What We Became

One Shot

Author's notes: Ok… my first step into the Teen Titans fandom… The local TV station just started airing season three recently, and I feel that 'Deception' had more to it than a less-than-half-hour episode… So this is my take, expanding on that episode. I'm not sure if there were some hints of Cy/Star, but Cy/Jinx was kinda obvious.

So this is the fic in essence: Cy/Star as friends, Cy/Jinx as laments. Set shortly after Deception.

The solitary figure standing in the operations centre of Titans Tower stared into the glass panels overlooking the river. Partially reflected back by the glass was an image of a man, partially covered in a bluish glow around the mechanical parts in him.

Yet, he thought bitterly to himself, you almost escaped the life of being 'tin man'. He held up an arm, illuminated by the waning moon, and activated his sonic cannon. Not to damage anything; just to see what he had become.

And what could he have become? A human, nothing more… yet he realised that that was what he really wanted deep in his heart, not some super abilities. If he had really succumbed to Brother Blood…

"Brother Blood wanted you to destroy the Titans… not to turn you into human." The logic he held in his head from the moment the offer was made: Blood Brother could not have made him human, and then tell him to destroy the Titans.

Not that every moment at the H.I.V.E was bad, he thought. He was surprised how much he found out about being a villain… they weren't all about world domination. Some of them actually had a bit of humanity left in them.

Jinx was one of them.

It may have started during the 'initiation'; what with him following her around… was that smile on her face because of the way he looked? Or was it because she was starting to like him?

There was at least a hint of affection, if only admiration, whenever Jinx looked at 'Stone' after that. She was starting to smile more, too. Cyborg found that it was a part of her that drew his attention; in turn he was smiling more. At her, especially.

Then came the dance… there wasn't a question of who asked who… It was mutual that they went together. They went for a couple of slow dances, taking strolls around the H.I.V.E HQ between songs. He felt it, definitely. The thing was… did she feel it too, or did she only liked Stone?

Perhaps what he should ask himself was: Were Cyborg and Stone that much different after all?

He thought he heard Jinx's laughter, even though he had no idea where she was. With his mechanised eye, he could playback every moment they spent together… but that was so far from the real thing…

Did he make a wrong choice coming back?

"Cyborg?"

Cyborg turned towards the source of the voice, a silhouette of a figure gliding from the door towards him. The voice was far too chirpy for Raven's deeper, calmer tone, so this had to be…

"Starfire…"

The Tamaranean came into the moon's soft light, dressed in pink pyjamas. Starfire did not seem sleepy; she came here with a purpose.

"Why are you not in bed? Are you, perhaps, longing for a late-night snack, like me?"

"Naw… I'm just a bit depressed, that's all…"

"I do not see any concavity on your body. Is this 'depression' found inside your body?"

Cyborg turned to face Jump City to stop himself from laughing. Yet, Starfire had inadvertently hit the truth; it was all inside his mind. "I was just thinking…"

"Thinking about what, Cyborg?" Starfire glided beside her friend, a hand placed on his shoulder as his voice trailed off.

This time, Cyborg found it hard not to look away from Starfire's curious gaze. Should he be sharing this with Star? Starfire seemed to realise that Cyborg was hiding something, as she withdrew her hand, bending just slightly in front of Cyborg, looking straight into his eyes.

"It is about that girl… Jinx… is it not?"

Cyborg felt a rush of blood to the right side of his cheeks while a cold sensation gripped his stomach. Averting her gaze once more, he sighed. She was right again. "How did you find out?"

"Your conversation with her before she left with the other villains… and you mentioned a dance. I believe it is customary for a boy like you to dance with a girl like her, am I right? So I have put those two together with these two …"

There was a pause as Starfire fell silent, having said all that in one breath. Cyborg turned towards her, taking a deep breath before letting out a sigh.

"She was like you, Star."

This got her attention. "You mean she celebrates Blorthog with her H.I.V.E friends and offers them…"

"Not that, Starfire. I mean…" Cyborg sighed again; thinking about Jinx had brought back even more memories. "I meant that she was the soul of their team… like you are. She was the one making all the jokes… Being the only girl in their team, she's providing the support you can't find amongst guys… like you in our team."

"But I am not the only girl in our team," Starfire insisted, "Raven is…"

"Yeah, but in case you haven't noticed… Raven's not the type you wanna get comfort from." Starfire glanced towards the operation centre entrance, as though Raven was standing in the hallway looking at them.

"Jinx is a villain and should not be compared to heroes like ourselves…" Starfire started, indignant on her distinction between good and evil, though her tone was considerably soft this time. "Besides, you are back here now. You should be thinking about things that matter to you, like training, or…"

"I think, Star, she matters to me now," Cyborg muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear. "And as Stone… I was human for once…"

"You have proven that not being human does not mean that you are inferior. After all, you have proven that you can break your physical limits…" Starfire broke off as Cyborg slipped the holographic generator ring over his finger, turning once more into the man known as 'Stone'.

"You don't understand, Star. Being human also gave me the ability to love…"

"You have the love of friends around you. Is that not enough?" Cyborg felt the ring slip from his fingers, as he reverted to his old self. His true self.

Cyborg froze for a second, pondering over Starfire's words. Until he can find her… he supposed it was enough…

He stifled a yawn, worn out after the second 'initiation' he had to endure just a few hours ago. Starfire noticed immediately, and glided behind Cyborg, guiding him towards the door. "Now go back to bed and rest… We may be needed tomorrow."

Cyborg removed Starfire's hands from his shoulders gently, turning around to face his fellow Titan. "I don't have a bed…"

Starfire seemed shocked from his words, realising a second later what he meant. "I'm sorry, Cyborg…"

"It's ok, Star. I kinda got over it." The silence stretched on for a few seconds before Cyborg made a move. When he reached the doorway, without turning around, he mumbled, "Thanks Star…"

Across the river, looking up at the Titans Tower, was the cause of Cyborg's conversation with Starfire. She sat on the rocks overlooking the riverbank, occasionally sending a pebble skipping over the calm water surface with the flick of a wrist.

She didn't know why she was here tonight, possibly because this could be the last 'free time' she'll be getting. Brother Blood wants them to move on to 'bigger, better things'. She could bet her life that one of those 'things' involved the Titans.

If it were possible… she would rather be on his side the next time they crossed paths…

"You've strayed too far into the path of a villain to ever be a Titan," she told herself, before mentally berating herself for even having such thoughts. There probably wasn't any chance of her becoming a good person, even.

She can't change who she became.

"Hey Jinx," Mammoth grunted from behind. "Headmaster's calling us to meet in an hour. We gotta go…"

"You're not thinking about that tin can, aren't you?" Gizmo asked, slightly less subtle than Mammoth's approach.

Jinx got up to her feet and turned around in one fluid motion. Elite H.I.V.E students… Top graduates… Team mates…

"Of course not, I'm over it now… I knew it was fake all along." The nonchalance was played to perfection; even her friends had to buy it, as she walked past them. "Look, if we have to assemble in an hour, I suggest we start moving now." Gizmo and Mammoth shrugged as Jinx walked on ahead, unable to fathom what was going on in her mind.

The more she thought about it, the more she realised: She could have been a lot of things too.

End notes: In case no one noticed… This is not Cy/Star per se, but kinda like a friendship thing. It's just that Starfire was the one to speak to Cyborg after his trip to the H.I.V.E, so I guess I had to make Starfire one of the main characters.

The Jinx part... only added in the last minute. The way I planned for it to end was when Cyborg thanked Starfire, but this ties up the fic better I suppose.

The Cy/Jinx could have been better, but… I'll work on it after gathering comments.