Teen Titans Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, its Production Company, Affiliates, and/or Sponsors. The plot line and any minor characters belong to me; similarities between major characters and any living person are unintentional.

ALONE

Jump City was quiet. There had been no major attacks over the past week which would usually have made her suspicious, if the amount of small time thefts hadn't increased. She was tired, sore and hungry. Returning to her one bedroom apartment seemed to be the best option at the moment, but she needed to remain on duty until at least 3.00am. The party below her would be ending at 2.50 and everybody would have left the building by 3.00. Glancing at her watch, Starfire groaned. The minute hand seemed to be travelling slower than normal, the hands changing to 1.34 after what seemed like hours. At that moment, she was crouched on top of the City Hall, issues with security forcing her to be there while the President was visiting for his election campaign. A barrel of laughter from within the stately building surprised her, but she kept her balance, wrapping her finger around her shoulder length hair. About 3 months after the disappearance of the other Titan's, she had rebelled, cutting her hair off completely. Horrified with the new look, and still emotional due to the pain her friends had caused, she fled. Due to her Tamaranian roots, it grew back within days and Starfire returned to Jump City, determined to protect it, but remain in the shadows, fearing that if she made any other friends, they would abandon her. She had reverted back to the uniform she had worn when she arrived on Earth, finding it provided better protection due to the silver armour protecting her arms and legs. The rest of it was black which suited her mood nowadays, but she left the headpiece, leaving her hair in a ponytail to prevent it falling into her eyes.

It had been almost five years since they had vanished, the anniversary of the disappearance coming up in six days. The past years, she had locked herself away and refused to come out, finding it easier to deal when she was alone. But this year would be different. Starfire had become less Tamaranian everyday. She still had her strength, her flight, her starbolts, and had become stronger due to constant training. Yet she felt little, preferring to remain unemotional. At one time she had contemplated meditation, but it had brought back memories of Raven that she had hidden in the depths of her mind. Finding it easier and more relaxing to listen to others, Starfire visited a small Cafe known as "Time Flies" every day around lunch, unless her heroic duties got in the way. To pass the time, she would drink a hot chocolate and listen to the other customers chat. No one recognised her anymore - she had dyed her hair brown as well as cutting it and wore dark glasses to hide her green eyes. The press could never catch her after a fight - she always fled, preventing them gaining interviews or pictures. The government of Jump City still paid for her expenses, allowing her to buy a simple four-room apartment. It had been home for the past 4 and 8 months. After four months with no word, Starfire had given up hope and shut down the Tower. Any technology that could be used by villans, she smashed it to pieces, finding herself with no need since Cyborg had been the one to work it.

Starfire was practically unrecognisable, her increased skill and power, combined with the dark look, created a vigilante to rival Batman. She was cold and revealed little even in her "human" guise. She preferred to keep to herself, and began to read books of all kinds, disliking fairy tales due to the happily ever after's they had created. To villains, she sounded both smarter and less naive, her old way of speaking gone, helping her blend in. Though still beautiful, Starfire had become gaunt, cooking only when necessary, and eating little, finding herself busy as the amount of evil that happened increased. She was alone, fighting villians that all five of them had found difficult defeating. Slade had returned, about a year after, and found himself facing an altogether different person. Starfire had bided her time, until, in a fit of rage, she had almost killed him. Horrified at how close she had come to crossing the line, she had visited Batman, having learned of him from Robin. She had begged him to help her, until he consented, creating someone who felt nothing on most days, who controlled her emotions with the efficiency of a cook cracking an egg. She returned to Jump City, returning to the dusty apartment and this time did not leave. He had not just trained her in controlling her emotions - the training was deadly, as he pushed her harder than anyone had ever pushed her before. Starfire sensed the anger underneath the mask, the pain he felt at Robin's disapparance. She had let him believe they had been kidnapped, knowing that if she had told him they left with no reason, left behind their duties, this rage might turn to hatred. By training her, Batman was both releasing his anger, and, in his own twisted way, letting himself believe it would help Robin to return. After she had left and returned to Jump City, Batman had contacted her, raging at her for not trying to locate Robin. She had listened, then hung up, and there had been no contact between them since.

Starfire glanced down, her watch showing 2.49. Eleven more minutes to freedom. A sudden explosion within the party caused her grip on the edge of the roof to tighten, and she catapaulted off, her ability at hand to hand combat on the ground having improved due to Batman's training. She was ready for anything the villans threw at her, and she would stop them and save the day, because that was her duty.

Soon however, she would find herself in a situation that would not only destroy the persona she had created, but cause the spiral of her own destruction to spin out of control.

They had returned.