This is a normal character fic. Not a super hero one! Please do not get confused. I hope you like it. And please Review!!!!!!

He walked to his apartment. His shoulders slumped, dragging his reluctant feet along not even noticing that he had arrived at his gate.

Flash back….

"I'm sorry Richard. I'm just not cut out for you. Like people always say right? It's not you, it's me" she said. Standing up, she cupped his cheek and gave him one last kiss. With a little wave, Barbara Gordon walked out of the restaurant. Out of his life.

End flash back.

Without noticing he had bumped into someone.

"Sorry" he mumbled looking up, but the guy had already walked away. His knee length black jacket billowing behind him. The man didn't even glance at Richard.

"Weird guy" Richard thought as he turned his attention back to the apartment in front of him. He gave a sigh. It would probably empty. He thought as he unlocked the door. If truth be told he wasn't really depressed. He was just bored. Barbara had been his girlfriend for the past 2 years but it would have never worked out anyway. There was simply no spark to their relationship. It was doomed from the start.

With another long sight he closed the door and switched on the lights. He reeled back in surprise at what he saw.

There right in front of him was a teenaged girl no more than seventeen wearing a little lavender outfit with white feathers on the sleeves and collars. Her long lustrous auburn red hair cascaded down her shoulders.

"ROBIN!!!!!" she exclaimed with happiness, putting her arms around him in a tight hug.

The sound of his old nickname shouted with such familiarity from the girl practically gave him a heart attack. Plus the fact that she was also literally suffocating him.

"Who are you?" he asked in confusion, pulling away from her.

She pouted "Do you not remember me?" she asked disappointedly, her shoulders slumped.

But that's when he saw her eyes. Beautiful emerald green eyes that only one person in the world could probably have.

"Starfire?" he asked in shock. No! It can't be can it? He though as he studied her more carefully.

It was true that she did look like her. The tanned skin, red hair, long legs, her grammar. Everything was the same. But we're the same age. She should be 25 not just graduating out of high school. He thought incredulously.

But she smiled at her nickname, confirming his suspicion.

"You remembered!!" she shouted gleefully, giving a little dance of joy. At the look of disbelief on his face she laughed. It rang like music in his ears. "Please do not look so shocked Robin. I promised did I not?"

He was speechless. He couldn't believe it. Despite everything that had happened today, he smiled and pulled his best friend into a hug.

"I can't believe it's you. I haven't seen you in 10 years" it was his turn to shout. "Wait here. I'll be right back" he told her as he left to put his jacket away.

When he came back, she was looking at his pictures on the coffee table. She picked up an old picture of him and Barbara.

"Is this your girlfriend Richard?" she asked quietly, turning around.

He shook my head and took the picture from her "She's just a friend" he said, throwing the picture on the couch. He turned back to face her.

The smile was gone replaced by a sad frown. The twinkle in her eyes had been replaced by tears threatening to over flow. She turned away and sat on the cold floor, bringing her knees to her chest. She tried to sound nonchalant as if she didn't care.

"Did you forget me?"

The question surprised him. Folding his knees, he sat beside her and blurted out the answer before he could think. "No"

She looked at him questioningly.

"You moved away and…………… you never came back. I couldn't just wait. So I moved on" he explained quietly.

She nodded and silence ensued. But it was short lived.

"Do you remember that old flat where we used to live?" she asked eagerly.

He smiled and closed his eyes. How could he forget? Those were the happiest years of his life.

"We used to run up and down the stairs trying to see if we could do it in less than a minute. It always annoyed the hell out of that old geezer…what's his name?" he asked.

She laughed. How he cherished every moment of it. "Slade" she told him.

"Yeah. Than there was that kid Xavier who used to always try to push you down the stairs" he frowned at the memory.

The smile on her face didn't go away though "But you would always catch me" she said in whisper like voice, her smile becoming wider "and you would beat him senseless too" she said.

He laughed with her "Than we found out he only did all that because he liked you. But I told him you were taken" he said the last part a little more quietly.

But she still heard and it made her blood rush to her cheeks.

Again, silence followed but it was not an awkward silence but one that came when you were deeply submersed in memories.

Richard went through all his memories of him and Kori together until he reached the last one.

Flash back…….

"I promise Richard, I will look for you. I will come back. We will see each other again. I will make sure of it" Kori whispered as she squeezed the life out of Richard but he didn't care. This was probably the last time he was going to see her so she clung to him as if her life depended on it.

It took a while before the adults could pull them apart. Walking to the car, she repeated herself.

"I promise Richard. I promise I will come back. If it's the last thing I do than so be it"

His reply was unheard to her as she was pushed into the car by her older sister. Richard couldn't help but glare at Komi. But truthfully he couldn't really blame her.

Komi Ander's had been diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 15. Now 17 the treatment had stopped taking any affect on her. The Anderson's were moving to Australia where rumor has it that a cure was close to being found. Their father didn't care. He was going to do everything in his power to save Komi and her other siblings who might have also inherited cancer from their mother who had died of breast cancer.

Kori wept as she waved from the back seat, a giggle escaping her lips when Richard started running, trying to keep up with the car.

"I promise Richard. I promise"

End flash back.

Richard frowned. "You stopped answering my letters 4 years ago".

Kori sighed and rested her head on her knees. "I am sorry. There was just something I had to do. It took too much of my time" she smiled "But I could never forget you though. My body was in Australia but my heart was here. With you"

Their eyes met and they stared at each other. He tried to make sense of it all. She tried to tell him without words that she didn't have as much time with him as she would like.

Suddenly she leaned her face closer to his. Her long red hair falling to the side like drapes hiding both their faces from view. She raised a finger to his lips. Tracing them; but he didn't move. She was so close he could feel her breath on his. And slowly, taking her time, she closed the distance between them, letting their lips meet.

Time passed and their lips parted. Both of them cursed the fact that they needed air to survive. Richard lifted his eyes to her face, surprised to find that the tears had returned.

"Richard" she whispered "I can not stay. I must leave by sunrise" she told him her voice sounding a bit broken.

The information caught him by surprise and his stomach twisted into a knot at the fact that he had so little time with her now that she had found him. He wanted so much to ask her to stay a little longer but she shook her head before he could say anything.

With a frustrated sight he nodded and didn't say a word about it.

Than as sudden as it disappeared her smile slid back onto her face. She beamed at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I am sure you remember the paper planes" she said with a giggle "Everyday we would sit on the roof and throw paper planes. Yours would always have a message written in it but you would never tell me" she gave a satisfied sight and leaned into his arms as if she was tired but the silly grin was still affixed on her face "You told me you had written a wish and that the message would reach the sky and thus it would be granted. I always believed you"

He hugged her to his chest, giving her a little squeeze. She glanced at the clock and his eyes followed hers.

It was 3 o'clock already! He couldn't believe it! Time had literally flown past them like a bomb threatening to explode.

"I will have to go soon" she whispered in a strangely exhausted tone.

Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He reached for the pen and paper on the coffee table and wrote something on it, careful not to let Kori see what it was. Than he started folding it and 5 seconds later it turned into a shabby paper plane.

He got up and pulled Kori to her feet "Come on. The flat is on the other side of town so it'll take almost two hours to get there. If you only have one day than let's do it right"

She smiled affectionately at him "Oh Robin"

After nearly two hours they arrived at the old flat but it was an abandoned ruin. No one lived here anymore. Plants had grown all around it, gravities decorated the walls.

Walking inside, Richards face fell when he saw that the lift was also out of order. But he gave Kori an encouraging smile.

"It's ok. We can still use the stairs"

Fortunately the stairs were usable but the flat was thirteen stories high so by the time they reached the tenth floor they were both sweating and panting.

"Richard wait" Kori called. She was panting worst than he was, she gasped for air, clutching her chest. Richard sensed that this was something more than exhaustion.

She tried to smile at him "It is to late Robin. We have tried. It is not worth it. I do not think I can take another step…."

But he didn't let her finish before he pulled her onto his back and continued his way up. Kori couldn't help but smile.

"You are worth it" he whispered.

But when they reached the top the sun was up and the birds had started to sing.

Putting her down, he reached into his jacket and pulled out the paper plane. But it was damp, and drenched with his sweat. His heart sank.

Now what am I going to do? He thought, a little panicky.

Kori didn't seem to notice though. Her knees began to tremble and she was clinging to Richard for support. Her salty tears and sweat began to soak his shirt.

"Richard" she whispered "Please, hold me. Hold me before I go"

He wrapped his hands around her squeezed her tightly against his chest "Don't leave Kori. Please" he begged.

More tears poured out of her eyes.

Flash back…………..

"Thank you sir for taking time of to see her. She has been quite lonely for the past few years" said a nurse with an Australian accent as she led the knee length black jacketed stranger down the hall.

"Can you please tell about her? I believe she personally asked for me?" asked the man with a rather loud booming voice, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

The nurse nodded "I believe so. You see a few years ago she moved here with her father siblings. Her sister died soon after their move than when she herself was reported to have cancer it drove her father of the edge. The police said that he suffocated his own son Ryan and tried to kill her before killing himself. The police found her unconscious and bruised in her home. She was taken to the hospital where test results showed her tumor had grown out of control" she explained

"She's quite a fighter though. Keeps muttering about a promise" she continued, shaking her head in a confused way.

"I see. Do you know why she requested to see me?" the mysterious man asked.

The nurse sighed "I'm sorry sir but she won't tell me. Though I do ask you not to allow her to talk much. It uses to much of her energy"

They had reached a white, star patterned door with the words 'Kori Anders' engraved in bold red letters at the top. She opened the door and gestured for him to enter.

The room was all white with little bits of pictures and drawings hanging on the walls- perhaps by kind nurses who were trying to brighten up the room- a small drawer in a corner. In the middle was a hospital bed where a bald sickly looking woman with tanned but pale skin was sitting upright. But she wasn't looking at him.

"Greeting's Mr. Magus" she said, raising her head to look at him with hopeful emerald green eyes.

He sighted. "Miss Anders, I know why you called me. But I must apologize. I can't do what you want me to do"

But she ignored him and held out the picture she had been looking at. He took it.

It was an old picture with a spiky, messy black haired boy standing beside a tall and lean red haired girl.

"Is this you?" he asked though he already knew the answer it was just out of courtesy.

She nodded with a smile but it soon disappeared "Please" she pleaded "I promised. I just need to see him one last time".

"Why?" he asked a little puzzled that she could still remember a promise to a young boy after all these years. "Why is it so important to you?"

She gave a weak laugh. "You would not understand. You are the most celebrated magician in history Mr. Magus but even you have admitted that love is a mystery that you yourself could never discover"

That explanation was enough to tell him that nothing on earth will change this woman's mind.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"25. Today is my birthday"

"Happy birthday"

She nodded her thanks.

He gave a second heavier sight. "Look. Miss Ander's, if I do this it would most probably kill you. The soul is not something I can play with so easily. And in your weakened state it makes the situation even worse. When I leave this room with your soul I won't be able to put it back in your body and any other so in other words you will be dead. And if I find him, you would look younger and maybe even a bit livelier but you will only have one and one day only"

She gave an affectionate smile. Her eyes half closed as if she was feeling sleepy "One day is all I need" she said, her voice so weak it was barely a whisper.

He glared at her for a while but she didn't drop her gaze. He waved his hand behind him and it clicked. The door was locked.

"Lets begin"

End flash back.

"TIME'S UP"

His booming voice rang in my head.

'Nooooooooooooooooo' she wanted to scream. But instead she buried her face deeper in Richard's chest.

What could she do? She had willingly agreed to his conditions.

"Kori? Who is he?" asked Richard. His voice was dripping with fear as he pressed her tighter to his chest. She gave a glance at the magician's direction.

He was standing on the very edge of the roof. There was no hesitation or nervousness in his stance as he stood there unmoving. Waiting.

Reluctantly, she pushed herself away from Richard just when a wind began to suddenly swirl around them.

Richard looked at her confused.

"Forgive me Richard. But I must Go" she said in a voice that whispered the very word 'death'. It made a chill run down his spine.

But before he could say anything the wind started spinning like a small hurricane around her but she didn't move. It got faster and faster until Richard couldn't see her anymore.

"KORI!!" he yelled moving forward but he felt a pair of strong hands on his pulling him back. He saw a glimpse of black.

'How did he get here so fast?'

The whirlwind swirled faster and faster until as sudden as it started, it stopped.

But she was gone.

Richard turned around.

The man was gone.

"KORI!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. His knees trembling.

"KORI!!!!!!!!!!"

His knees folded.

"KORI!!!!!!!!!" he screamed for one last time.

But she was gone.

******************

Magus heard the boy scream.

He ignored it and instead unfolded the paper airplane. Inside were a few words that the boy had written in his haste.

'I wish I could live with my Starfire forever…………………..'

He frowned and crushed the paper in his fist. Seconds later he opened his hand showing a little star shaped flower in the middle of it.

He pocketed it.

The girl was right though. Love was a mystery that will never be unraveled.

THE END