Chapter 4: Welcome
Starfire flew on top of a tall building roof. It was just far enough from the Tower. She knew that the others would lie and say that she had betrayed them. They would act hurt and act as if they were so kind to her that they didn't know what made the alien princess turn on them. The public would believe them, of course, and hate her, but she knew the truth. So did Slade. But she decided not to care about what the public thought. It was all a lie after all.
She slowly realesed her tight grip on the gadget and examined it in her open palm. It didn't seem like it did anything. No buttons, no particular lines, no nothing. Just smooth silver metal. She tried poking it in certain places. When that didn't work she tried to talk to it. When that didn't work, she tried doing other things. She sighed in frustration from failing for about thirty minutes straight. 'Please contact Slade!' She thought, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she heard a sound. Opening her eyes in curiosity, she looked back at the gadget. The small S shaped gadget had transformed into a small screen displayer. "Wahh! It is the alive!" She squeaked out. The surprise caused her fall back onto her bottom. She quickly flew back up, and floated in the air sitting with her legs crossed. Through there was no one to witness it, she was embarrassed that she fell, and a light blush of embarrassment coated her cheeks. Back with the gadget, a blue tinted, slightly transparent screen lit up the features of her face and hair. A 'loading...' was displayed for a few seconds before Slade's masked face was shown with a dark background. She was shocked. "Hello, Starfire. Calling so soon?" He said in his dark, dry voice. "My apologies, Slade. I just wanted to talk about joining your side today rather than tomorrow." She said in a worried tone. "Something troubles you?" He said through the screen. "A bit, yes. I have harmed the members of the Teen Titans." She said, her eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "I see. Maybe you can visit a bit early. I will send you coordinates to a suitable location. See you soon." He said. "Please wait!" She said as she raised her arm to grab him as if he were actually there. "Yes?" Slade said. "I must say, may I know who the others might be?" She asked as she lowered her arm. "You will find out soon. Until then." He replied, leaning closer to the screen. She simply nodded and the connection between the two cut off. The gadget returned back to its regular form, and hovered over the ground. Another surprise to her. It started to fly off in a particular direction, so she merely followed. She noticed that a red blinking light appeared from the gadget every time. Faster with every passing second. She indicated that the speed increased because the closer they got to their given location. 'What a strange day it's been.' She thought to herself as she continued to follow the hovered gadget. She looked below her, and stared at the tall buildings below her. She could see the tower in the distance, and she had to hold in a growl. There were red and blue blinking lights below the building shining brightly. She somehow felt proud, a sudden smirk covered her face. "They deserved what they got." She said to herself.
She looked back at the gadget, and continued to follow it. Then out of nowhere, it completely stopped mid-air and started to fall to the ground. "It's dying?!" Starfire exclaimed. She flew down after and extended a arm to grab it. Once she had it safely in her hand, she gently flew down swiftly. "I do not understand, why did it stop working?" She asked to no one in particular. She looked at her surroundings. She was at the side of a mountain, a far view of the city in the distance. There was a few trees here and there, and some large boulders stuck firmly in the ground stood tall. "Perhaps there is a entrance of the secret?" She said to herself. Suddenly, the gadget blinked a red just like before. She brought it closer to her face, and tried to figure out what was wrong with it. Finally it stopped, and she was too distracted on the gadget that she didn't notice someone behind her.
(A/N: I was going to end it here, but I decided not to because your too lovely for a cliffhanger for right now)
The person swiftly put a gloved hand over the her mouth. The person had a black cloak on, so no one could distinguish their identity. The person gently whispered into her ear. "Don't make a sound, Starfire. I'm with Slade. You're going to have to follow me if you want to see him." The voice said. It sounded deeper than a female's voice, she took note of. It had to be a male. She nodded her head in agreement, and he took his hand away from her mouth as swiftly as he put it on. She turned to him, and could not see him, obviously because of the cloak that prevented her from doing so. He turned on his heel, and began to walk away and gestured her to follow. She obeyed, and trailed behind him. They shortly walked, neither talking to each other or looking eye to eye. He took a quick glance at her as they walked narrowly down the mountain. As they quietly walked, he suddenly stopped in the middle of their walk. She stopped a few inches away from him, curious as to why he stopped so suddenly. He didn't turn back to her. "Do you trust me?" He simply asked. "I do." She responded. He silently chuckled at her quick response. 'She doesn't even know who I am, yet she trusts me. How naive, just as I remember.' He thought to himself, but he quickly returned to his posture. He shook his head once in approval, and turned her way. "Then come here." He said. She did as told, and he let out his arm. A black, fingerless glove covered the lower part of his arm, and the rest was left uncovered. His glove had silver a guards on the outer side of his arm, thick gray metal covering each of his knuckles. "Hold my hand." He said. She slightly blushed, but obliged. Now that she was closer, she could see a warm smile under all the darkness of the cloak. The person pushed a button on his belt, and they both were transported to a dimmed room. The walls were made of metal, and the floor of dark marble. A chair split with the colors black and brown covered the seemingly metal chair. It stood tall, and a spot light shone above it making it look like a throne to a king. A man, Slade, sat on the chair, fully aware of the returning apprentice with Starfire safely behind him. "Welcome back, my loyal apprentice. I thank you for helping Starfire." Slade started with gratitude. The cloaked boy nodded in consideration. "Starfire, come." Slade said. She walked slowly towards the masked man, and stopped about a foot away from his throne. "Greetings, Slade." She greeted with a smile. "Hello, Starfire." He greeted back. "You are ready to join my side, correct?" He merely asked. "I am. I wish for nothing more. I pledge my loyalty to you, and I shall fight in your name. I will follow your every command with no hesitation." She declared as she put a hand over where her heart was beating inside her chest. "I would expect nothing less from you, child. I see such greatness in your future as I as your mentor." He said. She smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Slade, for this amazing opportunity. I will be forever in your debt." Starfire said. "As you see fit. On another note, since you seemed so eager to meet my other followers, my apprentice will take you." Slade said, gesturing towards the cloaked boy. Starfire nodded as she bowed, and hurried behind the cloaked boy. He opened a door, and the dimmed room was enclosed in light from the action. He walked out, followed by the alien girl. He walked down a narrow hallway. It had white walls, and the floor was also a dark marble. A few paintings dotted the walls, along with doors. Some labeled, but others not. There was also the occasional furniture, and also some rooms without doors. The place was certainly large. Starfire averted her gaze back to the boy. He still spoke none to her. She wondered if had a problem with her, or maybe he was shy? She didn't know, but he seemed to not want to talk to her at all. He seemed so nice on the mountain just earlier, and it was hard to see him because he had the cloak on, and also because his back was turned to her. Leaving her thoughts, she felt as if they had been walking for hours. Or had they? Had her thoughts made her believe that? She dismissed herself, and as they continued to walk she politely asked, "Excuse me, friend, but I was wondering if we are close to our destination." The boy continued to walk, but responded. "You're eager, aren't you? Slade had told us about you. Is it true that the other Titans abandoned you, and hurt you?" He asked, looking back at her before proceeding the walk. She felt an ache in her heart as she looked at the floor as she brushed some hair behind her ear. "Indeed...but I am the eternally grateful that Slade has given me the chance to have a new family. I certainly do regret saying the rash things about him, when I didn't even know that he would later become the person that saved me from such pain." She said a bit shyly. "Hmm...well then you should thank Xavier as well. He did most of the stalking. That idiot." The boy said with a chuckle. "Xavier?" Starfire asked, confused. She has never known anyone with the name. Maybe he was new? "Yeah. I thought you would know him." He responded, but it was obvious that he was confused. Then he remembered that it was bad to reveal you real identity to your opponents. He mentally scolded himself for being so dumb. He continued to do so until Starfire's interrupted his thoughts. "Excuse me again, but may I ask how many apprentices Slade currently has?" She asked innocently. "Well, two if we're excluding you and I. One is Xavier, the one that stalked you a lot. He would probably be doing it right now if you weren't here. The other is also a idiot. His name is Wally. He talks too much if you ask me." He said with a chuckle. "So there are only males?" She asked. "Yeah. You feel a bit uncomfortable, don't you? Wouldn't blame you, through. You are going to be the only female in this place. But don't worry. You'll feel right at home. Slade makes sure of that." He said softly. Through Slade seemed cold and cruel, he had actually become like a father to him and the others. He had provided them all something that changed their life's. He gave him a family, he gave Xavier a home, and he had given Wally love. The three things that their life's lacked, Slade had given to them. It made the three young boys question why everyone hated him. Oh yeah, his reputation and frequent crime. That's what did the magic. Even so, Slade had actually been a great person towards the boys. Now, it was Starfire's turn to see that. A large room began to come into sight. It seemed like a living room, as large black L shaped couch was seen. The walls were a pale blue, and the carpet was white. A dark, wooden coffee table could be seen in front of the couch, a clear glass vase filled with flowers of all sorts inside. Two figures could be seen on the couch, appearing to watch something in front of them. As they neared, Starfire could see that they were watching T.V. on a large screen. The room was well furnished also. The figures turned towards their direction when they stepped into the room. Starfire instantly grew shy. Not only was she meeting them, but they were also going to reveal themselves. She was eager to find out who this cloaked boy had been all along, even if he was new. She took a shaky breath.
"Greetings, I am Starfire."