanian ship. There you must find a red diamond. I need it to lure your sister to a trap. Get it out of there and meet me at the lodge. And Starfire. Don’t let your friends stop you. We are close to getting Tamaran and Earth to safety. Are we clear?”, Starfire struggled to answer. “Yes, Slade, we are clear”. She slowly nodded. “Good. Then go do as I told you”, he ended the call. “Star?”, Red X called her name softly. “Are you sure of this?”, she sighed. “I have to do this. It’s my duty to protect Tamaran as the princess of my planet and as a hero, I have to save Earth from my sister. I shall see you there”, she closed the communicator.

She took Red S’s uniform out of the backpack and put it on. The reflection on the mirror showed her something she wasn’t ready to see. This suit, it’s darkness, as much as she wanted to believe otherwise, it suited her well. She touched the cape and hid behind it. It was just like Robin’s, as strong as his cape but it meant something else.

The princess clipped the communicator to the belt on her suit. She looked through the window, a flashing light coming from just outside the city caught her attention. How much could Slade keep her sister from hurting her new home? She had to go. Starfire clocked herself with the utility belt and flew out of the Tower.

The Titans entered the tower just moments after Starfire left. Robin ran to her room; the team came after him. He entered the bedroom and noticed she wasn’t there, but she had left her things on the floor.

“Someone broke into the Tower before we arrived, I checked the security system and it was deactivated just like the other night” Cyborg was the first to arrive after Robin. The leader kneeled next to the pink backpack Starfire had left behind. It had the same tag the dress did. He lifted it up and checked inside. He found her uniform there and a picture of Blackfire wearing the same headpiece Starfire had when she came to Earth. Beast Boy and Raven came into the room. “Where’s Star?”, Cyborg noticed the worried look on Robin’s face. “What is that?”, Raven took the picture to check it. “I thought Blackfire was in some alien jail”, Beast Boy joined the empath. “And why would Star leave her uniform?”, Cyborg asked. “Maybe she left it because she got a new one”, the shape shifter replied, his voice falling into a soft whisper at the end. Their communicators alerted them of trouble. Robin opened it up immediately, wishing Starfire was the one calling but she wasn’t. “Titans, trouble! The History Museum is under attack”.

Starfire got to the museum just after Red X, he was already trying to take down the guards to kick them out of the building. She joined him as he ran to the security room. “What are you doing here? You have to go to the basement!”, he yelled at her as she ran by his side. “I cannot do it”, she whispered. “What?”, he entered the room and closed the door behind them. “I am not quite sure how to use the suit and I did not get to do the checking of the cameras properly”, she let her head down. Red X was disabling the cameras using a virus he stole from Cyborg’s room as they spoke. “Look, Star, you have to try to do it. It’s not like I can pass you all I know in a second”, he shrugged. He disabled the lights and they were only illuminated by the emergency power that was on the hallway outside of the security room. “This will buy us some time at least”, he turned around and he found her closer to him. “There might be a way for you to pass me all you know. I do not know if it will work as I have only used it to learn a language, which is the intent of this process. But, it may be successful in transferring other knowledge”, she uncovered her mouth. “What language? What are you talking about?”. They heard steps coming their way. She lifted his mask just enough for his lips to be uncovered too and then she did it. She kissed him. He froze when he felt her warm lips on hers. His mind went blank. On the other side, Starfire’s was very busy full of misleading thoughts. There was something that made her want to get closer to Jason. The mystery that surrounded his identity, his hometown, why he became Red X. Everything about it had a different taste, like his lips did too. It tasted like danger and somehow she found out she had been craving to feel that flavor.

The Titans slowed down when they heard muted whispers coming from a room. They could barely see as they got further away from the emergency light on the corridor. The whispers came from an office with a glass window. Robin carefully got closer to the window and saw two dark silhouettes. The team joined the leader. They all noticed what was happening. “I told you she was his girlfriend”, Beast Boy pointed out. “Well, if she’s not Star, then who is she?”, Cyborg added.

Starfire stepped back and covered her mouth again. Jason shook his head. “Starfire what did you just do?”, he asked in a whisper as he covered his face too. Before she could say anything, Robin kicked the door open. The dark uniformed teens looked at each other. “Sorry to interrupt your date”, the leader announced. “Oh, I am the one who’s sorry”, Red X threw a gas bomb to escape through the glass window with Starfire by his side. They both teletransported back to the main hall, were the skeleton was.

The guards ran to meet the pair. They were an easy target for them, the pair threw X shaped gas bombs, blades and explosives. X even pinned a couple of them and stole one of their laser guns to point at the Titans. “So, can you tell me what was that?”, X asked as he took out one of Cyborg’s laser devices, that he stole while the Titans were at the lodge, and he quickly added it to the gun. She opened her mouth to explain why she kissed him but she froze at the sight of her teammates standing in front of them. They were in their regular formation. Robin was first, Cyborg by his side, Beast Boy was next and then Raven was levitating ready to use her powers. She was the only one left out of the team. “Teen Titans go!”, Robin yelled, and the team came to fight them.

X shot Robin with the gun making him fall to the ground. “Robin”, Starfire mumbled under her breathe, nobody heard her. “Hey, are you angry because we crashed your day night?”, BB yelled as he ran to Red X. The thief freed his right hand to threw an X into BB’s mouth as he shape shifted into a hippo. The green hero tried to take it out, but he couldn’t. Starfire was frozen, she didn’t know what to do. Raven came for her and she only avoided her using the clocking technology on the suit. Red X jumped on top of Cyborg and stuck an X on his face to cover his eyes before he could unload his sonic cannon so when he did it hit Raven and it made her fall. Robin stood up again and threw a birdarang that hit X on the shoulder, cutting his suit and his skin just enough for him to let out an “Ouch!, I knew you had it in you bird boy”, he joked as he ran to fight the Boy Wonder. The fight between Jason and Dick caught Star’s attention. Raven saw this and she pushed her away using her telekinetic powers. Starfire fell to the floor. Red X noticed, and he immediately stopped Robin throwing him an explosive X to make him fall to the other side, then he picked up the gun he used before to shoot Raven and move her away from Starfire. X ran to the alien princess, she looked up at him. “Sorry to interrupt again”, the Titan’s leader threw another birdarang at Red X cutting his other arm. Starfire gasped. “Hey! You are scaring my…friend”, he laughed at the insinuation. Robin ran to him and they started fighting again. Starfire stood up and pulled out one of the explosives packed in her utility belt. “Hey, cutie, I got this”. Cutie? Robin had heard him said that word in front of him before. “Mind getting what we need?” She backed away slowly, still not moving to the basement.

Robin pulled out his BoStaff and Red X clocked himself to avoid getting hit. He then appeared from the back of the masked hero and took the BoStaff away from him. Then he pushed Robin to the side with it. “You should have packed one of this on this suit”, he pointed out. Robin got back up and this time he threw himself at Red X. This was going to take too long. What if Slade couldn’t keep her sister under control? Starfire had to do something. She closed her eyes and threw the explosive. X covered himself with the cape and so did she. All the Titans were on the floor. “So”, Red X let go of Robin’s BoStaff. “About that kiss…”. Beast Boy had finally freed himself, so he ran to Red X turned into a bull. He shoved the thief, but X immediately shot him back with the laser gun which hurt Beast Boy badly, he ended up unconscious on the floor and Raven levitated to help him. Starfire gasped once more, she walked to BB. “Guess we’ll talk later, S, time to go”, he pointed at the door that lead to the basement. Cyborg came at X, trying to punch him in the face but Red X avoided the hit again and again.

Starfire walked away, looking back at X worriedly but nobody could see her face behind the mask. Robin stood up and ran after Red S, taking his BoStaff with him. X noticed it again and kicked Cyborg in the stomach to make him back away. Then, he teleported himself to the hall that led to the stairs. X closed the basement door pushing the button on the side, which he noticed in his visit that afternoon. He then sealed the doors using the laser on his glove. Jason ran through the stairs and found Robin meters away from him. He took out his grapple and caught Robin’s arm, pulling him back to himself. “Going somewhere?”, he asked. Robin took out a birdarang and used it to cut the rope and jump away from him. “After her”, the Titan’s leader responded. “You always do that, don’t you?”, Red X followed him as they both went into the basement.

Starfire was already in front of the alien exhibition. She carefully lifted the replica of the Gordanian ship up and waited to see if anything happened. It did. Red lasers appeared in the rest of the room, the kind that you would see in a spy movie, she thought. She pushed the button on the base where the replica was. A secret door opened in the middle of the wall in front of her.

“Freeze!”, Robin yelled at her and she did. “You don’t have to do this. Whatever Red X is promising you, he can’t be trusted”, her best fried continued. Starfire turned around. “I won’t hurt you”, he would never hurt her if he knew who she was. “I can help you”, Robin extended his hand through one of the holes in between the red lasers. “She doesn’t need your help”, Red X pushed Robin to the lasers and Starfire couldn’t help to gasp. She covered her mouth. Robin groaned in pain, he laid there face down. The Boy Wonder slowly stood up and then he moved through the spaces in between the lasers to get to Starfire. “Fuck, quit it, Robin!”, Red X snapped. “Never”, the Titan kept going and Starfire just backed away into the secret room.

Red X used his other grabble to pull Robin through the lasers and keep it in there, making him groan in pain again. “X, stop! You are not a bad guy”, Robin barely could speak but he did his best. “I can be that”, X replied. A loud noise made Red X lose his grip. The other Titans ran to the basement and attacked X. Robin quickly got back to trying to catch Red S.

Beast Boy pushed Red X into the lasers, putting him through the same pain he had put Robin through. “S! He’s coming!”, X yelled before giving up into the pain.

She heard him and clocked herself, she used her cape to cover herself and bent down, hiding behind the podium in which the diamond Slade wanted was displayed.

Red X threw explosives to the points were the lasers came out from. “Any other plan?”, he asked at the Titans. “Azarat-“, he cut Raven sticking an X to her mouth and two others on her hands to keep her from using her powers. Cyborg almost hit him with his sonic cannon, but X clocked himself and teleported himself to the back of the half robot to mess with his system. “Learned a trick from the creator”, he laughed as he did that to Cyborg. Beast Boy shifted into a tiger and scratched X on his chest. He groaned and jumped back. He then ran into the secret room and BB flew after him now shifting into an eagle. Before X could enter, Beast Boy shifted into a gorilla and caught him by his leg. X threw him some explosives to the face making him turn back to his human shape. Then he threw him one of his signature sticky Xs to pin the green hero to the floor. After he did that, he threw a gas bomb and tele transported to the secret room.

He appeared in the room and shut the door from the inside with a button next to the entrance, then he sealed it with his laser once again. Robin was searching for Red S using his flashlight. “Now, where were we?”, Red X asked in his regular playful tone. The Boy Wonder took out his BoStaff and ran to him. They fought for a while, pushing each other from wall to wall. Starfire stood up slowly to check on them. Neither of them was really looking at her.

She took out one her X shaped blades and used it to cut the glass that covered the jewel. She slowly took the round red diamond, hid it in her suit and backed away, looking around for an escape route. The kiss hadn’t really worked out and either way, none of them had entered that room so they had to improvise. Red X noticed that she had the diamond and tried to shove Robin off himself, but the Titan wouldn’t give up. So, he gave back what Robin did before. He used one of his blades to cut his arm and stopped him by putting his hand over the fresh wound. Robin yelled in pain. Starfire couldn’t help herself; she ran to the two and pulled Robin away from X throwing him to the floor behind her. Red X froze. This wasn’t on the plan; this wasn’t what Slade told her to do. Did she care that much for Robin?

Robin tried to sit down and when he did, he noticed something on Red S’s belt. It was a communicator with an S on top and he knew what that S meant. “S, we have to go!”, X yelled at her. The Boy Wonder immediately stood up and threw a birdarang to Red X, then he threw three ammunition disks. Red X got hit and backed away. Then Robin pulled Red S to the side to get to X. He used his BoStaff to push it into X’s abdomen, then he kicked him on his leg to make him lose balance and finally punched him in the face when he fell to the floor. Starfire was frozen now. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t stop Robin; she couldn’t hurt him. But Jason was getting hurt.

The alien princess moved her hand and put it on top of her belt, she grabbed an X shaped blade. Her hands were shaking. Red X groaned in pain as Robin hit him on the stomach. “S, go!”, X mumbled in pain. Starfire lifted her hand aiming at Robin. The masked hero put his feet on X’s chest, keeping him down then he ripped his utility belt and threw it to the front, where Red S stood frozen. Red X stayed on the floor.

“I know you are working for Slade. Tell me where he is and I will let you both go!”, Robin walked to Red S. She stepped back letting the blade fall to the ground. “I know you are scared. You don’t have to be. I will help you… If you tell me where Slade is and what he wants”. She shook her head as she backed further away from him.

“Leave her alone! Robin!”, X mumbled, too hurt to even speak like he normally did. Robin didn’t answer. He kept coming closer to Red S. “S! Remember!”, she sighed at Jason’s words. He was right. Slade told them that they couldn’t let the Titans stop them. Now, how did she use the suit for this kind of fight? To fight Robin?

She moved her hand back to the utility belt; they were still shaking. “I created that thing, you can’t stop me with that”, Robin pointed out. But she had to try, at least just to make him back away and buy X some time. She took out the first thing she touched; it was a grabble which Robin avoided. Then she threw out blades and he threw them away with his BoStaff. “Just tell me about Slade”, the Boy Wonder insisted. She threw explosives at him and he used his BoStaff to redirect them at Red X. She gasped, as X groaned in pain once more. Her back touched the wall. “Not talking, S?”, Robin asked. He pinned her to the wall using his BoStaff once more. She was still shaking.

“Let her go! Don’t hurt her!”, Jason yelled, trying to stand up. “Robin! Let her go!”. Robin pulled her utility belt out and threw it next to X’s. “If you want me to let her go, tell me what Slade wants and where I can find him”, the masked hero answered, not even turning back to look at X. “Please! Don’t”, Jason pleaded once more. So, he cared about S much more than he had imagined? He changed plans, he pushed his BoStaff and Starfire let out a muted whine. He couldn’t recognize her voice through it, but Red X tried to stand up once more. “Please, Robin. You’ll regret it”, X insisted. Robin pushed a little harder. “Stop!”, X yelled. The leader pushed just a little bit more and then she pushed him away, he immediately pinned her back to the wall harder, making her gasp once more. “Use your powers!”, X yelled, she shook her head. “Tell me where’s Slade!”, the Boy Wonder sounded furious as he pushed his BoStaff just a bit more. She let out a sigh. She was struggling but she tried kicking him and she noticed her strength wasn’t working like it normally did. “Just tell me!”, Robin insisted pushing a little harder. “Do it! Use your powers”, X tried once more but he couldn’t even stand on his own, he had to rest his body on the wall behind him. She whined again. He pushed, she struggled, he pushed, she struggled, he pushed, she struggled. “Stop! Robin”. Red S let her head fall, she was struggling to breath and she was feeling lightheaded. “Robin! I promise you will regret it; she is…”, Starfire shook her head. “I have to tell him!”, Robin turned to look at him. “What?”, she shook her head. “Robin, she is- “, Starfire pushed Robin with her last bit of strength. He pinned her right back to the wall. “What do you know?”, Robin yelled at her. Red X finally stood up and ran weakly to the two.

Starfire was almost falling down. Her powers were lacking because of the emotional stress and her endurance was significantly affected by it. She was about to pass out when Red X came in. He unmasked her. “She is Starfire!”.

A/N: Things are getting crazier in this story. We have at least 4 more chapters to go before we wrap this up. So, get ready for more angst because this chapter is just the tip of what is about to come.

Starfire was almost falling down. Her powers were lacking because of the emotional stress and her endurance was significantly affected by it. She was about to pass out when Red X came in. “She is Starfire!”, he said as he pulled the mask off Starfire and he fell back to the floor in front of her. Robin backed away shocked.

Starfire was breathing heavily, trying to gather her strength back. She looked at Red X, he was bleeding from his arms, the wounds had gotten bigger and he couldn’t stand anymore. He just held her mask on his hand tightly. The alien girl let her head down. “Starfire? Are you working for- “, the door was opened up by Cyborg’s sonic cannon, cutting off Robin’s question. Is that what he noticed first? The rest of the team entered, and they froze at the sight of Starfire in the Red S suit. “Star!”, Beast Boy yelled out loud. “Starfire! Tell me, why are you working for Slade? Is it because of that picture of Blackfire?”, Robin insisted. Blackfire, she had to stop her. She couldn’t lose any more time. “Starfire!”, Cyborg yelled. “What is going on?”, Raven asked horrified. The princess let herself fall to the ground, just steps away from Red X. “Star, please, tell me why you are working for Slade. Did Red X put you up to this?”, Robin tried asking once more. Starfire lifted her head up slowly and took her gloves off. “Is Red X using you? I can- “, Robin slowly moved closer, trying to reach Red X with his hands. Was Slade that important to Robin?

She stood up, extending her right arm with a starbolt ready to blow on her hand. “Leave him alone”, she spoke firmly. The Titans looked scared as they stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. “Starfire, I am just trying to catch Slade and if Red X is working for him then I have to take him down”, Robin tried to explain himself. “You have already done that”, she responded, her eyes were glowing, and her hand had finally stopped shaking. “But I have to take him in to question him about Slade”, Robin tried to come closer once more. “Do not touch him”, her tone was firm again, no cracks even if she felt like crying. “But Slade-“, she cut him off. “Robin, I need you to let him go. Can you do that for me, please?”, she spoke softly, putting her hand down again. “You know I can’t, Star. I have to catch Slade”. His voice cut through her hope.

She closed her eyes.

“Then, I am sorry”, she opened her eyes fully lit up. She groaned as she gathered all her strength and built a green energy force field around herself and the masked thief. She walked in front of Red X and released her power in an explosion. Her teammates were pushed away because of the blast. She quickly grabbed the utility belts, carried Red X in her arms and flew out of the building.

-

The door automatically opened letting the Teen Titans into the main area of the Tower. They walked in silently. Cyborg and Beast Boy sat on the couch. Raven stood by the window, looking at the dark city in front of her. Robin was the last one to enter. He walked to his teammates and stopped in front of them, trying to get his thoughts in order so he could say something, but it wasn’t working.

“What was that?”, Cyborg was the first one to speak. Nobody replied. “It shouldn’t have happened”, he continued, letting his head fall into his hands. “I should’ve known. I felt her energy. It had changed since that night when Slade poisoned Robin. But I just thought she just felt sad like she said”. Beast Boy stood up after Raven spoke. “Well, I told you all that she was Red S. And what did you do? You didn’t believe me. So there, it shouldn’t have happened because I told you about it but you didn’t take my word for it”, he yelled at the others. “We didn’t believe you because you are not a reliable source”, Raven replied, turning her back to the rest of her team. “And you are?”, the shape shifter clapped back immediately. “Well, they had just stolen the T-Ship I thought that you were just shocked and-“, the green teen cut her off. “You thought that I made it up because I went all coocoo because they stole our T-Ship”, she turned back and walked to him.

“Stop it both of you. We didn’t believe it because it’s Starfire. She could never hurt us”, Cyborg stood up, pushing the empath and the shape shifter away before their argument got more heated. Robin didn’t know what to say to everything that his teammates where discussing. His mind tried to stay technical, to think critically but there was one thing that didn’t make any sense at all. If she was being forced to work for Slade, why did she kiss Red X? “But she hurt us”, he meant she hurt him, but he couldn’t bring himself to accept that.  “And we have to stop her”.

Beast Boy laughed. “May I remind you that we didn’t “stop you” when you were working with Slade”, he sat back on the couch. “I wasn’t working with Slade”, the leader angrily replied. “Maybe she isn’t working with him either”, Raven sat beside Cyborg.

Robin was about to speak when his communicator started ringing. He opened it up and saw the major’s face in his screen. “Robin, turn on the news. Jump City is under attack”, the call ended. The leader immediately turned on the TV and tuned in a news channel. On their large screen they saw a video in which Blackfire spoke to the citizens of Jump City declaring that she would become the new ruler of the city and will be taking Earth soon. Slade stood next to her and behind them there was an army of tamaraneans.

“Do not try to stop me. I will not have mercy on anyone who tries to defeat me. I will be announcing the new rules of Jump City, or may I say of this new Tamaranean colony”. The video ended.

“I can’t believe it”, Beast Boy said. “She wasn’t just working with Slade, she was working with Blackfire to take our planet”, Robin stated as he walked to the screen. “Was this her plan all along?”, he continued. “Are you hearing yourself?”, Cyborg stood up and walked to Robin. “Cyborg, Tamaran is taking over our planet. Don’t you see it?”, the leader asked angrily. “The only thing I see is that you are getting Slade obsessed again. You are not making sense. Starfire didn’t come to Earth to take it, she came to ask for help and we helped her”, the half robot replied. “He’s right. We helped her, we helped you when Slade took you, we tried to help Terra when he took her, but we were too late. Maybe if we stop fighting, we can help Star once again before it’s too late for her too”, Beast Boy stood up, slowly getting closer to the pair of teens. “Come on, Robin. You know Starfire, she is our friend. I know you are hurt, but she’s your best friend”, Cyborg calmed down. “You said it before, she’s been there for all of us. We have to be by her side now if she needs us”, Raven also walked to the leader. He sighed. “Well, we know where to look”.

-

Starfire sat on the edge of the couch of the leaving room in the lodge. She hid her face in her hands, trying to keep her tears from falling, trying to keep herself from sobbing, trying not to break. So many thoughts, so many questions. Why did Robin react like that? Why did he get so obsessed with Slade? Would he able to hurt her just to get to Slade? She shook her head. He wouldn’t, this wasn’t him. Did Slade poison Robin again? Why else would he be able to hurt her? Why didn’t he care about the kiss? Why did she do it?

“Are you okay?”, Jason’s voice interrupter her tangled thoughts. She looked up at him. “I should be the one asking. Are you okay, Jason?”, she moved away just a bit when he came to sit beside her. “I feel better, thanks for patching me up and giving me whatever those pills were”, he smiled at her, she did too but the tears in her eyes made them sparkle with sadness.

“I am sorry”, she apologized, hiding her face again as her tears started falling down. “Hey, Star, don’t say sorry. We had a rough day, it’s okay”, she looked back up as he said that. “Slade called, he said we must wait for his order to get the diamond to him”, she tried to hide a crack in her voice, but she couldn’t, and she bit her lip to keep herself together. “I am so- It is just too much and-“, again she bit her bottom lip. “Do you wanna talk about it?”, he asked moving closer to her. She shook her head, breaking down once more, trying to hide herself again but Jason stopped her, wrapping her arms around her waist in a tight hug. She put her arms around his shoulders, her face buried in the space were his right one met his neck.

Starfire’s body was shaking as she cried her heart out. Jason held her firmly, trying as hard as she was doing to keep her from breaking. She felt so fragile in his arms, so vulnerable and so shattered. He tried his best to keep her pieces together, but he could feel her breaking again and again as a new wave of tears hit her.

She cried for a while and he waited patiently, caressing her hair with one of his hands, pushing away her guilt with reassuring words and listening to her mumbling about how sorry she was. Maybe 10 minutes after that, they had moved around. Jason was sitting with his back on the backrest of the couch. She sat beside him, her head on his chest, with her face still trying to find a hiding spot, and her arms were around his waist. He was still caressing her red hair softly, playing with it from time to time and then just brushing it with his fingers.

“Jason?”, Starfire looked up. “Hey”, he replied his voice sounded soft like a whisper. “I am grateful for your company and understanding”, she was still looking up at him. “Anytime”, he replied in his regular playful tone. “I feel ready to talk about it”, she moved away from him. The warmth of her body was no longer on his and he missed it immediately. The alien princess sat by his side, closer to the edge of the couch.

“I do not like lying to my friends. I do not like lying to-“, she caught a sob right before it made her break again. “To Robin?”, X asked, and she nodded. “But I feel hurt by him too. I know I am the one who is wrong, I am the one lying, and I am the one who betrayed them, but I am hurt too”, she sighed. “It hurts talking about him”. Jason moved forward so his face was closer to hers. “Then forget about him. I wanna know more about you. Who’s this mysterious alien princess with those amazing powers?”, Starfire giggled at his question. “What do you want to know?”, she played along. “Do you fly everywhere you go just because you can?”, she nodded. “Do you use your powers for mundane things like frying an egg or baking something?”, she looked away. “I am not good at cooking Earth foods, but I do make the best Tamaranean dishes. I shall prepare them for you sometime”, she smiled again. “Is your body always that warm?”, she pouted as she thought about her answer. “Well, the cold only affects me when it is very strong. I do stay warm even in the snow”, she nodded. “You are amazing”, the words slipped out of his mouth but the smile on her face made him feel better.

“What about you, Jason?”, she moved closer to him, pushing him a little bit when she bumped her shoulder on his. “What do you want to know, miss warm princess?”, she looked away. Her eyes looking around as her mind tried to come out with an interesting question. “Where did you learn French?”, she asked, and he moved his head to the side. “When did I tell you about French?”, she shook her head. “You did not. I received it through the lip contact. I noticed when I read a sign in the museum and I could understand a word in French”. The lip contact, he thought. “My adoptive father taught me. I am also learning Chinese, German and Russian”, somehow he hoped she was interested in learning any of those languages. “What is an adoptive father? Is it a different father?”, Starfire looked back at him. “Well, when kids lose their true parents, sometimes they will get adopted by another father or mother, those become your adoptive parents”, he explained looking away, thinking about his own ‘true parents’. “Are they not real? Why are they not just your new parents? Or are they your k’norfka?”, Bruce wasn’t his real father to him, but he was to Dick, he thought. “I guess they can become just your parents with time, but we are not there yet. What is a k’norfka? Can I learn Tamaranean through lip contact?”, Jason frowned, and Starfire giggled.

“Jason… About the lip contact”, the alien princess looked down at her feet. “I am sorry”, he looked back at her when she said that. He wasn’t sorry. “It’s okay”, no it wasn’t just okay. “I was scared, and I just wanted to…”, she moved her head to the other side, away from him. “It’s okay”, no, again, it wasn’t just okay. “I do not even know what I wanted. I just felt scared and alone, but then I did not feel alone anymore”. Both teens stayed silent for a couple of minutes. “Starfire?”, she turned her head back and looked at him. “Yes, Jason”, he looked into her emerald eyes. He felt trapped in them. “Did you-“.

Before Jason could speak a loud noise broke the mood. Jason groaned, as he took his mask from the coffee table and put it on. He looked through the glass wall in front of them while he stood up. “There’s an elephant in the patio”, he announced. Starfire stood up. “My friends. We can’t let them take the diamond or know about the plan”, Starfire put on her utility belt, which was on the coffee table too. Red X put on his too.

The Titans walked to the door and knocked on it. “They are very polite”, Jason joked around. “Starfire, we want to talk”, Cyborg yelled. “That seems worse”, X replied. “Do you want me to make them go away?”, Starfire shook her head. “We have to get to Slade and give him the diamond. Take it, it is in my room. Then drive to Slade, I will distract them and then I will go with you”, Starfire pushed Jason. “Starfire, open up!”, Beast Boy yelled. “Are you sure?”, Red X asked and she nodded.

As Red X ran into Starfire’s room, she walked to the door and opened it. “Star, can we talk?”, Robin asked as he stood in front of her. “I do not wish to talk. Please, I need you to leave”, her voice was soft like it usually was. “We won’t leave, Star. We are your friends. If you need us, we will be here for you”, he continued. He sounded more like her Robin than he did back in the museum. “Come on Star, we know about Blackfire and Slade. We can take both down together?”, Cyborg tried to get her to let her guard down, but she refused once again. “I am warning you, stay away from me”, she stated firmly. “Starfire, you don’t want to hurt us. I can feel it. Whatever it’s going on, we will help you”, Raven tried to touch her arm, but the alien princess pushed her away. “You do not understand. I am not on your side anymore. I am- “, evil?

Once again, a loud noise interrupted their conversation. This time, the cause of it made Starfire shiver. Blackfire landed behind her teammates. “Hello, little sister”, the Titans got ready to fight her. “Don’t worry Star, we’ll take care of her”, Cyborg. “Didn’t you kids hear the news? I won’t have mercy on you”, the purple haired girl walked to the Titans, playing with the red emerald shaped diamond she wore in a necklace. “We won’t have mercy on you either”, Robin declared as the team got ready to fight her. “This will be fun”, Blackfire caressed the jewel but before she could fight the teens, her sister stood in front of her.

“Star, come on, we can take her”, Beast Boy said. “What is it, sis? I thought you wanted to be on the right side of history”, Starfire’s hands were shaking. “Are you trying to disrespect your queen?”, Starfire shook her head. “Are you and your human friend traitors?”, Blackfire’s eyes burned through her sister’s. “You mean Slade?”, Robin asked as he moved closer to the purple eyed girl. “Yes, do you want me to kill him after I kill them?”. Again, all eyes were on Starfire. “It is not that, I just wish to assist you. You should not waste your time with petty fights”, the red-haired princess explained, trying to sound as calm and collected as she could. “Interesting, sister”, Blackfire playfully smiled at the thought of what was about to come. Starfire looked back at her friends, they were confused. “Does that mean you are giving up?”, Beast Boy asked. “No, ‘dude’, that means, she is taking you down”, Blackfire laughed as she lifted herself up. “Come on, sis, show time!”, the older girl announced watching from above.

Starfire turned around, her powers weren’t ready to use, she didn’t feel anger, she felt fear, just pure fear. Red X saw her from inside the lodge as he was about to go to the basement. He couldn’t leave her alone, she looked like she needed help and she was there for him before, so he decided to be by her side now.

The door opened and Red X walked out. “Starfire remember the X”, he said, pointing to the clocking device in his utility belt. “Who is this? Is he your new boyfriend, sis? You are really into capes, aren’t you?”, Blackfire asked, still looking at the scene like it was some twisted horror movie made just for her. Red X stood back.

“I got it, get to Slade”, the Tamaranean princess stated. “Wait”, Robin yelled in his regular commanding tone. “What is going on, Star?”, was he finally asking what she wanted him to ask? “Why are you two working for Slade together?”, the masked hero asked, walking up to her. “Sister, I’m getting bored”, Blackfire booed. But lucky for Starfire, she felt the fury she needed building up slowly. “What did Slade offer you?”, Robin continued approaching her. “Why do you want to protect him?”, Starfire chuckled. She didn’t want to, but she did. “Robin is there anything else you want to know?”, the Tamaranean teen firmly asked. “Yes”, Robin finally stood in front if her, just a couple of steps away. “Have you been working for him ever since you came to Earth? Is that why way became a Titan? Did you help Slade get to me?”, the shock that appeared in her face while he made his questions quickly turned into anger. “How dare you insinuate that? I would never hurt you, Robin”, she quickly answered, her eyes fully lit up. “Well you have already done that”, did he mean the kiss? “How?”, she asked, her eyes going back to normal. “You are working with Slade, aren’t you?”, his tone, his frown, Slade.

Her eyes lit up once more and another explosion of green energy sent the Titans flying away. Red X, covered behind his cape and his mask hid the horror in his expression. He had never seen her like this.

“Yes, I am. I am working with Slade and serving my sister to take this planet. But the only thing you care about is Slade”, Starfire angrily yelled out her words. Robin and the rest of the team were getting back up slowly. Raven was the first one to approach Starfire, who had a Starbolt ready to blow in her hand. When the half demon touched it, thinking the alien would let it go, it hurt her. Starfire stood still, fear trying to break her again and many emotions did the same but for the first time she couldn’t allow herself to feel them.

A birdarang pushed her hand away, when Starfire tried to reach Raven’s. She looked back at Robin. “Starfire, this is your last chance. Stop it or we will have to take you down”, the leader of the team declared. The alien princess didn’t answer, she just looked at him, trying read his eyes, trying to guess if there was any way things could go back to how they were before. When did she care that much about him asking about the kiss? The real question she wanted to hear from him was the one was about to ask back at the lodge, at least she thought he would say what she wished for. But this was her last chance and also their last chance.

She could feel the tears building up and the fury flying away. No, no, no. Don’t. Not right now. She tried to focus on the anger, on the fury, but no amount of fury could wash over the pain she felt for just thinking about losing him. No, no, no. Don’t leave. Who was she asking to stay? Did she want him to stay or did she want the fury to stay? Too many emotions, her powers were getting weaker and she let her arms fall to the sides of her body.

“Star-“, Robin walked to her but a purple blackbolt pushed the masked hero to the ground. “Well, sister, if you are not taking the trash out, I will”, Blackfire announced, her eyes lit up and her hands glowing with energy ready to shoot. A birdarang flew to the older sister and before it touched her, Starfire blasted it with a starbolt. “Do not worry”, Starfire’s eyes started glowing up again as she flew to her friends and started shooting starbolts again and again.

Red X stepped back, shocked at the scene that was evolving in front of him. Starfire was winning the fight, her abilities combined with the the Red X suit were too much for the Teen Titans. One by one her friends fell to the ground, trapped in sticky Xs, electrocuted, out of order or just hurt. The last one standing was Robin, the one who she had been avoiding. Jason knew that this was a changing point for her but didn’t know if she would come out fine from it. He tried to join her, but Blackfire shot him a couple of blackbolts that he didn’t get to avoid.

Starfire turned around to see Red X wounded, she whispered her name in despair. Her eyes going back to normal. “No sidekicks for this one. Robin gets a pass”, Blackfire laughed at the expression on the masked teen as he groaned. Starfire’s anger was back, she was angry at Blackfire for hurting Jason and Robin caught it. He threw one of his smoke pellets to run away but Starfire followed him.

This wasn’t like him; he would never let his teammates on the ground and run away. The anger she felt for Blackfire was covered with worry that she now felt for Robin. What was he trying to do? She went after him, running just like he did.

Something hit her ankles and made her trip. Robin had made her run into the woods, used his Bola to trap her and she fell to the ground as she lost balance. “Starfire, what is this?”, he asked, and she looked up at him. “Why did you hurt our friends? Why are you letting Blackfire control you?”, he stopped himself, she noticed he was struggling to say something. “Why do you care so much about Red X?”, the question hurt more than anything she had taken to this day. And it hurt because she could feel the pain in Robin’s voice. “Do you care about him?”, she sighed when he asked her that. “I do”, she answered, freeing herself from the weapon he had used on her. “And…”, again he was struggling to talk. “Do you care about me?”, again, she felt like he had just shoot her straight to her heart. She couldn’t answer, she couldn’t fall for it. Not now.

“Star, did you become closer to me to help your sister and Slade?”, the pain she felt made her step back. If only she could say what she really felt. “I don’t understand what is going on. I wanna ask you so many questions. One minute we are hanging out on our first date, then you are kissing Red X and taking Earth. It doesn’t make sense”, he continued. “Make it make sense, Starfire”, she shook her head. “No, what? No, you don’t care about our team? About me? About us?”. Us? Again, he was referring to them as a couple. But they weren’t and now she felt like they never would be.

“I have to do this, Robin. It will make sense later”, she spoke up finally and he only grew more confused at her statement. “What does that mean?”. Starfire continued shaking her head. The teen boy got closer to her, close enough for her heart to start beating faster than it normally would and for her cheeks to blush. “Look, Star, I am not good with words. I am not the right one to ask you to open up, but I need you to. Please, Starfire”, his right hand went up to her cheek, caressing it softly with his thumb. “Robin, I cannot”, he put his other hand in her other cheek. “Yes, Star, you can do it”, she shook her head once more. “What can I do to make you trust me again?”, Robin was whispering, and it made her shiver. She knew what she wanted and finally she got it. His lips softly landed on hers and she immediately closed her eyes.

Time froze, or at least that’s how it felt for her. How soft, she thought as her lips danced with his. Sweet, she thought next as their mouths opened up just enough for them to taste each other. Warm, she thought as his arms wrapped around her waist pulling her closer. No, she thought as both let go of the kiss panting. He smiled, looking at her blushing face. “I am sorry for getting so obsessed with Slade. It’s just that he’s put you in so much danger and then he made me hurt you. I still can’t forget about it. I can’t forgive him for that”, his words healed her wounds and her teary eyes reflected how much she needed to hear him. “I trust you, Star, I will help you take Blackfire down. I will follow your lead and we will get our home back”, Robin’s voice sounded so reassuring, so calming and so safe. “Do you trust me, Star?”, he asked. “I do, Robin, I trust you and I-“, as she was about to pour her heart out a purple blackbolt shot Robin on the back, making him fall into her arms.

A/N: hey! hope you like the 7th episode. so blackfire’s finally in the story and she will be even meaner next time they see her. let me know your thoughts for this episode, any guess on what’s next? hope you are having a nice day/night.