I just want to make it clear that this version of Starfire is NOT the same as the one from Teen Titans. I've played around with her backstory, too. There will be birdflash, but not for a long time, so if that's not your thing don't worry. Hope you enjoy!

As per usual in Wally's life, everything was going great until it wasn't.

It was the first time he'd been allowed to patrol without supervision, and only the second time he'd been allowed to patrol at all in Gotham. One second he was running around the city with Rob on his back, messing with petty criminals and toeing the line of every rule his uncle had ever given him, and the next there was a flaming crater in the middle of a park about a block away. And Wally knew, just knew, that Batman would find a way to blame him for it. The man had it out for him, despite Robin's protests, and the mere fact that Wally had been present at the time of The Incident was as damning as soot covered hands.

Robin, the lenses of his domino mask as large as Wally had ever seen them, stared at the crater in horror. Or confusion. Or awe. Wally really couldn't tell. He'd known the nine (and-three-quarters, shut up, KF) year old for only about two months. He still had a ways to go in mask-reading.

"Batman is going to kill us,"

"Me," Wally corrected, pointing towards his own chest. "He's gonna kill me, you're just gonna get some sorta backwards praise for however you're about to handle… that,"

The whole thing was actually pretty unfair, disregarding the fact that they should be blocks away fromthis part of Gotham. Sure, Wally was a metahuman, and sure, his uncle was four times more touchy feely than Batman on drugs, and okay, Wally was loud he could own up to that, and fine, it was possible that he'd broken that blinky thing the first time he'd visited the Batcave, and maybe he'd tried to convince Robin to take off his mask once (or twice, or, okay, like seven times a night) and, alright, he was loud like his uncle, but at least he wasn't late like him, and sure, he ate a lot but that wasn't his fault and really had nothing to do with Batman come to think of it—

"KF, focus, stuff is on fire,"

"I'm probably going to get charged with kidnapping," Wally whispered in horror. "Never mind that you coerced me into leaving the approved sector thing, I'm going to get blamed and sent to jail,"

Robin crossed his (tiny, skinny, twig-like) arms and made an amused sound in the back of his throat that almost sounded like a snort. How undignified. "I'm sure that's exactly what's going to happen, KF,"

"I knew it," he wailed, the rough texture of his gloves tugging and pulling at his flyaway red hair. He'd probably have to shave it, or wear a hat. Red was very distinctive, and running away from Batman would be impossible with target-colored hair. Who was he kidding, running away from Batman was impossible. "I'm gonna go to jail at eleven," Wally grabbed Robin's shoulders and shook him. "Dude, you have to help me,"

Robin shook his head and slapped him on the arm. Hard.

"You. Run. Fire. Now,"

"You're three feet tall and like five years old. Don't tell me what to do," Wally said, but the humor was just as shaky as his hands. Robin usually didn't resort to violence that quickly (so he was apprehensive about the punishment they were sure to receive) and it had surprised him. For a fraction of a second, the Boy Wonder's shape had blurred into another's, and he wasn't ready to see that figure again. Not yet. Not so soon after…

Exiling those thoughts (Rob didn't know, he didn't mean to, just move on, think of Batman) Wally grabbed the smaller boy and ran to the flaming crater. There were only a few bystanders, probably due to the fact that it was like two in the morning, and they all backed off once they saw Mr. Green Tights. Really, there was a discussion to be had about Robin's choice of clothing.

"There's also a discussion to be had about your tendency to carry me bridal style," Robin grumbled, and whoops, Wally guessed he'd said that last part out loud. He wasn't really sorry; minutes away from death by Batman he was entitled to speak his mind. Maybe this way Robin would honor his memory with a new color scheme.

"Admitting you have a problem is the first step,"

"What's wrong with green? And they're not tights!"

"Dude, those are tights,"

"At least I don't wear spandex,"

"If I didn't wear this material, I'd end up running around without clothes. You have a choice,"

"I don't think Batman knows," Robin said, interrupting their banter as they moved cautiously towards the edge of the crater. "He would've contacted me otherwise,"

"He'd know if I so much as sneezed in his city without permission, and you think he missed a giant, flaming hole roughly six blocks from his precious baby's supposed location?"

"Stop being dramatic," Robin ordered, and Wally's back straightened of its own accord. Great. Now he was taking orders from a kid two years younger than him. "The only remaining flames are from the surrounding grass, and even that's dying down. Plus, it didn't seem like something actually fell, more like… appeared,"

"What, like a zeta-beam gone wrong?"

"Something like that…"

Their detective work ground to a halt once they actually arrived at the lip of the hole. With a quick glance and a nod to each other, they jumped over the edge, sliding for a few feet before the ground leveled out. The crater itself really wasn't that big, maybe ten feet across, and directly opposite from the duo, looking at them with very large, very green eyes, was… a girl.

"What," Wally said eloquently.

Her hair was red, even more than his, and fell unevenly to her shoulders, the ends slightly black and singed looking. It may have been the light of the flames, but her skin almost seemed to be orange, as in actually orange, not that weird spray tan stuff. She was wearing something that resembled a purple nightgown, and that too was torn and covered in scorch marks. She was covered in small scrapes, burns, and one deeper cut that was oozing blood from her right shoulder. She also looked absolutely terrified; her small form trembling.

Wally considered himself a fairly good judge of character, and usually had a knack with people. Just from looking at her, he could tell that she wasn't here because she wanted to be, and she definitely didn't want to fight. The crater was probably an accident, the side effect from her travel, and if the way she was hugging herself was any indication, she just wanted to go back to wherever she came from.

Wally took a step forward in the same moment Robin put a hand to his ear, probably to call Batman (because hello, alien girl in the middle of Gotham) but the girl flung out a hand and yelled something in a different language. Wally stopped and saw Robin's arm freeze in the same instant. Normally, the Boy Wonder probably would have continued, but even he could tell she meant no harm. He looked at Wally, and back to the girl, before his hand returned to his side to rest on his utility belt.

He got the message. Robin wasn't going to trust an alien blindly. Even if she wasn't a threat, she could be carrying one. There was no guarantee that she wasn't just bait.

For a few moments, nobody moved. Then, slowly, the girl lowered her hand and said something that might have been a question.

"I'm sorry," Wally tried to keep his voice calm and soothing. Now that he thought about it, his intent to run straight towards her may have been slightly impulsive. Just a little. "We can't understand you,"

"KF, she can't understand us either. We should call Batman. Maybe Martian Manhunter can translate, or one of the Green Lanterns,"

The girl repeated whatever it was that she'd said before, this time extending her hand and making a strange shape with her fingers. Wally didn't know sign language, but he was pretty sure that whatever she was trying to convey didn't translate.

"I don't understand," Robin said, shaking his head, and Wally shrugged.

The girl bit her lip, and glanced between the two of them before her gaze settled on the speedster. She pointed at him and then herself, once again repeating the question. Wally just looked back blankly.

"Why did you- I mean, she single me out?"

"I don't know. You're brighter, maybe. It could also be the hair,"

The girl slowly took a step forward, looking encouraged when no one objected, and he was surprised to see how small she really was. He'd assumed it'd been her half-crouched position, but she really did seem to be size of a small child.

She held out her hand towards Wally again, and took another small step forward. After a moment's hesitation, he copied her movement, sensing Robin's eyes watching his back carefully. A few more steps, and they were directly facing each other. She really was short, even shorter than Robin, and barely reached the middle of his stomach. How old was she, six?

Looking hesitant, she pointed to her lips and then to his own, before miming talking with her hands. She repeated the question. Wally shrugged. She sighed, grabbed his hand, and kissed it. She pointed to her lips, then his again, looking at him expectantly.

"This… seems backwards?"

"KF, I think she wants to kiss you,"

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"Just bend down a little,"

"Why? She's a kid! I don't want to—"

"Kid Flash, just do it, worst case scenario you get to kiss an alien,"

Still uncertain, he bent his knees slightly. That seemed to be the only invitation the girl needed, because she was suddenly right there despite being way too short to reach his lips, and hers covered his own. Wally squeaked and stumbled back, but the girl had grabbed his face and wasn't letting go.

Wally was eleven, not three, and knew that there were different kinds of kissing. This one, however, was way off from what he'd imagined. There was a strange ticking sensation in the back of his throat (which didn't make any sort of sense because his lips were pressed closed, and hers were too) and he didn't feel any desire to continue the contact. Weren't you supposed to?

Just as quickly as it started, the girl was off of him. He exchanged stunned looks with Robin, whose mouth was open (he thought he heard a mumbled "gross, cooties" but wasn't sure) before the girl was in front of him, floating, and apologizing. In English.

"I am so sorry!" she said, sounding distraught. "I did not realize that… mouth-to-mouth contact, what you call… kissing? I did not realize it was so intimate. I am sorry, my people can learn languages through mou— kissing, and I did not understand what was going on, please do not be mad,"

"Uh…"

"What he means," Robin said, stepping forward. "Is that it's not a problem. You can call me Robin, and him Kid Flash. What's your name? Where are you from?"

"My name is Koriand'r," she said, looking relieved that neither of the boys were going to react poorly. A moment later, however, her mouth twisted into a frown and she sunk from the air. She, Wally thought, looked the exact opposite of traught. "I come from the planet of Tameran, but… I do not think…."

"Well, Koriand'r," Robin said, hardly hesitating over the unusual pronunciation and cutting through Koriand'r's sadness with a bright smile. "Welcome to Earth,"

That's it for the first chapter! I'll be in the car for about six hours today, so I may be able to get a second one out before anyone even reads the first! Feel free to give me any sort of criticism, or ask me any questions. Thanks for reading!