Summary: Starfire and Robin start to question their love for one another when a new villain who is all too familiar to Robin is re-introduced… and he's brought along with him, a loyal girlfriend… who is equally as destructive and dangerous.
This duo threatens not only the safety of the citizens, but also the relationship between Starfire and Robin.
The Joker and Harley Quinn wreak havoc in the city… as well as in the hearts of Starfire and Robin. They used to believe that love could defeat anything… but how can they defeat this, if they are beginning to doubt their own love?
Chapter One: Step Right Up
The sound of the organ continued to fill the air as well as the sweet smell of buttery popcorn. The circus grounds were filled with colors, everything from the soft pink of the cotton candy to the bright, red nose of the clowns were present. Children laughing brought a filling of warm fuzzies into the hearts of every adult who heard it. This was a good day.
Starfire smiled as she was escorted through the carnival grounds by Robin. She turned her head, trying to make her pinkish cheeks less noticeable.
"Hey, Star… Look at this." He pointed out to an enormous tent, with loud music and whistling coming from the open hole. Light streamed out from said hole and through it there was a very visible large crowd. Starfire cocked her head to the side in curiosity.
"What is it?" She asked before glancing at him with wide, emerald eyes.
"Seems curious to have at a circus… I've never seen that tent here before last year… or the year before." He looked back at the tent, and an eerie feeling shot up from his toes and straight up to his spine. "Let's check it out…"
Starfire nodded obediently and the slowly made their way over to the new tent. As they approached the tent, the whistling became louder and it became more obvious that this crowd was made up of all, if not, mostly, men. The tent doors were wide open, but there was such a large crowd of men that neither Starfire nor Robin could see inside.
Suddenly, a man appeared standing next to the side of the open tent door. He was short… and balding. He seemed, old. Too old to be working at the circus, at least. In the corner of his mouth laid a cigarette and smoke clouds formed over his round, shiny head. He turned to Robin and coughed into his hand a few times. After his coughing fit, he extended his arm to him with an open palm.
"This is a show that ain't free fer nobody, Good Sir." His voice was rough, and Robin could smell the heavy alcohol on his breath. He coughed again and smoke came from his parted lips. "That's five doll'rs a ticket."
"… No thank you." Robin's nose wrinkled in disgust as the man's smoke blew from his nostrils. "We're just curious as to what's going on in there. I've never seen this tent here any other year." Robin glanced through the open doors again and peered around the crowd of men. "Is this… a new show?" He asked hesitantly.
"Oh yes." The old man responded. He paused to take a long drag of his shrinking cigarette. He let out a sigh and a stream of smoke blew from his nostrils and formed a cloud above his head once more. "In there is a new dancer 'ere… goes by Harley Quinn."
"Harley Quinn?" Robin repeated. Starfire stepped up and spoke to the old man.
"So all of this…" She gestured towards the crowd of whistling men who were shouting and clapping, "… this is all just a dance?"
"…ehh…" The man raised his hand and shook it, making a 'so-so' gesture. "It's not really a dance…"
"Sounds more like a striptease." Robin murmured softly.
Starfire either did not hear him, or pretended to ignore his comment. "Ah, I see." She said and she nodded to Robin and to the man, as though she felt good about the new attraction. "Thank you, Good Sir! We'll be on our way." She gently tugged at the crook of Robin's arm and she began to drag him away.
As they were walking in the opposite direction of the new tent, Robin continued to mumble beneath his breath about how odd it was for them to move in a new attraction… above all… a new attraction that was of a strangely obscene nature. He felt in the pit of his stomach that something was off.
"Robin!" Starfire shouted at him playfully. She fully sensed the slight discomfort he was feeling and it pained her inside to know how he felt. This was their day to relax… wind back… let it all go… Chill Out! As they earthlings would have said. Though of course, there was no ice, and it was in fact, a rather hot night. "Look!" She pointed to the sky and the stars were glittering very dimly. Especially with all of the lights of the carnival… it almost seemed to put the natural light of the stars to shame.
"Stars." Robin spoke. He smiled gently and pulled Starfire into a close embrace. "I'm sorry I'm so worked up, Kor.(*)" He whispered to her. "… I'm just… you know?" Starfire cut him off with a soft kiss and she waved her hand.
"Let's go have fun."
...
Robin smiled and followed her to the Ferris wheel where they usually had their "fun" discussions.
As their ride was nearly over as well as their conversation… they were caught off guard by loud, obnoxious, yet… seductive female laughter and immediately, Robin's head turned towards the new tent. A voice… a sweet, seductive woman's voice came ringing throughout the entire carnival.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Step right up! Step Right up! To the most Amazing Show…" Her voice trailed off and became fuzzy with static. As though she were speaking over a loud speaker. "Witness something you've never seen before, Heard before, DREAMT before!..." Static overtook her once more, "The Most Amazing Show!" A loud "BOOM" filled the ears of both Robin and Starfire and again, the laughter rang.
Screaming followed the laughter… and then, the heinous spurting sound of liquid… Robin bit his lower lip and he could tell… it wasn't a water bottle that had just spilled.
"Titans, Go!" He yelled and he jumped out of their cart and began to run to the tent. Starfire quickly followed in suit, though she was the only Titan that was with him. She jumped into the air and flew with all hast after Robin.
As they entered the tent, there they saw what looked like a battlefield. There were countless bodies lying across the hay… and there were fresh, goopy blood stains covering all walls of the tent. In the center of the ring… there stood a woman. A beautiful, shapely woman wearing a jester costume of red and black. On her left breast and on her right thigh there were the four suits of cards… Each to the contrast of the other. Red Hearts and Red Diamonds were on her thigh where the black dominated her costume, while the Black Spade and the Black Clover sat on her breast where red was more present. She had no visible hair, as it was all covered by a red and black jester hat with large, white puffs on each end. Her skin was oddly pale and covered in coats of make up and her lips… Very full and painted with a glossy tar colored black.
She laughed again and Robin's face contorted with anger.
"Who are you?!" He yelled as he ran up to her and leaned over into a defensive stance.
"Ha. That doesn't matter. But I'll tell you this, I know you… Robin." Her glossy black lips curled into a smirk and she threw her arm into the air… She was holding something in her hand and Robin couldn't tell whether it was something threatening or not. She giggled softly and threw down the object with such force that the hay beneath it had risen from the ground upon contact. Robin waited, and it seemed to last an eternity before anything happened. All of a sudden, an enormous "BOOM" can out of the object and the entire tent lit up in flames.
"Robin!" Starfire's voice echoed off the slick walls of the tent. Robin coughed and slowly peered through the thick smoke. The shadows casted by the cape that he had draped over himself made it even harder for him to see. His eyes brightened, however, when he finally saw the two glowing lights of Starfire's eyes. "Robin!" She screamed again as she had finally located him.
After a few long moments of screaming and running… the smoke cleared and the mysterious jester woman was gone.
Author's Note:
This is a fanfic that I started many, many years ago. I probably started this is 2011 and I stopped working on it in 2011, I came back to it in 2013 for one chapter and now I'm back working on it more.
I haven't been too inspired to write anything new lately. And I really, really want to write because a lot of stuff has been happening to me lately and I feel if I get back into the hang of writing again, it might give me some sort of outlet. So here goes.
I'm also in a computer limbo. I got a new computer and for some reason it's not letting me put Word on here so I'm stuck with crappy Wordpad. I also wrote all of these chapters in Microsoft Word, so it'll probably take me a while to proofread and edit the chapters accordingly.
Anyway, same as always, R&R
* I use Starfire's full name interchangeably. So, sometimes the other Titans will call her Koriandr, Kori, Kor, etc.