Cyborg's directions on how to track down Beast Boy were fresh in her mind as she flew toward the park. As he had said, just past the bridge, huge circus tents with pennant flags rose up, and she caught sight of a large cage to her far left side. A poster was taped to a pole a few feet in front of the cage, and she curiously flew toward it as its top corners bent to the cold wind's will.
Feet soundlessly sinking into the snow, she pressed down the flyaway flaps. Gasping with shock, her eyes widened as she realized Cyborg had unfortunately been right about her green friend's fate, as was depicted on the advertisement: a grass-hued merge of numerous animals' heads and limbs, and above the drawing, the words, 'One Man Zoo: Freakish Wonder.' He really had reduced his talents to circus tricks…
Looking beyond the pole and its contents, she painfully watched as Beast Boy morphed into different animals and played with a ball for an audience of two boys. They were disinterested, that she could even tell with their backs turned toward her, meaning he could see it, too; when they chucked snowballs at and taunted him, he merely hid. Somehow, she knew this wasn't the first time this had happened.
Right after they left, she flew to him, and he dazedly crawled from his hiding place, morphing from pig back to human on his way. His mouth was dry and open in astonishment, green eyes expanding beyond the normal limit.
She had never thought one of her friends would look at her that way, like he had never been so happy to see someone whom loved him, and she could guess the reason. He had been put through this same abuse for years, and to finally have someone treat him kindly, especially the cause of his reversion… She blinked back tears, gripping the cage's bars carefully so as not to crush them.
"Starfire…?!" His deeper, disbelieving voice startled her from her understandings, and she yelped in surprise. His gloved hand came to rest upon hers soothingly, and as she lifted her head, there was a sad, relieved smile on his face. She frowned as she laid her other hand on his, eyes darkening. She had been the source of so much pain…
Regardless, she told him of her mission and readied herself to vaporize the bars with her starbolts, but he pleadingly yelled for her to stop. Confused, she lowered her arms and let go of her fury, her countenance worried as she assessed the fear in his eyes. Had he gone crazy during her absence? Was she supposed to believe he actually liked this way of life?!
He sighed heavily and partially averted her eyes as he recounted what he had done since her disappearance, morphing into a chicken to emphasize his point without having to say it. Hearing about Beast Boy going solo, being without his friends, was one thing she'd never expected; making them laugh was what kept him breathing, or so she could deduce, and without that criterion being implemented…he had given up.
Now, more than ever, she wished she had never gone after Warp.
"I am sorry, Beast Boy," Her voice shook, head was bowed, and shoulders trembled without aid from the cold. She was a pitiful spectacle, indeed, and the man didn't know how much more he could take. "It is my fault you are like this, why everyone is unwilling to communicate. I did not know this would happen, but I am sorry to have been the one to trigger your predicament. Will you forgive me?"
Reaching through the bars again, ones that shouldn't have been there in the first place, his free hand's gentle fingers pushed up her chin. Tears glittered in her emerald eyes, and it took all he had to keep salty crystals from his own; he had never seen Starfire cry before, but now, he knew he never wanted to see it again.
"Why are you apologizing, Star? This wasn't your fault. We chose to end things; we chose to do what we did with the rest of our lives. This," he gestured to the cage around him, to the people and places in his mind they couldn't see, "has nothing to do with you…okay?"
She was touched by his attempt at reassurance, which she showed in her appreciative half-smile, but she couldn't bring herself to be truly comforted. Already, two of her friends had denied her their abilities in her effort to stop Warp, though each had had either a physical or psychological excuse. If Robin, should he be locatable, and Raven did the same, what would she do…?
Glancing up at Beast Boy, overweight, bald, and aged as he was, she couldn't bear it if the others said no as well. She needed to get back to her own time, needed help, but her friends were too busy dwelling on the work of the Wreckmas to notice much of anything else.
She didn't blame Beast Boy for his cowardice, of course. She knew how hard it was to get back up after being forced down so many times, how long it took for the physical pain to go away. She had experienced very similar torments on her own planet, when she had been young and in combat training with her sister.
Blackfire would always render her barely conscious before Galfor realized and stepped in to stop her assault. It would take days for some of the bruises and cuts to heal, and even then, they would be replenished in surplus the next time around.
Despite everything, Starfire had loved her sister dearly, thinking she only meant to prepare her for any opponent that should cross her path. Yet, she had been 'naive', as the Earthlings say, to the fact that there were emotional scars to go along with the physical ones.
Blackfire had never been especially kind to her sister, and it had only been when she had visited recently that Starfire was able to see the heartbreaking truth. Her sister had gone so hard on her growing up because she'd been jealous of her, and she had finally allowed that jealousy to overtake her to the point of trying to get rid of the redhead for good.
She had been repeatedly emotionally and physically kicked all her life, and so, in a way, she felt Beast Boy's pain.
Coming back from her reverie, she locked eyes with the green shape-shifter, much older than the fourteen-year-old she remembered. Even if he had protested, her heart still knew this was her doing, making her more determined than ever to fix it.
If she was going to mend it at all, she would have to leave soon. First, however, there was something she needed to do.
Giving him a tiny, mostly legitimate smile, she beckoned him to come closer with a wave of her hand. Puzzled, he shuffled forward on his knees, and when he was close enough, she slipped her thin arms through the bars and wrapped her arms as best she could around his form, laying her head on his chest.
She heard his heart beat faster, sensed the rise in his body temperature and bumps sprout on his skin. It had been a long time since he had gotten a hug, received affection of any kind, and he was not about to pass it up as he returned it strongly.
Closing her eyes and grinning, she relished his warmth, heightened by his unfamiliar girth, and took in the pulse and sound of his heartbeat eagerly. She had not had many opportunities to embrace Beast Boy in her own time, though she was sure he would gladly have accepted it, and she would not let this chance go to waste.
They stayed that way for numerous minutes, but she reluctantly pulled back in the end, neither of them yet willing to release the other. Even so, they both knew she had a duty, one with which he was ashamed to have refused to facilitate, and there was no getting around it. She would have had to leave eventually, no matter what.
As a sudden thought occurred to her, she plaintively looked to the dark skies above them, brow furrowed. Gradually, she brought her face down to peer at him, calm again.
"I love you, you know." Her voice was almost imperceptibly tight, yet still strong and hopeful, and he reacted in much the way Cyborg had. A soft smile graced his green lips, eyes sparkling as his body, mind, and heart were put at ease, if just for the moment. The words only made clearer what was already written across his face.
"I know…" It was a confirmation; one not new to them, but precious all the same. Their relationship had grown stronger since their encounter with the Nature Brothers, Thunder and Lightning, and they had been known to profess such things to each other in private.
In the following moment, she was gone, a path of green energy trailing her as she headed for the final, known destination.
A/N: When it says (at the end), '...they had been known to profess such things to each other in private', I mean they express friend love. Whatever you prefer, though.
A/N: Thanks to those whom have favorited/alerted/reviewed so far! Your support is very much loved!