A/N: Considering how Earth-16 is set in a different universe from the mainverse, I thought I might explore a bit. And okay, I might have wanted to incorporate Starfire in the YJverse, and having read a fanfic with Tim/Star as a ship, it got me thinking. 'Cides, we have Chalant, SuperMartian and Spitfire, might as well explore some of the ships, right?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, sadly. It belongs to WB and DC Comics.
The air was thick with tension. The only noise that punctured through the silence was the dull hum and flicker of the florescent bulbs overhead. Beast Boy, Kid Flash, and Robin stood huddled by the window, peering through the reinforced glass to catch a glimpse of the captive kept inside.
They all looked a little worse for wear, their uniforms in varying degrees of disarray. Robin's cape had tears in some parts and was blackened in others, while Kid Flash's goggles had a long crack running through the surface. The sleeves of Beast Boy's jumpsuit were frayed around the edges, and he was covered from head to toe in soot. It had been a rough night for all of them, considering how the alien girl had handed their asses to them. For someone so deceptively diminutive, she had seriously packed a punch, barreling through their ranks without so much as breaking a sweat.
Nightwing and Batgirl stood before the alien girl, backs turned to the thick glass. The boys could only hear the faint murmur of voices, which only rose up a decibel when it was the girl's turn to speak. She was passionate, not a single expression left hidden, as she rose up in defiance. She moved with the gait of a predator, precise and sharp. Even from their vantage point, the boys could clearly make out the fire that burned in her eyes, the determination of a soldier carefully hidden behind the facade of a young girl. The only reason why she hadn't tried punching her way through the glass was because of the inhibitor collar that kept her powers in check. A necessity given how she had almost blasted Blue Beetle's face off with her starbolts during their skirmish.
"You have any idea what she's saying?" Beast Boy staged-whispered.
"Not a clue," Kid Flash murmured right back.
"'Bout you, Rob? You can lipread or something, right?" The speedster was quick to ask. They both turned in sync and leveled Robin with a curious glance. The whites of his domino mask narrowed and he shook his head pensively.
"We'll just have to wait for Nightwing's mission debriefing, I can't see much from here," he answered dismissively. "Besides, I still don't trust her," he added with a tone of childish petulance that was so uncharacteristic of him that it had both Beast Boy and Kid Flash doing a quick double take, eyes wide as they stared at him incredulously.
Beast Boy, who's confusion finally gave way to understanding, sniggered openly, his tail flicking in his amusement. "He's just upset that she kissed h-"
"I am not!" The Boy Wonder interrupted hotly, though the color of his cheeks told them otherwise. "It was just- what I meant was, ugh! You know what? Never mind."
Soon enough, Kid Flash joined in on the laughter, leaning his weight onto Beast Boy. Before Robin could get a word in edgewise, the door to their left hissed open. In an instant, all three straightened at the sight of the elder Bat, nodding politely his way.
Nightwing quirked a brow behind the fabric of his mask. "Hey guys," he began cautiously, picking up on their mirth with an air of bemusement. "Mission debriefing in five."
Robin's tense shoulders eased up a little. Well, at least Nightwing wasn't ribbing him about the entire fiasco.
But right before he turned to leave, Nightwing clapped Robin amicably on the shoulder, the corner of his lips quirked up in a telltale sign of amusement. Oh god, not him too, Robin groaned in exasperation.
"Nice going out there, baby bird." The compliment was harmless enough, but his tone belied his silent laughter. At those words, Robin could hear the two other boys snicker silently to themselves. His scowl only worsened when Nightwing reached up to ruffle his hair, the man's trademark laughter trailing after him as he turned around the corner.
Robin cast a sideways glance at the room, where apparently Batgirl was still trying to coax the girl to cooperate. She was still nervous and jittery, a given considering how she was in alien territory, but at least she wasn't trying to heft one of the chairs over her shoulder in an attempt to bash the window, which was a big enough improvement.
The girl must have felt the weight of his gaze because in an instant, her solid green eyes were staring back at him with all the anger she could muster.
Not one to be easily cowed, he was under the tutelage of the Batman after all, Robin returned the glare with equal fervor.
"They are so into each other," Beast Boy muttered under his breath. Kid Flash nodded with such vehemence that his head blurred for a second.