Heartless Demon Wolf: Didn't expect Chang to die but sounds about right. Liked seeing the aftermath of the battle and how all the Titans were effected. You went a different route then I expected with the "Father-son" relationship with Slade. I get it's an AU but I'll never fucking trust Slade even if Gar is evil in this one. Really, really amazing job. Eager to see the slow burn of the romance and how Star falls for an enemy.
Thanks so much, friend! Glad to see you're still liking it!
FF8cerberus: Hmm. Not surprised in Slade planning all this. I am surprised that Gar would seem not to recognize the plan himself. He has lived with Slade for so long that I had believed he would have an understanding to how he thinks and actually realize when there is more to a situation than meets the eye. Him balling up was a bit disappointing but it seems you've had him keep to his own emotions and desire for affection and attachment. I won't lie. It felt awkward when he said he loved Slade.
Aside from all that, great chapter. Until next time.
Thank you for the feedback, glad that you liked it after your last review! And yes, some things were meant to be a bit awkward. The two have a very odd relationship and Garfield isn't very stable in the mind, no doubt because of Slade.
Anonymoose: Love badass beast boy stories. I think he'd make a great assassin. Ever thought of adding Rose Wilson to the mix? If you haven't already, you should totally check out GolemXIV's 'High Stakes' chapter 9. Cheers,
Oh, I have a few plans for Rose! Her brother too!
ChrisCage75: Please continue there arnt enough good new TT fanfictions the going on right now
Thank you, really warms my heart to know you want me to continue this!
A/U: All the reviews, favorites, followers and even the silent readers are very appreciated! Hopefully you enjoy!
Starfire wasn't about to pretend that she hadn't seen some horrible stuff from her time on Tamaran. The war on her people led to many brutal battles, and she often saw the aftermath of such conflict. Tamaraneans were much more durable than humans and had a much stronger resistant to pain, so when a Tamaranean went down with an injury, you better believe it was something bad.
So while Robin had tried to shelter her from what they were about to witness, the alien thought she could handle it just fine. But... maybe her time on Earth had made her soft. Death in battle was a rarity, most criminals usually being restrained before anything escalated to that level, and her friends hardly ever had serious injuries. So when she laid her protected gaze onto the mauled face of one of the victims' in a far out warehouse, almost unrecognizable from a normal human's face with it so covered in dried blood, a gasp escaped from her mouth and she quickly looked away.
The Teen Titans had received a call about some seemed to be a deal of goods gone wrong, with two dead and one wounded. It was rather confusing as to why they were being notified with this, seeing as how just normal criminals were usually left to the local police force to handle, but then they were told that one of the victims was one of the Titans' long time enemies, Professor Chang. He was supposedly selling a crate-load of Xenothium to an unknown buyer, and, obviously, things didn't go according to his plan and he ended up with a bullet in his head.
Starfire was still suffering side effects from the flashbang that rattled both her sight and her hearing, but she found it to be manageable enough to be outside if she wore some sunglasses, or as she put it, 'Glasses of the Sun'. And the ringing in her ears was still present, so she still had to wear earplugs, but they were small enough so that she could still hear others, but reduced normal talk down to mere whispers, though the sound of cars driving and other loud noises were quite the bother for her. Robin was with her, refusing to show any sort of weakness despite the fact that he was still nursing his twisted knee. He didn't even have to tell her that he was in pain, she had been with him so long, she could read his face and body language almost without fault. He refused to limp, but each time he put weight on his left leg, his upper lip would raise just a tiny bit before falling back into place and his mask would scrunch up a small amount.
Of course, the Boy Wonder insisted that he was fine, but Starfire knew that to not be true and she just wished he didn't feel the need to be so tough and 'macho', as Cyborg once described it, all the time.
Speaking of Vic, he and Raven were both currently back at the Tower, still nursing their injuries, as while Robin had told the news that they were fine and could protect the city if need be, Cyborg still suffered from outages and was currently charging up after he dropped his battery and he almost lost all power. Raven meanwhile was meditating, trying her best to focus all of her energy on healing, and going to a crime scene with two victims wasn't really relaxing.
So it was just her and Robin, who was currently looking down at the body of Professor Chang. He had fallen awkwardly, on his stomach, right leg atop of his left with his arms each pointing outward like a starfish. And, of course, the gaping bullet wound that easily pierced his white helmet. There wasn't any need for them, as it was clear how both of the men died, but the bodies were soon to be hauled off for an autopsy report to see if they could find any evidence without possibly contaminating the corpses.
A heavy sigh escaped the Boy Wonder's mouth, and Starfire levitated over to place a hand on the shoulder of the black-haired leader. With Robin's previous work of being the apprentice of Batman, he had a clear no-kill policy, and death was something he could hardly stomach. As much as he hated the likes of Slade, he never wished death upon him, only that he be stopped and put in jail. And while Professor Chang had previously blindsided Robin and nearly destroyed the city, Starfire could feel that he felt no real hatred for the man.
And neither did she. He was a coward at heart and certainly a villain, but... he wasn't awful. She could certainly come up with villains that she disliked more. "Who would Professor Chang be selling Xenothium to?" Robin said to no one in particular, his brow furrowed and a pair of latex-covered fingers stroked his chin, glancing up at Kori who also entered thought. Professor Chang had made a few enemies in his work besides just the Titans thanks to his devious ways of going about business, but why would Chang set up a meeting with any of those people?
No, it had to be someone Chang was cool with, or at least was on speaking terms with. And that made the list so much longer. Doctor Light, Psimon, Killer Moth, Adonis, The HIVE Five, there were many villains that were at least partial to Professor Chang, enough to set up a meeting at least. But none of them wielded a gun. They all opted for less conventional weapons, and had no problems getting their own power sources, so why would they need to buy such an unstable compound?
"Perhaps the Brother Blood has escaped from jail?" Starfire suggested, but was quickly rebuffed with a firm shake of Robin's head. "No, I checked in with the Steel City police force before grabbing you. No recent escapes, let alone from someone as high level as Blood." He dismissed the notion, a heavy sigh escaping his lips afterwards. "Red X hasn't been seen in a while, and he has.. had beef with the Professor." The Boy Wonder went back to thinking out-loud and Kori continued to float around the warehouse, her eyes narrowing as she tried to see anything that would help, any unmarked evidence, but her sunglasses, while great for protecting her eyes, made it difficult to make out any details.
So, once she was in a relatively dark spot in the warehouse, Starfire shed her sunglasses, blinking at the newfound light and all the new colors that assaulted her sensitive eyes without her mahogany-colored senses, before eventually, her vision was clear enough for her to look around and see if there was anything she could find. Besides the two corpses and the guard who was hauled off to the hospital, there wasn't much to determine just who was in the warehouse at the time. Was it a single person who carried out the double murder, or maybe a gang?
Her eyes trailed until she had to shield her eyes from the glaring sun as a big hole in the wall allowed the light to seep in. Shading her eyes, Kori once again attempted to look at the gap, only to notice something... interesting as she began to look up. It was a glimmer, but it was all the Tamaranean needed as she floated over, using her hand to protect her eyes as the beaming sun stared at her. Any other time and such a bright day would bring joy to her, but right now? It was just an annoyance. She never thought she could hate the sun, and she still didn't, but now she was beginning to understand what it was like for Raven, to have the light burning into your eyes in the mornings after spending all day and night in a dim-light room.
But that was at the back of her mind as Starfire kneeled down beside the hole, her gaze, while dampened, still had a knack for little details that humans had troubles picking up, and what she saw was a few strands of hair. Not just any normal hair... or was it even hair? It was green. The same green that filled her sight just a few nights ago, dressed in black and bronze. Garfield. Her delicate fingers pinched the hairs, lifting them up for closer examination and she silently confirmed it to herself. Small bits of red gloop stuck on the ends of them, and the alien had to tug one of her fingers free after giving it a small touch. The same adhesive that Professor Chang was known for.
Her mind trailed back to Garfield, remembering the haunting sight of the green-skinned criminal standing over her, sweat-soaked and furious with that metallic staff in hand, recently stolen... Her vision was still very blurry from the flashbang, but.. her sight had become clearer faster than she let on...
"Robin!" Starfire screeched as a large ball of smoke enveloped the Boy Wonder and 'Garfield', but before she could react, to try and save her friend, a cylinder-shaped bomb had been tossed at her feet and exploded. But instead of shrapnel piercing her, her vision became white, and it seemed the bomb had more 'oomf' than it looked, as her ears were screaming in agony at just how... loud it was. Her hands came up to try and protect her eardrums, to shut off the screeching ringing through her mind, but she couldn't hear or see anything, her eyes shut tight and ears ringing, which left her an easy target...
Next thing Star knew, she was driven to the ground, crushing pain slamming down onto her chest, followed by her body crashing into the road, feeling the asphalt crumble and flatten beneath her. Seconds passed afterwards, the screaming pain still a constant in her head, but she could, only faintly, hear the sound of footsteps. Angry footsteps. She had to fight back, to get up and take down this criminal... no matter how much it hurt.
Her eyes burned as she opened them, a blurred vision of green, black and bronze above her, along with bright red a foot away from the tip of her nose. Slowly, her vision began to clear, and... there he was. Garfield Logan, as he called himself. The supposed son and apprentice of Slade, who had succeeded in not only stealing the top-secret staff of a local laboratory, but having bested the Teen Titans in combat and was about to... drive that explosive staff into the face of hers..
She tried to react, but her muscles felt lifeless after the smash down onto the road, and the ringing in her head prevented her from focusing on her emotions to summon her starbolts. She was helpless and fear enveloped her gaze. She couldn't go out like this!
But... he didn't finish her off. Starfire watched as Garfield seemed to have an inner struggle with the concept, body shaking and doubt crossing his eyes, that sickening frown on his face that was fuming with rage turned into a silent gasp drenched in despair. His irises widened, as if he was in a trance and just broke out of it, realizing just what he was doing. It.. confused the Tamaranean, to see this once ruthless villain seem so... hesitant. And slowly, he sheathed his weapon, muttering swear words under his breath and seemingly in a rush to get out of there.
It was... intriguing. Just who was this Garfield? Her eyes followed him as best as they could, but in her weakened state, where her muscles felt almost glued to the street, she could only give a last curious gaze in the direction of the changeling.
Starfire had thought that maybe he wasn't a killer, that his mission from Slade was to kill her and he refused, but... she later found out about the police officer who he had killed just minutes before the Teen Titans showed up. And that was something that was going to haunt the Tamaranean for the rest of her days. She and the rest of the Titans hadn't thought anyone was in danger, it was a laboratory closed at night far away from most common nightspots. If she had known that the police officer was just a block away, oh how she would've rushed her way there. Instead, they wasted precious minutes back at the Tower for Cyborg to start up the T-Car, of course bragging about it to Robin as he got in, even showing off his new upgrades which made her giggle.
Everyone felt guilty for the death, especially Cyborg, who took his frustration out on the very T-Car that he had previously bragged about, uninstalling and destroying the very upgrades that he had shown off to the others.
Starfire's heart squeezed at the memory of a sobbing Victor practically tearing apart his 'Baby', as he described it, hating both himself and it for costing the life of a brave and respected officer of the force. But... another part of her heart felt tight as she thought of the murder itself. Garfield was a killer. And that made her... sad. Murder isn't really common in Jump City, so each time the Titans had gotten involved with one, it was particularly hard on Starfire. But this one hurt even more. Why? Was it because she felt that Garfield was better than that? Was it because of the officer's status? Emotions were something she always had trouble with. Well, HER emotions.
Kori could read the emotions of others pretty well, like how she picked up on Robin's affection for her rather quickly. How Raven was always jealous of the three when they laughed and told jokes while she sat away from the others. How Cyborg felt grief when a mechanical part of him malfunctioned and didn't work properly, like the time his right hand couldn't grip down for a week. He tried to hide it with jokes, but she could see just how sad he was whenever he would drop something because of his malfunctioning hand, just wishing things were simpler for him.
Oh how she wished to be able to read herself as well as others, so that she could tell just what was going on in her heart and mind about this Garfield.
"What's that, Star?" Robin's voice interrupted her thoughts, who seemed to ignore her lack of sunglasses in favor of his interest towards what she held in her hand. And seemingly without noticing, Starfire had gripped down onto the green hairs while in thought. "Robin... I think that Garfield may have something to do with this." She responded, opening her palm and holding up the hairs up to the Boy Wonder, who took and held them with his thumb and index finger, mask narrowing and a small grimace crossing his face.
But before he could comment, the orbs on Starfire's gauntlets began to glow red, as well as the center of Robin's belt. Trouble. The alien thought somberly as this made the third day in a row someone was causing trouble, and it didn't take the world's smartest detective to figure just who was causing the ruckus. "Star, you should get back-" "No." Kori cut off any attempt of the Boy Wonder's to shield her from danger, hiding her sad look in place of a determined one and it seemed that the leader got the message, giving his leg a quick shake before running over to his R-Cycle, throwing on his helmet and zooming off towards their destination, the Tamaranean flying right beside him after putting back on her sunglasses. If she was going to get answers for her feelings, then hiding from the cause of them wasn't going to do anything. This Garfield guy, whoever he is and whatever his motivations are... she needed to find them out.
Garfield was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Just a day after the Xenothium deal gone right, with the death of the wicked Professor being all apart of his father's plan, along with securing a great amount of Xenothium. More than enough to power the entire city, not even the changeling knew just what his mentor was going to do with all of it, but he did have a clear idea in mind. First the staff, then the Xenothium, and now he was going into another laboratory, seeking out a special chemical that he's been told to enhance the physical traits of humans.
A bit like 'VENOM' that Bane used to power up his already superhuman body, it seemed that Hughman's scientists were trying to replicate the addictive drug, keyword being 'trying'. It was still very addictive, but their goal was to eliminate that, and to make it sustainable to strengthen the human body, increasing muscle mass and blood flow, as well as increasing brain activity and enhancing the seven senses.
Basically, it was suppose to be a 'miracle' drug. And Slade didn't want to wait until it was released to the public. As well, early versions of these sort of drugs tend to be far more... unpredictable and much more like its 'Venom' counterpart rather than a life-extender and body regenerator it was hyped up to be. And unlike Venom, this one was being guarded by weak scientists rather than a monstrous, smooth-talking Brit with the strength to break backs like no one else.
He was dressed in his standard black and bronze jumpsuit, armored gauntlets and boots still in tow, but again, without his utility belt. Or at least, without the utility in his utility belt, given how all of his tools and weapons were missing and only the belt remained The Titans were weakened, so Slade decided to test him once more. No tools and no weapons, just his powers, his body and his mind. And while Garfield knew his physical traits and mind were much better than the average human's, he felt... weak. While he did have enhanced healing, the skin on his arm still hadn't grown back from when he had to tear off the red glue that stuck to him, and holy hell did it sting.
.The pain of actually ripping the adhesive from his arm was painful enough, having lost lot of blood in the process and even exposing the flesh beneath his mutated skin, but it just didn't go away. It burned so bad, the constant feeling of his unprotected flesh rubbing against his bandages was like torture. Not to mention he felt mentally drained, having to kill two people in two days, as well as having to deal with his emotions being toyed with by his father, his newfound feelings for Starfire, be them real or not.. it was tough. But this was what he wanted. To be his father's apprentice. To do whatever he said and grow into a mirror image of the man who saved his life. And this was by far better than living in a eight foot wide room, tied to a pole like a dog.
Eyeing up the door to the laboratory, he took a deep breath, cracked his neck and thrust his boot forward to snap the door off of its hinges. "Everyone down!"
A room filled with average humans dressed in white coats and pants froze at the command, some not even bothering to look up to see who was giving the demand before crouching down underneath her desks. And it seemed that others got the message once they got a look at the mutated man stepping through their facility, ducking down to avoid the wrath of the stranger.
Garfield let out a snarl as the room began to glow red, a loud blaring alarm doing little more than piss off the changeling, his sensitive eardrums in pain over the obnoxious sound. Of course, he knew that would happen, but that didn't mean it still wasn't highly annoying to deal with. Trudging forward, he knew that the test samples of the green chemical would be in the higher levels, and with the outer-design of the laboratory being near identical to the past facility, it shouldn't be difficult to navigate.
Things were going relatively smooth, with him reaching the staircase leading up to the second floor, that was, until he ran into some pale-skinned blonde girl who seemed to be frozen in place once her brown eyes got sight of him. What she was doing, he didn't know, since she was looking like she was coming DOWN the stairs, even with the blaring alarm and flashing lights. Was she trying to stop him? She certainly didn't look like she could handle a kitten, let alone a strong muscled guy who could just so happen to turn into a kitten if he wanted to.
"Move." Was his simple demand, upper lip curling up into a snarl, revealing one of his sharp fangs to the girl. Whoever she was, she didn't seem important, looking very generic for the humans that Garfield had seen in his time on his work. Bright white coat covering most of her frame, her features were bland and her eyes... were boring. Certainly didn't invoke any emotion in the changeling staring into them, besides annoyance. Though he supposed that her competition wasn't exactly fair in regards to the women that he found attractive. "Pl..Please don't touch me.." Even her voice was unremarkable as she pleaded with the green-skinned man. "You... don't want what's up there, it's really... really unstable. It's not even worth anything!"
Sighing, Garfield stepped up the next few steps until the blonde was only a step up from him. "I said to move, lady." He firmly told her, brows furrowing in frustration. While he had no issue harming people, Slade had told him to try and not create any more victims after killing two people in two days, a third would only bring him more attention and his father preferred to keep things... relatively subtle. Grand theft brought less attention than murder, and while the thin woman would be easy to kill, that wasn't his mission. She wasn't a threat by any stretch, and thus when she silently pleaded with him with her almost yawn-inducing gaze, he grabbed her by the collar of her coat and lifted her up the rest of the stairs, before tossing her to the side of the white floor, letting her scramble and crawl away.
Several white-coats were in the room, playing around with tools that Garfield didn't bother to try and understand, only knowing he needed a few vials to complete his mission. One by one, the scientists turned in the direction of the green invader, most of them getting out of the way of the changeling. News spread quick of a shapeshifting villain who wasn't afraid to kill people and had a deadly disease inside of him, and thus most didn't want to bother with trying to fend off the health threat. But there were a few who looked to stop him, the burliest of the bunch who looked to protect their research.
Courage was admirable, but stupidity was repulsive, and the handful were much more the latter. Since Garfield had little trouble safely knocking out the adversaries, or at least making them rethink facing down a superpowered villain, he went right to a table that so happened to have half a dozen vials filled with the lime-green liquid. Slade said that while VENOM required a straight shot into the bloodstream to have its effects, this drug just needed to get into contact with the skin before it soaked into the muscles and blood cells beneath. Thus, the vials were tightly contained, no cork to close them, instead hard, clear metal with a tight switch that required the mightiest of thumbs to push upward to open. Tucking them into the designated containers on his belt, strapped down tight, he was a bit surprised to just be able to walk back out of the place, the ringing of the alarm the only annoyance he encountered exiting the building.
Of course, he was being just a bit too optimistic when he thought he could get out of sight before the Titans showed up, only this time, only half of them were there for him. A blazing red and black motorcycle was parked a few yards away, and an all too familiar Boy Wonder stood on the road, waiting for him. And above him... god he wasn't ready to look at the Tamaranean again. Was he a coward for doing all he could to avoid Starfire's gaze and instead focus entirely on Robin? Perhaps, but he was willing to be a coward if it meant appeasing Slade, and getting captured because he was too busy having a staring contest with the pretty alien didn't seem like the most optimal way into his father's heart.
He wasn't exactly surprised that the Teen Titans weren't fully together, he gave Cyborg a good frying and that Raven chick a few broken bones to remember him by, and even then, it seemed that the two in front of him weren't at 100%. Robin had a bit of a limp and Starfire was wearing sunglasses, and unless that was a fashion choice he hadn't been clued in on, it seemed the flashbang still gave her some troubles. Then again, he wasn't exactly fully healthy either, what with his wounded arm and fatigued brain.
"Garfield, I'm only going to warn you once. Stand down!" Robin spoke first, pointing a green latex finger at the changeling, who simply growled in response. Expecting some sort of add-on from his companion, he took a mental note of Starfire's silence, because he wasn't about to look up at her face to see just what her facial expression was. And instead of answering, Garfield knew he had to strike early and strike quick, so.. he did. One step forward and he transformed into a tiger, leaping at the Boy Wonder who was ready for the assault, ducking underneath the claws of the big cat.
"Star, check in with the workers and see if they need medical attention!" The Titan ordered his flying friend, who nodded her head and zoomed into the laboratory. Robin then turned in the direction of Garfield, who had shifted back into his human form, shaking his head. Exhaustion had always made his transformations more difficult, but now, in the heat of battle, it was more evident than ever. The simple shift into the tiger took a lot of energy out of him, and he wasn't sure how many more he could do to keep up with the leader. "I didn't kill anyone, just roughed a few up a bit." Logan huffed, getting into battle stance. He had hand-to-hand skills, might as well use them to converse energy.
"Well when dealing with a murderer of three, forgive me if I don't exactly trust you." Dick responded, matching the fighting stance of his green adversary, before eventually, things came to blows. Robin was the first to strike, a chop aimed at the nose of the changeling who blocked it rather easily with a forearm. However the Boy Wonder was quick, both on his feet and in his mind, and before Garfield knew it, a metal boot caught him in the gut, causing a heave and a momentary step-back. And it seemed that he wasn't getting any time to breath, as this time a metal boot was flying towards his chest.
This time, Logan had to duck out of the way of the foot aimed at his ribs, letting the walking traffic light land behind him after the whiff before pouncing onto his back, arms hooking around his head. A grunt escaped Robin's mouth as Garfield wrapped a bicep around his throat and claws replaced his fingernails to scratch at the face of the Boy Wonder. However, before the changeling could make a taunting comment about the situation, blunt pain ran through his forehead that forced him to let go and back off, reaching a hand up to feel at his face, only to see his own blood leaking down his nose. And in front of him was his adversary, holding his signature bo staff while he checked his own face for wounds.
"If you want to play dirty, then let's play!" Robin said in a grizzled tone once drawing his glove away to expose scarlet dribbling from scratches on his cheek. A scowl crossed his mouth and his face wrinkled in determination, and his hand suddenly drew his grapple gun, aimed at the hip of Garfield and fired. The changeling twisted his waist to the side, letting the hook fly past him and returning his gaze to the Boy Wonder, who had a cocky smirk to his face. Awaiting a next projectile or a charge forward, what he wasn't expecting was the raven-haired leader to suddenly blaze forward, drawn in by his grapple.
Logan let out a gasp of shock and pain as he once again felt the cold metal slam into him, unable to react in time as the blunt aching extended over to his gut. His body was propelled back by sudden momentum, until eventually he felt an explosion of sleek white wall behind him and the two crashed through into the inners of another lab, though it did seem to be closed.
Unsure of just what happened, Garfield coughed and held a hand over his screaming stomach, hoping to ease some of the pain as his vision returned to him, only to see the yellow, red and black grapple hook attached to a colorless chunk of the wall they just crashed through. He had used his grapple to propel him forward and catch the changeling by surprise. Clever. He begrudgingly and silently complimented his opponent, only to feel a boot press against his chest and his green gaze looked up to meet the domino-masked Titan that had taken him down. "Last warning. Surrender now or I'll drag your body over to the station."
Every part of Garfield hurt, his muscles felt weak and he thought that perhaps he could escape once surrendering, but he knew his father would be greatly disappointed if his son even entertained the thought of giving up. At the very least, he should escape, wait until his wounds were healed and he could properly beat up the Boy Wonder who aggravated him so, but... there was nothing more that the changeling wanted than to pound the boy who had captured his father's attention, to make him pay for taking up much of Slade's thoughts and plans, who was under the wing of the assassin before HIM.
So despite how much his body hated it and screamed against it, Logan transformed.
An anaconda to be specific, wrapping his thick body around the foot and ankle of Robin, who grunted as his muscles and bones were squeezed down upon. Garfield hid his face from the jabbing bo staff that attempted to blind him, only connecting with the durable flesh of the reptile, trying his best to snap every bone in the bird-boy's leg and cripple him, and the continued attempts to pull him off were in vain. The changeling saw his opponent's other leg wobble, threatening to give out on him, and itching to see that happen, his extended jaws chomping down onto his thigh.
And just as victory seemed to be in his grasp and he felt a bone snap beneath his coil, Garfield felt a stabbing pain in his side that forced him to open his mouth and let out a hiss of agony, looking over to see one of Robin's signature birdarangs stuck in his snakeskin, blood oozing out of the wound. And the pain forced him to return back to his human form, crawling away from the leg of the Boy Wonder and reaching for the weapon that was stabbed into his side. It was lodged in deep, and each pull only let more scarlet red gush out of the wound, but the apprentice bit his tongue and ripped, letting out a shriek in agony and clutching at the large gaping hole in his stomach now.
Glancing over at Robin, his vision was blurred but he could still make out the eyesore of his red, green and yellow outfit laid on the ground, gloves clutching at his ankle and forehead pressing against the white tile of the lab. A growl escaped Garfield's mouth, and as much as he did want to obey his father's orders of no deaths, the rage of being stabbed by Robin... that each time he saw him, he saw someone his father chose before him, to leave him rotting in his cellar... perhaps the son that Slade wanted over him...
Gripping down tight on the Bird-a-rang, he flung it as hard as he possibly could right towards the head of the dazed Boy Wonder, hoping to see the image of his own weapon lodged into his brain, his body limp and gray, presented to his father to show him that HE was the superior apprentice, that all of his attention should've been directed at HIM. But a bright, green flash interrupted the projectile, causing it to break into several pieces and bounce a safe distance away from Robin.
No.. Garfield thought somberly as his chance to kill the source of his jealousy shattered, and only fitting it was by the one Titan that mystified him. "Robin!" Her voice echoed in his ears, he didn't need to see her, he didn't WANT to see her. And he certainly wasn't ready to fight her. He was aching everywhere, his previous transformations had exhausted him, not to mention the last time he looked into her eyes, he felt emotions that he hadn't felt in years. That he felt ever even. Thankfully, it seemed that her relationship with Robin won out over her sense of justice, as he could hear her asking of his condition.
Clutching his wound, he chose this moment to try his escape, panting as he practically crawled through the hole his body crashed into. But he was struggling, his arm started to bleed again, and he was losing blood quicker than he could run. And to just add onto his misery, the last thing he heard Robin say was "Go after him!". All he could hope to do was hide out and hope that he could regain his energy before they found him, unlikely as it may be.
So, he cut into an alley, unable to hold his breath to fight off the stench of the junk that rotted there. It seemed that despite the ever clean interior of the labs, it was because they dumped all their trash into the dumpsters and stuffed them into the alleys. Soon, Garfield finally collapsed behind one of the dumpsters, trying to fight off his vision blurring, to hold in as much blood as possible, but his clothes were torn and his hands could only cover so much.
"Garfield..?"
That soft voice.. she was there. His glassy eyes glanced upward, but his vision was giving way, black creeping in on the corner of his eyes and everything was a fog. But he could still see her. That bright autumn hair, shining orange skin, purple attire, and of course... those twinkling eyes. The closer she got, the darker his sight went, and just before a hovering hand could touch him, his body gave out and darkness enveloped him, leaving him with a mixture of relief and disappointment that confused him, just like her. Just like Starfire.
A/U: Sorry for the wait on this, and sorry once more for a lack of romance, but I swear we're getting there!