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Beast Boy began to panic as his childhood friend tried to undress him. He grabbed her hands and pushed them away. She looked at him with a hurt look on her face.
"Do you not like me Garfield? Am I not pleasing to you?"
"Of course I like you." He stammered "Too much in fact" he said as he tried not to stare at her semi clad figure.
"Then what's wrong my beloved? Do you not find your betrothed to be desirable?"
"My betrothed?" he gulped.
"Don't you remember? You promised to take me as your wife when you returned."
Beast Boy began to cough violently.
"I was just a boy when I told you that."
She frowned. "You gave me your word."
Beast Boy was stunned. He was still trying to process all that had happened. His best friend Didi, who was a stick figure the last time he saw her had turned into a Nubian goddess. A naked goddess. A goddess who wanted to be his wife and was ready to consummate her love for him right then and there. Now he understood the saying "be careful what you wish for, you might just get it."
"I know, but I just got back Didi, and well, you've changed."
"I hope it's been for the best." She replied.
"Oh yes Didi, you have no idea." He replied breathlessly.
She smiled and threw her arms around him, pressing their now bare chests together.
"You are shy!"
"How did you guess?" he replied in a high pitched voice. "Why don't we go back to the village? I can give you a ride."
He morphed into a magnificent green stallion. She stared in disbelief. She has seen him morph into animals before, but never into something so large. The green horse kneeled down and gestured with his head, motioning her to mount on his back, which she did. He took off galloping briskly up the hillside towards the village as she giggled.
The village was not as Beast Boy had expected it. As soon as they arrived she dismounted and he morphed back into his human self. The village was in a severe state of disrepair and the only ones to greet him were women, small children, some teenage girls and a few elders.
"What happened here? Where are all the men?" he asked.
One of the elders approached him. Beast Boy recognized him. It was Karulu.
"Welcome home Garfield." The elderly man said as he placed a friendly hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "It is good to have a young man in the village again."
Beast Boy found himself surrounded by several shapely young girls. None of them were as stunning as Didi, but they were all lovely nonetheless.
"What happened to the men?" he asked. "Where are they?"
One of the young maidens replied. "They were taken away to fight in the civil war, as where the teenage boys." said the girl named Mukta. "The war ended a year ago, but they never returned. Their wives went to search for them, but few women returned, all empty handed. We now have many orphans to care for."
Beast Boy bent over to pick up a small boy who was tugging at his leg. He couldn't have been older than 3. He did not look malnourished, which was a great relief for the changeling.
"We have been receiving food from the United Nations." Didi told him. "We converted your family's old brick house into an orphanage for them. Mukta, Neela and I care for the children."
Karulu spoke up. "Didi has had dreams foretelling your return Garfield. This is a blessed and joyous time. We must prepare to celebrate your wedding to Didi." The old man smiled, then chuckled "If you want, you can marry all the girls, for they too are pleased with your return."
Beast Boy saw the excited looks on all the young maidens' faces. He remembered Mukta and Neela from his childhood days. He wished Raven could have seen this. He briefly toyed with the idea of marrying all the teens in the village and then inviting the Titans for a visit! That would show the witch who was a stud. He smiled inwardly before dismissing the idea.
"Karulu, there is much work to do here. I need to repair the village before there can be any weddings or celebrations."
Didi frowned as he said that. Karulu was standing next to her and whispered into her ear.
"Be patient child. He has just returned to us. Give him some time and he will be yours."
Raven stormed up to Robin, her anger clearly visible on her face.
"We need to talk! In the evidence room. Now!"
"Raven, there's nothing to discuss, now why don't you just calm do…" He was unable to finish his sentence as Raven had encased him in obsidian light and dragged him away, not releasing him until they were alone in the evidence room.
"Care to explain your choice of "replacement" for Beast Boy." She grilled him.
"What the hell's wrong with you? Kara's a Kryptonian! She a fantastic addition to the team!"
"She's a replacement for Starfire, you pig! Don't deny it!"
"You're crazy!" he replied.
"And how come I wasn't involved in the selection. I thought I was your second in command!"
Robin smiled coyly.
"So that's what this is all about. I never gave you that title Raven and I don't owe you any explanations. And why do you think Kara's a replacement for Starfire?"
If there was anything Raven would not tolerate it was being disingenuous. Robin remembered well what had happened 5 months ago. Starfire had been invited to participate in "Dueling Superheroes" on Metropolis TV. It was a charity show where viewers would text in their votes (for 99 cents a pop) on which superhero would be victorious over a series of challenges. They had been unsuccessful in finding a challenger for Supergirl until Starfire had accepted. The TV station made a big fuss over the pairing and the episode was shown not only on national TV but was also picked up by many international stations as well.
The show consisted of a series of challenges that would test the super heroines's speed, skills and raw strength. There has been much speculation over who would win, and the episode raised over $20 million dollars in votes, with a 2/3 majority voting for Kara. The "duel" ended up being a disaster for Starfire as Kara defeated her easily in every challenge. While she was a gracious loser, the Princess was humiliated, not only for herself but for Tamaran.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten how Starfire was humiliated by Kara on national TV?"
"Give Star some credit. She's a lot bigger than that!" Robin replied.
Raven gave him a death glare before storming out of the room.
I was afraid it would come to this. Now I'm probably going to have to replace Raven too and she'll be hard to replace. But I have to do this if I'm gonna build a stronger team. She thinks I'm being callous but the team has been stagnant, it's time for some new blood. Beast Boy had become a liability and entering into a relationship with Starfire was a mistake. We're heroes and we don't have time for that. I did them a favor and they'll eventually be much happier than if they stayed here.
Robin stared out the window into the nighttime sky. He was going to miss her, but he couldn't let anyone know. He had to set the example. He wiped away a tear that leaked out of his mask before returning to the common room.
Raven ran straight to Starfire's room and found the door was already open. She darted into the room and found Starfire packing her belongings. She had come to the same conclusion as Raven, she was being replaced. How could it not be? Beast Boy had even once described Kara as "Starfire on Steroids". She looked dejected, defeated. Robin had made no gesture to fend off Kara's affectionate kiss during the introduction. She was a replacement for Starfire in every sense of the word. She saw Raven enter the room and stopped packing.
"If it's any consolation, I don't blame you for leaving, not one bit."
"Thank you friend, it is good to know that someone understands."
"I want to come with you." The sorceress requested.
Starfire shook her head sadly. "It cannot be my friend. I cannot take you where I am going."
"Will you be returning to Tamaran?"
The Princess shook her head. "No, I will be joining friend Beast Boy in his exile."
Raven almost leaped out of her blue boots. "You know where he is? Why didn't you tell me? I've been looking everywhere for him!"
Starfire's face was a mosaic of sadness and remorse. "I do apologize dear friend, but I was sworn to secrecy. I cannot violate Beast Boy's trust. He was most angry with you when he left and until he tells me otherwise I cannot reveal his location to you."
Raven eyes begged Starfire to reconsider."Please Starfire, I need to apologize to him. Robin manipulated me to get rid of him."
Starfire looked sadly at Raven. "Do not blame Robin for your cruelty Raven. Yes he manipulated you, but he only used what was already there. You have been cruel to friend Beast Boy for a long time Raven and you cannot blame your actions on anyone other than yourself."
Raven stared at the floor as tears welled in her eyes. "You want him for yourself, don't you Starfire?"
"Perhaps I do. He is sweet, loyal, thoughtful and handsome too."
"Please take me with you." Raven pleaded.
"I am sorry friend Raven, but you already had your chance. Do not let this lesson go to waste."
Raven broke down in tears as the Tamaranian swiftly flew away.
Beast Boy was laying bricks, expanding the size of his old house, now the village orphanage. Didi and several small children had been helping him, mostly by handing the bricks to him. He had been with the villagers for almost a month now and was settling into his new life. He had brought his life savings with him, about $30,000 American dollars, and had been using some of his savings to buy construction materials. He had already repaired most of the homes in the village and the orphanage was all that was left to fix. He had already repaired the windows, replacing all the torn and missing screens and had done a nice job patching up the inside walls. He had also painted it inside and out and replaced the roof.
As he laid the last brick he had he shouted out "Who wants to go swimming?" The children squealed in delight and raced him to the stream that ran by the village. He was only wearing a pair of white shorts, which he dropped by the river bank before he jumped in, followed by several children and Didi. They had a blast for almost an hour, with the children jumping and climbing all over him, after which Didi called the children to come help her make some lunch, which consisted of rice, beans and some peppers. She kissed Beast Boy on the lips and told him to go rest while she prepared the meal. He picked up his shorts and carried them back to the house. There was a hammock in the shade and he crawled into it after hanging his shorts to air out. The breeze felt good on his wet skin as he rested in the hammock and he almost dozed off as he watched the cloudless sky above. That is until he saw something in it that shouldn't have been there. It came straight towards him and he immediately recognized it, or to be more accurate, he recognized her.
Starfire landed a few yards from his hammock, from which leaped out of, oblivious to the fact that he was as naked as a jay bird. Didi had seen the orange girl arrive as well, her eyes swollen with fear and concern at the sight of the strange flying woman, until she saw them hug and kiss. Then she had a new fear, a fear that a formidable rival was with her man.
Beast Boy was suddenly aware that he was "indecent" by Jump City standards and apologized to Starfire as he reached for his shorts.
"Do not be ashamed friend. When you morph into one of your beasts are you not naked? I do not recall any of your animal forms ever wearing clothes and yet you were never ashamed. Why should you be now?"
"I never thought of that." He replied.
"Will you bathe with me in the river? I am in need of refreshing after my long journey." She said as she began to disrobe. "I have also left the Titans." She informed him. "Robin has replaced me with Supergirl."
He took her hand and led her to where the stream formed a deep pool. "You look pretty super to me Star. You're very beautiful."
"As are you, my beloved."
Didi watched the scene unfold from the house's makeshift kitchen as tears dripped down her cheeks. She had hoped she would have Garfield to herself, now she would have to share him with the orange girl. Now she understood his hesitance to honor his pledge, but she would not let him off the hook. A promise was a promise.
Once again Robin had called a team meeting, this time to introduce Starfire's replacement.
"OK team, I'm hoping this doesn't become a habit but we lost another team member a few weeks ago when Starfire quit and left without saying goodbye to anyone except Raven. But before I make the introduction I have an announcement to make. It has been pointed out to me that I've been making decisions in a vacuum and that I should have a second in command to consult with. I fully agree with this observation and have decided to name an official second in command position for our team: Everyone, let's give Cyborg a round of applause to congratulate him!"
Figures, he picks a yes man to be second in command. Raven grumbled to herself.
"And now, our new team member: Jinx!"
The Titans applauded and greeted Jinx, who entered the common room on cue through the sliding doors.
Raven withdrew from the crowd after greeting Jinx.
Well, there's my replacement. But if Robin thinks that I'll be a good sport and leave quietly, he's got another thing coming. I'm not leaving until I find out where Beast Boy and Starfire are hiding. And I will find them.