Long chapter, but I have my reasons ^_^

Chapter 3

Safe House

The safe house was not what she expected it to be. The Titans, Batman and other superheroes had safe houses as she remembered, but they were usually in old warehouses, old houses, service garages or the occasional backup headquarters like the Titans had in Central America like the one Beast Boy used to plan his attack on the Brotherhood of Evil. Instead this was a rather nice middle class home on the banks overlooking the Mississippi River and surrounded by trees with a gravel driveway that led off from the secondary county road they took to get here. The closest neighbor was about a quarter of a mile away and she could not see their house from here.

She was standing in the kitchen wearing a pair of cutoff sweats and an old black T-shirt with a logo of a rock band on it. She was looking out of the kitchen window watching the flow of the river. The house itself sat on a bluff overlooking the river, and was set back about 100 feet from the edge of the bluff to protect it from all but the most devastating floods. She was sipping on a cup of mustard she poured herself while waiting for Red X to finish showering.

The house was cozy and she found it to her liking. While she lived on Earth she had only been in a few homes besides Titans Tower that she shared with the others. The Tower was cold and mechanical, like the interior of a space ship, but it had a nice view. The only others she stayed in were Wayne Manor, a cold, dark, brooding structure like its owner; the apartment she shared with Dick Grayson for a while before she left and the home of Beast Boy's foster parents Steve and Rita Dayton. She realized in all the time she had spent on this world she never really saw what regular humans lived like.

She heard footsteps behind her, "Like the view?" A voice said belonging to Red X, though it no longer had the filtered quality caused by the mask.

"It is a most pleasant view. I forgot how much water there is on this world. The river is very serene and calming to look at in this setting," She said still looking out the window.

"Yeah it can be pretty calming. You hungry? You know that mustard would taste a lot better on a hot dog or burger. I can grill us up some if you'd like?"

"Thank you, I am the famished. I hope you do not mind that I poured myself a cup of mustard. I so missed this wonderfully tangy beverage while back on Tamaran."

"No problem Gorgeous. I heard you liked the stuff as a drink, didn't believe it until now. So hey, let me fire up the grill, and we'll be eating in no time."

"Please, will you call me Star…" She was in the middle of turning around to face him, but what she saw stopped her in mid-sentence.

The voice was that of Red X, but the young man she was looking at was not wearing the Red X mask. It was a little disconcerting to her to see him without his mask on. It was months after she arrived on Earth before she saw Dick Grayson without his on and that was by accident. Now she sees Red X without the mask and it was only a few hours after their quick alliance. Not only that she was shocked at how similar to Dick Grayson he looked, well at first anyway. His hair was black like Dick's but not as shiny or full bodied, instead his was strait and he kept it cropped short. His eyes were blue, but not the deep cerulean blue that Dick's eyes were, more of a sky blue. The facial structure was more round as were his eyes, but there was a hardness to his eyes that Dick's never had. He also had a permanent smirk on his face and a cocky sense of arrogance like someone who thought he was more than he really was. He was built heavier than Dick was too, not fat, but larger framed, more like a, she had to think what they were called…, like a boxer.

"You were saying Gorgeous?" He said with a cocky, but friendly smile.

"Uh, oh yes, please just call me Starfire." She said turning her eyes away from him.

"Sure, but Gorgeous fits you too. By the way, do you have a name other than Starfire? I mean c'mon, I wasn't born with the name Red X you know."

Starfire smiled at him a little. "I surmised as much, but Earth customs are strange and to be honest I did not know that "Robin" was not his real name for some time until he told me that he was Dick Grayson. I only knew him as Robin. But to answer your question, Starfire is a close translation of my Tamaranian name in English."

"Wow, so you really are Starfire, that's interesting. I thought you had another name though since I heard Dick call you Kori sometimes."

Starfire raised an eyebrow at that. "And when did you hear him call me that?"

"Oh at different times here or there, but that's not important now, so what's up with him calling you Kori."

"It is a short version of my Tamaranian name, Koriand'r."

"Well that makes sense. I like the name, Kori seems to fit you."

"You may call me Kori if you wish, I do not mind since it is my name."

"Sure, Kori it is then," Red X said with a smile and wink.

"Now that you know the truth about my name, do you mind telling me just who you really are Red X?" Starfire said crossing her arms and jutting her left hip out.

Red X grimaced then shrugged. "Sure why not, if we're going to be partners then you may as well know who I am. Hello Starfire, my name is Jason Todd, pleased to meet you."

Starfire wrinkled her brow upon hearing that name. "Jason Todd, Jason Todd…, wait a minute are you not Dick's adopted brother? I thought you were dead."

Jason smirked and shook his head, "Yes I am one of the Wayne boys and no I am clearly not dead. Though I came real close, the Joker nearly beat me to death, and tried to finish me off while blowing up the warehouse he was holding me in, but I was able to crawl out in time and out of the blast zone. Batman found me and thought I was dead, but saw that I wasn't. He set things up to make it look like I was dead though to bring out the Joker from hiding and to tell you the truth I stayed in a coma for nearly a year in a very private hospital in Switzerland, but I survived."

"So you've been Red X all along, well except for the time Robin was Red X, but all the other times it was you?"

"Yep, it was me, and you know what, ole Bats put me up to it. He wanted the suit himself, wanted to know how Dick made it and got it too work. He gave me the codes to the Tower, and I got in one day while you all were out, took the suit and equipment then high-tailed it out of there. I couldn't resist trying it out though and taunting Dick with it. It was fun until he got the belt that controlled the suit, which earned me the ire of Batman, but I did download the plans and was able to make a new belt with Batman's resources. For a while I lived a double life, one as the second Robin and the other as Red X, until my near death that is."

Jason paused for a moment looking down at his bare feet then back up at Starfire, smiling at her. "When I got back I didn't want to be Robin anymore, so I stole the suit from Bats and started my own life as Red X, master thief, defender of the oppressed and scourge to the oppressor. As long as I stay out of Gotham, Bats leaves me alone, so I hit different cities here and there, but not always as Red X, sometimes I'm just Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne's prodigal foster son. Most times though, especially in Gotham, I'm the Red Hood, wielder of cold justice. Besides as much power as the suit gives me, I don't like wearing it for long, xynothium is not the safest stuff to be wearing as a fashion statement and too many teleport jumps makes one quite ill after a while. So I've been Red Hood more often than Red X lately."

Starfire smiled nervously at Jason, "Uhm, so… you normally do not don the Red X costume?"

"Nope, not anymore, unless I need to get something that is heavily guarded or deep in some vault. Which was the case today, fortunately I was able to get what I went after, which I'll be handing over to my client later today… after we eat of course." He then rummaged in the refrigerator for the items he needed, pulling out some pre-made patties and a package of hotdogs.

"If you wish you can join me on the deck while I grill these up."

"I would like that yes," Starfire said, following Jason out the sliding glass door to the wooden deck in the back of the house.

Starfire stood at the edge of the deck, taking in the view, the sounds, the scents all around her now. It was warm by Earth standards, but mildly pleasant to her. She could hear the birds singing, calling out to each other, the insects and their various noises, the distant sound of a river boat horn coming from the river that somehow made her feel melancholy and causing the old memories to try to surface in her conscious again. She closed her eyes in an effort to drive the memories back to their dungeon using her Kolas tik Nal training. It was hard, but she must or she would be weak again, like she was when she lived here years ago. There was one voice that would not go away though and she fought hard against it, but it was persistent. She then realized the voice was outside her mind and jumped with a start.

"Oh hey, are you ok? You seemed gone there for a minute."

She glared at the male before her, wanting to blast him, then she remembered where she was and looked down at the wood planks of the deck, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Excuse me, I was, oh how do you say… 'lost in the thought.' Were you saying something to me?" Starfire asked Jason quietly in an attempt to calm down the warrior in her.

"I'd say you were lost Kori, looked like you were in pain too. Everything alright?"

Starfire regained her composure. "I am well Jason, I was just acclimating myself to Earth again, it has been a while and the lush environment can be overwhelming."

Jason nodded his head, "Sure… Anyway I was asking you if you were worried about the Titans or Justice League catching up with you. I'm sure the Flash has notified them you're here? You're not gonna get all sentimental if you see them are you?"

Starfire shook her head and grimaced, "Jason for your information those people are nothing to me anymore, but sights and scents. As a Tamaranian, I have no reason to remember humans or things about them. To be honest, once I move on that is all you will be to me as well. I once made the mistake of thinking of humans and their ways as equal to that even better than that of my people, but after fourteen years of living on my homeworld again it was clear to me how foolish that was. I will not make that mistake again."

The look on Jason's face was a thoughtful one, "Dick really hurt you didn't he?"

Starfire's face grew hard, "You are not to mention that one's name again in my presence, is that understood!" She commanded.

Jason smirked and held up his hand as if to wave her away. "Sure, not a problem with me, we'll just leave it at that. The burgers and dogs will be done in a bit. I need to run in and get us some buns, chips and stuff. You wanna help?"

She nodded her head in agreement, "Yes, tell me what you need."

"Great, we'll bring the stuff out here and eat on the deck, c'mon." Jason turned and headed back to the kitchen and Starfire followed him back in.

He grabbed a pack of hamburger and hotdog buns, and asked her to grab some plates while he got the cheese, garnishes and condiments ready. They brought what they could outside, then he turned off the grill and they went back and grabbed a bag of chips and six pack of craft beer, bringing everything to the table on the deck. He then put the burgers and dogs on a platter and brought those over to the table and started to make himself a plate.

Starfire watched as Jason made his plate and she did the same, she'd almost forgotten how to eat human food, and had to remember human etiquette. She was famished though and had quite a few burgers, hot dogs and chips. Jason stared at her in amazement, not believing she could eat that much. The burgers and hotdogs she had were very good to her and she thanked Jason for making them.

"Glad you liked them Kori. You must have been hungry?"

"Her cheeks flushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Yes, very, I am sorry to have eaten some much, like some half-starved snorfblat.

"No, no…, that's fine. I'm sure that long of a trip made you a bit hungry. So tell me what brings you back to Earth?" Jason asked.

Starfire toyed with the remains of the food on her plate, then looked up at Jason. "I would rather not speak of that just now." She said then continued to toy with the stray chips.

"Ok, it's your business." He said then drank some beer. "Mind helping me clean up here, I need to meet my client soon and I can't keep them waiting."

"Sure, I can help. Will you need my assistance with your client?" Starfire said in an unsure voice.

"Not this time, they're easily spooked and I'm afraid your presence will do just that. Instead you can hang around here, watch TV or browse the Internet or just take a nap. I shouldn't be too long though."

Starfire nodded her head. "Alright, I would like to see how much has changed since I left and I do feel I need some rest." She stood up and stacked their plates.

They both cleaned up the table and the kitchen, then Jason headed upstairs.

Starfire walked into a room that contained a couple of sofas, overstuffed reclining chairs and a large flat screen television mounted on a wall at one end of the room. She looked around and found what she was looking for, and picked up the rectangular implement covered in buttons that humans called the remote. She looked at it and remembered the symbols and their usage, then pointed it at the television, turning it on. The TV automatically displayed a menu of available programming and she perused through it until she found a news based channel, selecting it to watch. She then sat down on one of the sofas and curled her legs under her, numbly staring at the screen.

Her thoughts were less on the talking head and video clips of war, politics and banal entertainers; they were instead on what made her leave Earth in the first place and the events that drove her back. As much as she wanted, and no mastery of the Kolas tik Nal would help her to forget the betrayal of Richard Grayson and the other Titans, it was the turning point in her life. It was what reminded her that she was not a human of this Earth, but a princess of Tamaran and had once been Grand Ruler. She realized in that moment she had only been fooling herself for the past few years hoping to find friendship and love in such lowly creatures. Though Richard Grayson's betrayal was hurtful enough, it was the one she considered her adopted sister, Raven that angered her the most. Raven's attempt to enter her mind to make her forget Richard Grayson's betrayal was a violation of her being and she hated Raven for it.

In her anger she blasted Raven with a star bolt as well as the others that were there and in her rage flew from Wayne Manor as fast and as far as she could to run from the humiliation brought upon her. When she calmed down, she found herself in the Alpha Centauri system. She looked back in the direction of Earth's sun and for a minute thought about going back, if only to hear his side of the story. The humiliation was too much though and instead she turned toward her home star, Vega and after recharging her energy at Alpha Centauri, she headed home.

When she arrived at the palace, Galfore knew right away something was wrong. When she told Galfore of the betrayal, he wanted to declare war on Earth, but she disapproved. Instead she told him the people of Earth were not worth the time or energy. Instead she wished to return to her status as princess, and resume her duties to Tamaran. Galfore agreed and sent a communication to Nightwing warning him to never try to communicate with Starfire, or Princess Koriand'r ever again or he would personally behead him.

Shortly after her return she was married in a state marriage to Prince Karras of Kallapatt, the southern continent of Tamaran. The marriage was arranged by their parents before she was even born and now she was obligated to honor it. Of course the war with the Citadel, the incident with Blackfire and her making Galfore the Grand Ruler changed things at the time, but the arrangement was still technically in force.

The marriage was a pleasant one for an arranged marriage and she learned to love Karras very much. He was a good man and a fine warrior and he adored her greatly, though in truth, like many Tamaranian royals, he had a lover on the side, a woman who he could never marry as she was a commoner, though a fine officer in the Royal Fleet. It was in the fleet where Karras met Tayria and she became his first officer when he was captain of a Tamaranian war cruiser. Out of respect and love for Starfire, Karras told her up front about Tayria. She told Karras she understood and was thankful for his honesty, but inside she hurt knowing Karras would never fully be hers.

Though he loved both women, it was Tayria who owned his heart. It saddened Starfire, but Karras did all he could to make her happy, and he was even willing to call off his affair with Tayria. She would not allow it though, knowing it would hurt him deeply if he did. She understood, even if she hated Richard Grayson for what he did to her, unfortunately he would always own her heart and it made her despise him even more. That she'd given her heart to a human that betrayed her made her feel ashamed and not worthy of her title, but she would always hold her head up high.

Unfortunately she would lose Karras in a terrorist attack on the palace staged by his own estranged sister, Xyannis. The attack also killed Tayria, and the child she was carrying. Starfire tried to give Karras a child too, a true royal heir to both thrones, but she could not conceive. The physicians were not sure as to why, but attributed it to the genetic manipulation the Psions did to her years ago, the same manipulation that gave her and her sister the ability to fire star bolts and eye beams and to fly in space unaided for an unlimited amount of time.

With help from the Omega Men, the Tamaranian government was able to subdue the terrorists and it was then she found out her brother was still alive and part of the Omega Men. When he found out his sister Koriand'r was back on Tamaran, he returned home. Galfore, who was injured in the terrorist attack, offered the Crown to Ryand'r and he took it reluctantly becoming the new Grand Ruler and to strengthen his reign he proposed a marriage between Koriand'r and General Ph'yzzon of the Order of the Golden Sun and highest ranking officer of the Tamaranian Army. Starfire agreed, but reluctantly since Ph'yzzon was much older than her.

Ryand'r also reached out to their older sister Blackfire and promised her pardon of all crimes against Tamaran and the royal family, if she agreed to be his High Counselor and Foreign Minister. Blackfire agreed and returned to Tamaran and assumed the role of High Counselor and Foreign Minister. She also made an attempt to be cordial to Starfire, claiming she had repented of her actions and wished to be a true sister to both her siblings. Starfire accepted Blackfire's offer to forgive all past crimes and for a time the And'r family ruled Tamaran again and into prosperity.

After a few years of marriage to Ph'yzzon, Starfire finally conceived a child and there was a great celebration in the palace. The pregnancy filled Stafire's heart with joy, the thought of being a mother helping her to forget the sadness of her past. She happily prepared the palace nursery, decorating it in traditional purples. Unfortunately her joy would be replaced with sorrow.

During this time her brother had formed alliances with other worlds in the Vegan system to stand up the reign of terror of the Citadel and their Gordanian servants. He used Blackfire's knowledge of Citadel and Gordanian strategies and battle tactics to formulate a plan of attack, then with his Omega Man connections launched a surprise attack against the Citadel. The war against the Citadel was successful, but it upset the order of the Vegan worlds, which in turn brought on the ire of the Psions.

The Psions did not like that the power structure of their star system sized laboratory had changed and proceeded to attack Tamaran. The attacks were vicious and though the Tamaranian war fleet fought bravely, it was no match to the superior technology the Psions. Eventually the Psion fleet surrounded Tamaran and used a singularity device to start a cascading chain reaction in the core of the planet causing it to implode. Many Tamaranians lost their lives with the survivors what was left of the Tamaranian war fleet. Of those lost was Ryand'r and the burden of rule fell to both Blackfire and Starfire.

The survivors regrouped and intended to make a new home on a continent of the planet Karna, which was also inhabited by and agricultural and peaceful tribe of the Gordanians. The desperate Tamaranians planned to attack this particular tribe of Gordanians, but Starfire objected. She stated that these Gordanians did not have the capacity for war and only wanted to live in peace, but her sister and husband overruled her on the premise that all Gordanians were natural enemies of the Tamaranian people. They both ordered a devastating attack on the main Gordanian city and outlying settlements. Starfire looked on in horror as her people became that which they despised, merciless conquerors, and tried to warn the Gordanians.

Unfortunately her husband, General Ph'yzzon caught her in her attempt to warn the Gordanians and had her arrested and brought before her sister Queen Komand'r. Starfire pleaded her case not only as a co-reigning Queen, but on Tamaranian tradition. Komand'r stated that old traditions no longer applied and that their people needed a home to live and the Gordanians would always be an enemy to the people. Komand'r then asked the High Counsel to rule in Starfire's case which her husband was the head of. The decision was 11 to 1 in favor of banishment into exile, the only member being the current head of the House of Ras, the family of her first husband.

With that, Starfire was branded a traitor and stripped of her titles, given a small shuttle and told to leave the Vegan system forever. If she returned she was to be executed on sight. Starfire left her people distraught at what had befallen her. She left the Vega star system and wondered the vicinity for some time, not knowing what to do, and was nearly captured by a Psion science vessel. She barely escaped and it was then she decided her only recourse was to return to Earth.

She was quietly sobbing when Jason came back downstairs. He watched for a moment, not sure what to do. He felt sorry for her, and maybe one day she'd tell him what happened, but he'd give her time. No need to pressure her now. After a few moments he coughed like he was clearing his throat. Starfire froze for a moment then wiped her eyes with her hands and used a napkin to dry up her nose. Then she slowly turned with a hard look on her face that turned to questioning look as she tilted her head.

Jason was now wearing a black leather jacket, gray pants, biker boots and a darker gray Kevlar shirt with a bat logo emblazoned on it. He also had on leather gloves and was carrying a red helmet that had a red face mask. Jason noticed her look and smiled at her.

"Starfire, meet the Red Hood. I need to leave now, will you be ok?"

She nodded her head to say yes.

"Ok, well here's a cell phone for you to use in case you absolutely need to call me or I need to call you. I should be gone only a couple of hours, but if not, stay until I contact you. If I don't contact you in 24 hours, head to this address…" he handed her a card with an address on in that was in California.

"Head there as fast as you can and follow the directions you'll find when you enter the code printed on the bottom right of the card into the small key pad by the door, got it."

"Yes I believe so," She said looking at the card.

"Good. Listen that's only a failsafe for you in the rare possibility something happens to me, but don't worry ok. It's part of the life I live and you'll get used to it if you stay around long enough. Well I need to go now. Sit tight ok?"

"Yes I will do that. I believe I shall take the nap, while you are out, I am quite tired at the moment."

"Alright, see ya later Kori," Jason said as he headed down to the basement where the access to a hidden bunker was.

Starfire watched him leave, then picked up a pillow and hugged it to her chest. She was happy to be safe, but she still was unsure of her status here. She also hoped the others would not find her; she had no desire to see them again and the pain that would come with it.

She readjusted herself on the couch so she could lie on it with her head hanging off the seats edge, her legs dangling over the back. Once she was comfortable, she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

In my head canon Red X is Jason Todd. I always thought Red X was the Teen Titans cartoon version of the Red Hood and so, it made sense to me to make Jason Red X. I also think Batman would have put Jason up to stealing the suit to get the technical specs of it, but Jason couldn't help but taunt Dick with having it and doing some flirting with Starfire.

The story of Starfire's return to Tamaran has a few comic lore cameos in it and I took some liberty with them, loosely adapting Starfire's comic story when she left Earth after her failed wedding to Dick Grayson. Quite a bit of backstory there, but I want you all to get an idea of the emotional trauma Starfire has been through since leaving Earth and the reason for her being colder now.