Author's Note:
Alright, so the reviews have gotten a lot better. Thanks to everyone reviewing! I still have like a thousand views and only 30 REVIEWS so I'm hoping more people take the time to complement or critique my work. Thanks! 3
He slid into the space beside me, still not touching me, but not completely giving me the icy shoulder. I did not know what I had expected. Not much, but I had hoped he would at least hold me in his arms like he did the night prior to this one. However as I drifted off to sleep I swear to X'hal that his hand brushed mine for a second.
The dreams I encountered that night were the worst of my entire existence.
The strange man of the mall was there, but that was not what surprised me. What did alarm me was the fact that when he charged he morphed into something much worse. His skin turned from tan to green. A lizard-like tail grew out of his rear. His eyes turned a horrible acid color, his teeth a repulsive yellow.
Trogaar.
My hands were bound into those retched handcuffs that I could not break on my own. My body was bound in the servant clothes that I had been destined to wear. I was trapped. Trapped in that horrible chamber where it smelt of waste and bile and blood. I squinted my eyes in frustration as he opened the door. My hands were bound. But my eyes were not.
I shot my beams at him and he reared back. I charged at him, but the chains restricting my ankles held me back. I snapped my head down in frustration. They were not here a second ago!
A slimy hand grasped my neck, choking me. He smiled, jerking my head one way, his foul breath whispering in my ear. When I tried to jerk away his grip become so, so much tighter.
Trogaar.
Why was he here? Why was he still hurting me? We had killed him! Or at least banished him from the Earth. How did he capture me? I was not to be captured this easily. Where were my friends?
He licked my jaw, his tongue leaving a putrid smell on my skin. I shuddered and shrieked in Tamaranian. He jerked my head the other way with such force I heard something crack. His lips latched themselves like that of a leech onto my neck. I thrashed wildly but he was too strong.
Trogaar.
"Trogaar!" I shrieked.
Koriand'r, he jeered, his snakelike voice making bile rise in my throat, especially when I felt his breath on my face. Earth has weakened you greatly. You are not a threat anymore.
"That is a lie!" I roared, swinging my arms. He released the grip on my head for a moment and then whacked me with such force that I fell to my knees.
However, he continued, you have turned even more desirable. The Citadel will be glad to have you for a much, much longer period of time.
"No! I will not let you do this!"
What do you plan to do to stop me from bringing you there? What do you plan to do about stopping me from doing this?
He forced his mouth onto mine, the taste of his breath and tongue filling my senses. I screamed against him, but I was growing weaker as he hurt me. He ground himself against me and I thrashed wildly. All I could see, breathe, taste, and feel was him.
He released his grasp on me for only a moment. Then a new pair of arms circled around me.
"NO!"
I jerked awake. My skin was damp from sweat; my heart was doing the pumping of blood at an irregularly fast rate. I kept screaming, even though I knew I was awake, my eyes were open, the vision not going away.
"Starfire!"
It took me a moment to discover that Robin's arms were the second pair that had held me in my dream. I stopped screaming abruptly, looking into his masked eyes. I started to cry.
"R-Robin…" I sobbed, tears streaming down my face.
"Shhh…" he hummed in my ear as he cradled me. My started heartbeat slow ever so slightly as he rocked me. I was still panting heavily, but Trogaar's scent was beginning to leave my senses. I laid my head on Robin's shoulder, letting the tears fall from my eyes. It was so horrible. So, so horrible. And it was true.
"It was true, Robin," I whispered, the stream of tears starting to slow. "It was true. All of it."
He did not answer me. When I leaned my head against his chest I heard the slow beating of his heart. It soothed me. I closed my eyes but every time I did, I saw his face. I kept them open instead, staring at nothing in particular.
I am not sure how long we lay there together in each other's arms. Possibly for several hours. I sighed against him. I had to speak. I had to tell him. Perhaps I would feel much better if I did.
"Robin," I breathed.
"Mm?" he asked the vibrations of his voice on my skin tickled.
"I believe I had the mare of the night."
He chuckled softly. "I think you're right."
I turned my head into him, allowing myself to smile against his neck. It disappeared as I remembered it. "It was true. He was there."
I felt his arms stiffen around me. "The guy that attacked you?"
I nodded. "But it was not him that frightened me so. It was Trogaar."
"Oh, Star," he murmured. "I'm sorry. You don't have to worry anymore. He's gone."
"I fear he may not be. There was no evidence of his inhalation. He may very well be at the large. He may very well come back to get me, and bring me to the Citadel."
I paused, tears pricking my eyes once more. "I do not want to go, Robin. They have done terrible things to me. If I were to return, they would have me service them forever."
Robin's arms held me close. "I won't let that happen Star. I promise. Look at me." He pulled away from me for a moment so I could see him. I felt myself become disappointed at our lack of closeness. His mouth was so serious.
"I will always be there for you," he told me fiercely. If I could see his eyes I knew they would be blazing into my own.
"Promise?" I whispered.
"Promise."
We stared like that for a moment. I wondered if he would kiss me. I would not mind. It would be most enjoyable. Perhaps he could forget about the mission. For only a moment. That would be all the time I needed.
I brought my hand up to his cheek lightly. My fingers slid down to his mouth. I touched his lips gingerly. His expression did not waver. My hand held its place for a brief moment before sliding down his neck onto his chest.
Then, praise X'hal, we started to lean in. It was marvelous, it was tremendous, we would finally-
Do-do-do-dee-dee-do-do-do-do!
Robin sprang off the bed with such haste it hurt. I followed him reluctantly and watched him open the laptop. He cracked his back with a groan. He muttered something about being the sore and then he proceeded with the clicking of the incoming message and our friends, along with the Kole and Gnarrk, appeared on the screen.
"Friends!" I exclaimed bending over the head of the couch to get a better look, my moment of disappointment forgotten. "It is glorious to see you!"
"Star…is that you?" Cyborg asked, his eyes widening.
I blushed. "Indeed it is Cyborg. I was instructed to wear this. Do you think it suits me?"
"Yeah," Beast Boy answered his eyes as wide as Cyborg's. Raven cuffed him on the back of the head. "Ow!"
"How's everything holding up over there?" Robin asked, quickly changing the subject.
"It's fine, like I said it would be," Cyborg dismissed him, a little annoyed. His eyes returned to their usual size. "You really shouldn't worry so much man."
Robin scowled. "I have to, or else nothing around there would get done!" his words came out harsh.
"But everything is getting done," Kole protested.
Robin cringed, so I put my hand on his shoulder to ease him. "Forgive him friends," I reasoned, coming to his aid. "Robin is rather "sore" because we have been doing the sleeping together."
My friends' reactions gave me the feeling that I might have misspoken. They all had similar expressions of the wide eyes and the open mouths. Their faces were a rather similar color as well.
"Uh…" Raven said after a while.
"Well, that's…" Kole trailed off.
"Gnarrk?" Gnarrk questioned.
"Dude," Beast Boy's eyes grew twice there regular size. "You don't mean-"
Robin buried his face in his hands. "No, it's not what it sounds like," he grumbled, throwing in the "blanket."
He looked up after a moment. "I'll contact you guys later, now's not a good time." He shut the laptop before they could respond. He headed to the bathroom without even glancing at me. I sighed. This did not go as I had planned.
I realized I could not proceed with my day until I had showered again, so I busied myself by decorating our chamber with the box of Christmas ornaments Alfred had left near the door. I hung the holly and set up the little Christmas tree with the crystal orbs. I giggled as I hung stockings over the giant mahogany headboard. I was quite disappointed when I discovered he had not left any of the mistletoe. I had to remind myself that I was on an important mission and I had no time for such things.
I undressed and wrapped myself in a towel I found neatly folded outside the bathroom, so I could head right into the shower when Robin was finished. I inspected the finished product. Various colors of green, red, white, silver, and gold flashed everywhere and I sighed once more, although this time it was in bliss.
I was startled by the sudden click of the bathroom door. I flipped around and smiled at Robin, who was dressed in his civilian clothes once more. He was adjusting his shirt and I tried not to stare at the exposed part of his chest. He glanced up and he looked rather flustered as he looked at my own appearance.
"Uh…"
"Excuse me," I said, brushing past him to the bathroom. Instead of using the shower, I tried soaking in the enormous platinum bathtub in the center of the room. It was….glorious! The little filter contraptions poured out the bubble bath and the moisturizers that felt so pleasant on my sweat dried skin. The tub was plenty large enough for me to dip my head under and flip around in the water with ease.
I giggled as I surfaced, cleansing my red hair with my favorite strawberry shampoo. I dunked my head under once more, enjoying the warm feeling along my body.
As I dried my hair and body, I noticed I had forgotten to bring my change of clothes in with me. I peeked out the door and called Robin's name softly. When there was no answer I had assumed he had left to "check on some things," once more. He had disappeared frequently throughout our visit here. However his absences were so brief I barely had time to notice he was missing before he returned.
I clutched the towel tightly to my body as I flew over to my side of the bed, leafing through the piles of clothes I had bought. I dressed in the civilian wear for now, since my orders were to merely wait for further instructions.
After I had dressed in a black miniskirt, a snug white sweater, black tights, and gray flats I pinned up my hair once more. I truly despised wearing it this way, but it was for the better. Just as I was about to head out to explore the sights of Gotham the laptop beeped again.
I opened it and clicked the inbox as Robin had done and a picture of the Batman popped up.
"Greetings!" I said brightly. "Are you here to instruct us on the nest step of our mission?"
His mouth formed in a straight line. "Where is Robin?"
I peered around the laptop, hoping he would enter through the door at any moment. I winced when he did not.
"Um…I do not currently know at the moment," I admitted. "He left while I was using the facilities."
Batman pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a muffled groan. "Fine. Just tell him that you two need to be at Splitz tonight at ten o'clock. As I mentioned before, you must be looking for work, and he is your manager. Just…let him do most of the talking, alright?"
I nodded eagerly. "I will not let you down."
"That's good to hear," he nodded once. "Remember, ten o'clock." His image flickered off.
~0~0~0~
I glanced at the clock. It read 9:15 p.m. I yelped at its lateness. When Robin had returned, as he always did, I told him the Batman's instructions. I had then had some much needed sleep upon the sofa. I was blessed with that fact that I had not had any of the "nightmares" as Robin referred to them as. Actually, I did not dream, period.
I raced to my bags and flew into the bathroom, dressing in the stripper outfit that was black and fluffy I did not like the way it felt on my torso in chest, but I supposed this was part of the plan.
Robin emerged from the kitchen with a waffle in his hand. He stuffed it in his mouth and nearly choked when he saw me.
"Robin!"
I rushed over and gave him the Heimlich, his body convulsing.
"Star-gag-I'm fine-gag-really!" he insisted. I released him and he toppled to the floor. I placed my hands to my face in horror but before I could apologize he jumped up and grabbed my hands.
"I'm fine," he assured me. I nodded. He surveyed my outfit. "Yeah…you're wearing a jacket over that."
I nodded once more, still not speaking. I flew over to my bed once more and pinned up my hair in the messy up-do and placed on a pair of the heels I had bought. I slid my arms into my black leather jacket from before, although it did not cover the bottom portion of my body.
As I turned back to him I froze. He was mask less. I gasped as I flew beside him. My hand immediately went to his face to get a better look. I ignored the rising color in his cheeks, my eyed focused on the blue. I knew right then and there that this was Richard Grayson.
"Dick…" I whispered. I shared this boy's grief, this boy's happiness. I had told him of my origin and he somehow had remembered.
It's weird but…I think I knew someone named Kori when I was younger.
He flinched beneath my touch. "What did you call me?" he asked his beautiful blue eyes suddenly wide with alarm.
"Nothing!" I squeaked. "I was merely describing your eyes. They are…thick with color."
He paused, looking quite unsure of himself. I wrapped my arms around him before he could question me further.
"Thank you for sharing your eyes with me," I murmured into his neck.
His arms hesitated for only a second, and then he returned my embrace. This was a nice hug. I had not had one like this for the longest of times. I missed our bonding greatly. We had not been the same since Mad Mod's school…since our visit to Tokyo really.
I stiffened when I felt a strange hardness bump against my inner thigh. I did not understand that, nor the next thing that happened. One moment I was wrapped in Robin's arms, the next I was pushed aside hastily. I felt hurt as he turned his back on me. I could tell his face was a bright crimson though.
"Right um," he cleared his throat, tugging the collar of his neck, still not looking at me. "We should get going."
