AN: hey peeps. I've got the new chapter. I got this one done a lot earlier than I thought I would. IT'S THE END OF THE FIRST NINE WEEKS!


Chapter 6: Bonding Time:

"God, do you people even know what you're doing?" Keenyara exclaimed before she tilted her head back and let out an exasperated sigh. Beastboy slowly peeled himself from the wall that he had so enthusiastically run into. He had been aiming for Keenyara, but she refused to stand still, much to his dismay.

"You suck," she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye, "just like the hybrid. At least the Duke of Colors over there can move. What have you been doing?"

Robin ground his teeth together in an effort to keep his temper. He was not sure what made him angrier, the fact that neither Beastboy, nor Cyborg, could defeat her, or that the reason they could not defeat her was because she was good.

"Keenyara, we all have been introduced to each other and we are quite happy to call you by your name. Perhaps then, you could honor us by calling us by ours," Starfire said courteously as she struggled to hide her amused grin. Robin was in awe at her diplomacy in such a situation. Keenyara just did not seem to be getting to her the way she got to… everyone else.

Keenyara considered this briefly and was about to answer when Cyborg's raucous laughter interrupted her. "'Duke of Colors'? I should have gotten that one on tape!" he exclaimed from the floor, where he was reattaching his left leg. Keenyara smirked a smirk of approval and stretched lazily.

"What now? Is it Bluebird's turn? Or am I finally gonna— ha!" This time she interrupted herself with a triumphant shout. She dropped down into a controlled fall, adding an unnecessary twist on the way down so that she finished lounging on the gym floor with her hands behind her head. Beastboy hurtled through the space where she had been in the form of a large green wolf.

"Ugh, come on Beastboy. Wouldn't that have been an unsportsmanlike shot?" She rolled her eyes. "You people are so lame," she snickered, laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Really, it was not that she was so much better than the two male titans. More, it was that the style of fighting that she was using focused more on agility and speed. Beastboy and Cyborg used more brute strength than anything else, Cyborg with his mechanical muscles and Beastboy with his larger animal forms. Truly, she would have a harder time fighting against the girls' long range fighting styles and Robin matched her blow for blow.

Keenyara thought it was more fun to bait Robin than to point that out.

Robin slapped his hand over his face as Beastboy slid past the doors into the gym. He was in the act of wishing for something to put the arrogant girl back in her place when the doors slid open to reveal the only Titan who refused to attend Keenyara's training session.

Raven raised an eyebrow silently as Beastboy finally managed to come to a complete stop and become humanoid once more. Her eyes then slid to Keenyara who was regarding her from her spot on the floor. She rolled her eyes.

"Get up," she said to Keenyara as she moved where Beastboy had been and stood calmly. Keenyara contemplated ignoring her or saying something biting, but instead decided to humor her.

"You're up next? Hmm, okay. You first," she said gracefully rising to her feet and dusting herself off. Raven crossed her arms.

"No. I have a point to make. Attack." Raven was still impassive. Keenyara narrowed her eyes, sensing a trick, but again decided to be gracious for the moment.

Picking up her staff, she sprinted toward the impassive Raven, full force. Raven did not seem to be readying herself in the least and only gazed at Keenyara blankly.

Suddenly though, a black glow flashed in her eyes and she smirked, feeling the boost of power. "Keenyara, sit," she commanded simply.

Keenyara's eyes went wide as her muscles jerked involuntarily backward and her backside hit the floor. She did not, however, waste time gawking before she was up again and running.

Raven looked surprised at the time frame it took for the 'spell' to wear off. She dodged one first one and then another swipe toward her before launching into the air. She was surprised to find that Keenyara was following her, not by flying, but by a series of flips and rebounds against what she could only imagine were powerful gusts of wind. Her eyes flashed again.

"Keenyara, sit and remain seated until told otherwise." The irate teen plummeted downward and hit the ground with a groan. This time she did not get up no matter how much she struggled. She cried out in frustration as Raven touched down onto the floor. The Titans were watching in shocked awe.

"Ah, you damned witch! What did you do to me?" Keenyara growled as a brisk wind began to pick up in the room.

"It's a safeguarding enchantment they put on you since you're here involuntarily. A kind of obedience spell. Apparently, you are going to have to obey a direct order from one of us. Oh, and Aara says 'hi.'"

Keenyara's eyes went wide before she covered her face with both of her hands. "Fucking hell!" she shouted as she moved her hands. "That damned—"

"Hey chick, what is with you and that mouth of yours? Didn't you live alone? You swear like a sailor or something!" Cyborg exclaimed, frowning.

"Shut up, Cyborg," Beastboy cackled as he darted into and out of Keenyara's reach. "We've got unbound powers at our fingertips here and you're going into a lecture on manners? Dude, when does your husband come home?" Keenyara glared at him, provoked by his taunting, and then whipped around to stare at Raven. Raven nodded graciously.

"Do as you wish," she said, shrugging. Keenyara was up in record time and stalking toward Beastboy. Beastboy just laughed again.

"Okay, are you dumb or something? I can stop you in your tracks at any moment I please!" he crowed. Keenyara grabbed her staff from the floor as her eyes seemed to throb faster and the wind began to pick up speed.

"Try me," she hissed, breaking into a dead run. Beastboy smirked and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Keenyara, don't move." Beastboy was somehow the only one surprised when he hit the opposite wall with such force. Keenyara was pushing a few strands of hair out of her face. The air stilled gradually until quiet reigned in the large room.

"Oh yeah, I thought you knew, it only works for Starfire and I. I thought that would be kind of implied." Raven said, looking over her shoulder to where Beastboy had decided to stay down. "Sorry," she said. She turned back to find Keenyara staring at her.

"When did you talk to Aara?" she asked. Raven faced the stare unflinchingly.

"Last night. It was one of those lucid dreaming things. Why?"

Keenyara tilted her head curiously. "What did she tell you?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Stuff about where you came from and why you're so socially inept."

Keenyara snorted and retrieved the cloth she used to keep her staff secured. "You idiot, I could have told you all of that." Raven glowered at her back as Keenyara motioned toward Cyborg. "You, Cyborg, come fix something to eat before stupid over there wakes up and tries to shove a tree down my throat." Cyborg was up quickly and engaging Keenyara in a conversation about Beastboy and his ludicrous food choices as the two headed toward the kitchen. Robin rested his head against Starfire's shoulder and groaned quietly. Starfire giggled and tugged on his hair playfully.

"I do not think she is so bad," she said while Robin and Raven stared at her incredulously. She just giggled back at them and moved to help Beastboy up.

"Sure, like a paper cut," Robin muttered.

Raven snorted. "Or a power drill drilling into your scull." Beastboy rubbed his head and glared toward Raven.

"Or maybe like running into a wall over and over again. Thanks, Rae," he snarled, his voice dripping sarcasm. Raven crossed her arms across her chest.

"It was a momentary memory lapse. On the upside, now Cyborg and Keenyara can make some real food in peace." Beastboy's eyes went wide. Raven raised her hand to her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh my, did I just say that out loud? Well, you better leave quietly to stop them."

"Cyborg! Put that garbage down! It's my turn to cook lunch! CYBORG!" Raven winced as Beastboy sprinted out of the gym shouting.

"Somehow he never hears the words having to do with silence," she muttered heading out of the room and to lunch. Starfire looked at Robin who shrugged and grabbed her hand, leading her the way everyone else had gone.

The two had fallen asleep not long after their talk. Robin had remained with her for the entire night while Starfire slept quietly. Both had underestimated the extent of her exhaustion. She woke much later than was her normal. Robin had been up for a few hours, enough to introduce each of the Titans to Keenyara formally and to be called about three different species of bird, none of which had anything similar to a robin.

"Excuse me, Mockingbird, but could you get your brave soldier to fix his own lunch and leave ours alone!" Robin's fists clenched as Cyborg grabbed Beastboy by the back of his collar.

"Get you dirty green paws off of the hamburgers!" he shouted. Keenyara was tapping her staff impatiently against the kitchen island.

The noise level was ascending rapidly with Cyborg's and Beastboy's normal argument which Keenyara seemed happy to join. Cyborg was elated to have someone else that was just as scandalized with Beastboy's die-hard vegetarianism.

Robin kneaded his forehead agitatedly. "Hey!" He shouted finally. All motion and arguments stopped and all eyes came on him. "Shut. Up. Beastboy let them have their food and get your own. You two have this dumb argument every single day. You should have worked it out by now! And I would thank you to not instigate," he snarled at Keenyara. The youth simply turned her attention back to Cyborg who was teaching her how to cook on the stove, though not before giving Robin a good view of her middle finger over her shoulder. Robin's eyes went wide with shock before going narrow. He started around the island toward her, cursing angrily.

Starfire quickly grabbed his arm. Raven turned away and tried to hide her smile. Beastboy was cracking up, watching Starfire struggle to keep Robin next to her. Cyborg shook his head and flipped a burger expertly. "Shortie, I think you're gonna fit in alright," he mused, grinning.

The light atmosphere was interrupted by an authoritative sounding beep coming from the large computer. Starfire went toward it after making sure that Robin was in control of himself. She pressed a few keys on the keyboard before her and the black screen was replaced with Galifore's huge face, looking worried. Starfire looked up at him, confused.

"Galifore?" she said, rising from the floor to be eye level with his image. His face immediately melted into relief upon seeing her unharmed, but he still looked agitated. Robin turned and watched.

"Princess Starfire, I am so glad to find you unharmed!" he exclaimed. Starfire tilted her head.

"Why would I not be fine? What is wrong?" Galifore's eyes darted from Starfire to the rest of her team behind her band back again. Starfire's eyes widened as he began to speak rapid Tamaranian.

"I have been attempting to contact you through your private communicator for days now, but it seems to have been offline. I have even tried on this one once already! I was afraid for you," he admonished. Starfire looked off to the side.

"I apologize. I knew that you tried to contact me through the main computer, but I became…distracted," she answered, trying to avoid the truth.

Galifore looked suspicious. "Distracted by what exactly?" he asked. Starfire looked at the scar over his eye.

"Luand'r."

Galifore's fists clenched. "Princess, I was hoping I could warn you before they found you. Please, you friends are well?" He peered behind her and toward her friends, looking for any visible injuries there. Only Robin looked back, while the others continued with their mealtime rituals.

"They are undamaged. I would not let them into a fight with her, but she has revealed me and my past. Robin at least, knows everything." Galifore looked surprised and looked at Robin, who quickly tried to look like he was not listening. Starfire had not even told him everything about her absence from Tamaran. It was years after her kidnapping before a transmission was sent to him with her face on it. He almost did not recognize her as the toddler he used to care for.

"I see," he remarked carefully. "I… am not sure how to tell you this."

Starfire started. "What are you talking about?" she asked carefully.

"Princess, the Psions have returned."

Starfire dropped from the air in her shock. "What? When? What do they want from us?" she asked, without giving Galifore time to respond.

"About a 'week' ago. They have not declared war, but they claim that we are harboring an escaped servant and one of their soldier's wife. Do you know what they speak of?" Starfire paled.

"They want Blackfire and I," she whispered angrily. Now it was Galifore's turn to pale.

"You and Blackfire are not wed! You are both untouched! They did not marry either of you!" he exclaimed, slightly hysterical. Starfire held her hands before her.

"Please, calm yourself Galifore. We are not married by our standards and neither of us has been…violated," she detailed uncomfortably. Galifore seemed comforted to a point, but still was not his normal good natured self.

"That will have to be elaborated on at a later time. But I am sorry to say that our people feel that you would know them best. Rik has taken a vote and they want both you and your sister for the negotiations. It is imperative that I request your presence back on Tamaran quite soon." Rik on Tamaran was a kind of watered down Parliament. It had started out as a group of advisors to the Grand Ruler, but eventually became a very powerful group in Tamaranian politics. They took care of the things that the Grand Ruler refused to be bothered with, such as choosing sufficient knorfkas, setting taxes, attending to the current king or queen, and always advising the Grand Ruler. While the Grand Ruler remained the absolute ruler and power, most took the advice given to them by Rik seriously and after the royal family, members of Rik were most powerful.

Starfire bowed her head obediently. "Yes, Emperor Galifore. I will come as soon as I am able. It may be a day or two, but I will come." She secretly had no idea how that would work out with the Teen Titans, but she tried not to let it show. They had understood so far. She hoped that it would continue.

"Good day, Princess. Good day, Titans." The transmission cut quickly and Starfire touched down on the floor. Robin was looking at her strangely while the rest of the group sat and ate hamburgers, or tofu hamburgers in Beastboy's case.

"When are you going to leave?" Robin asked somberly. Those eating looked up in surprise at the question. Starfire was surprised too.

"Wha- how did you know that?" she stuttered, caught off guard. She knew for a fact that her conversation with Galifore had been complete Tamaranian. Neither of them had slipped. Robin gave her a strange look in return.

"You two weren't whispering or anything. I couldn't help but overhear," he answered shrugging.

"That's exactly what happened last night. It's like Robin knows Tamaranian, but he doesn't know how he knows. I don't even think he knows he knows!" Beastboy piped up, chewed up tofu falling out of his mouth, much to Raven and Keenyara's disgust.

"I think it goes chew then swallow," Keenyara declared, looking at the pre-chewed bits. "There's usually not a conversation between the two." She looked over at Raven. "Right, you highness?"

Starfire took no notice of the impending argument. She tilted her head and moved closer to Robin. "You understood what I said to Luand'r last night?" she asked in Tamaranian. She expected a blank look more than an answer, but she got the latter.

"Yeah, but you weren't speaking Tamaranian last night, were you?" Robin asked casually. He didn't really believe that Starfire had been speaking Tamaranian. More likely it was one of Beastboy's jokes that he refused to let go. Starfire eyes got wide.

"Our… the argument that we had was in Tamaranian, Robin, as was my conversation with Galifore." Starfire moved forward again and peered at Robin strangely. "As is what I am saying now."

Robin's eyes went wide. Once it had been pointed out to him, he could hear a slight accent in the words she said.

"What? How? I mean, it's not like I can speak Tamaranian or anything!" he exclaimed, perplexed. "Why would I be able to understand it?" Starfire tilted her head.

"I am not sure I would expect you to," she answered. She blushed suddenly. "However, I do have a few theories, now that I think of it," she stuttered. Robin arched an eyebrow at her sudden shyness. The table behind them was still relatively quiet.

"Well?" Cyborg prompted, his mouth also full. "Lay 'em on us!" The table was silent, all of them sensing Starfire's discomfort. They all waited anxiously for her answer. Starfire went even redder.

"Oh, well, it hardly matters at the moment, agreed?" she said in what she hoped was an offhand way. "What does matter is that I am being summoned back to Tamaran, as Robin has noticed." She turned to Robin. "I need to leave soon," she said, trying to be calm and rational about it. She remembered the way it was when she had been summoned back for her marriage. They had come with her. She had wanted anything but then. She had been horribly afraid of marrying someone that was not, in a word, Robin. Now, no matter how much she berated herself about it, she hoped feebly that they would come with her again.

"Why do you have to go back anyway? I thought you told them that you didn't want to be their queen," Beastboy said loudly. He stood from the table and stretched, leaving his dirty plate behind. Keenyara shot a sideways look at Raven who only shook her head slowly. Keenyara shrugged and sat back. No one seemed to notice the interaction but them.

"I did decline the throne, yes, but I am still princess. Technically, I only said that I did not want the throne at that time. With Blackfire banished I would become Grand Ruler, should Galifore become unable to rule," Starfire answered, sitting on a stool at the counter and resting her head in her hand. Cyborg too left his seat, heading toward his beloved GameStation. Again, Keenyara gave Raven a look. Raven lifted a single finger in a 'wait' gesture. Keenyara faced forward again and crossed her arms, blowing hair from her face. Some of her hair was apparently too short to stay in place in her braid and she was forever pushing hair out of her eyes or unbraiding and re-braiding her hair.

"So when do you think we should leave?" Cyborg asked, settling on the couch with the good controller, delighted that he had gotten it before Beastboy. Raven stood and slid from the table, motioning for Keenyara to do the same. Keenyara did so with an exasperated sigh. Starfire looked at him, taken aback.

"'We'?" she questioned. Robin also looked at him while Beastboy sullenly grabbed the only other controller and plugged it in. Cyborg looked at her over the back of the couch while he waited for Beastboy to key in.

"Well yeah. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but the last visit we took to Tamaran didn't give me a chance to check things out all the way. I mean, did you see all of those lamps? I did not see one single wall outlet either!" he elaborated. Robin inspected him closely as he said this, wondering if that was his real reason. Robin knew what it was like to be protective of Starfire. One usually wanted to be as discreet as possible.

"If Cyborg's going then I'm going. I refuse to be left here with Raven and Robin! They both have an unhealthy habit of wanting to hit me in the head as much as possible. And between you and me, I'm thinking that Keenya over there is evil," Beastboy added, sneaking a look at Keenyara. Keenyara scowled and gestured strongly toward the ceiling and then toward Beastboy. A left over hamburger jerked into the air on the strong stream of wind, flying to smack against the back of Beastboy's head.

"Watch it, you stupid green bean, before I blow something heavier and sharper in your general direction," she snapped as Beastboy glared back. Beastboy stuck his tongue out at her as Cyborg fell over laughing. Robin smirked, wondering if he could overlook his dislike of the girl if only he could enjoy moments like these. He held up two fingers.

"Well that makes two of the team that's going with Star. Raven? Are you going to sign up with everyone else?" he asked, looking back at her. She was busily trying to hide her smile as Beastboy frantically wiped the cooked meat from himself. She looked up.

"I better go if Beastboy's going. Knowing him, he'll probably hit on one of Star's relatives and end up on death row." Robin turned back to Starfire.

"Well with the entire team on a different planet, I won't be much use here. I guess you can count me in. I don't know what we're going to do about Keenyara, though," he wondered. Keenyara planted one hand on her hip, biting the inside of her cheek to keep more than one statement from leaving her lips.

"Silly duck, I go where those two go. Do we need to have another talk?" she allowed herself to say. Robin scowled and ignored her, not wanting to humor her with a response. He was starting to see that she normally had the last word, a fact that was beginning to irritate him. Starfire interrupted his dark musings.

"This means that you all intend to accompany me back to Tamaran?" she asked lightly. In actuality, she was feeling anything but. Robin nodded. She took Robin's hand in hers gratefully. "Well then, I believe that we should pack. I would like to leave soon, if that is fine with everyone else," she said, before kissing Robin's cheek. She stood and retreated toward her room. Keenyara looked at Raven expectantly. Raven nodded and chanted.

"Azarath Metrion Zenthos," she said mechanically, and stepped back as Cyborg and Beastboy both dropped from two portals onto the floor. Raven fixed them with an icy glare. "It's your turn for dish duty. I covered for both of you at least once, so you can pay me back together. Get to work." Keenyara smiled at Raven.

"Very handy. I approve." Raven rolled her eyes, though a tiny, barely there smile peeked through.

"Thanks. Now that my life's wish has been fulfilled—"

"No one likes a smartass," Keenyara snapped suddenly, though she too bore a small sign of amusement. The two continued to snap at each other quietly as they headed toward the couch and Keenyara grabbed the remote and inspected it briefly. She pushed a few buttons experimentally before she found the ones that changed channels and occupied herself with soaking up some pop culture.

Her learning was disrupted as the television began another long sequence of beeps before it cut to yet another transmission. Keenyara 'humph'ed and crossed her arms grumpily as a tall man clad in black and grey appeared on the screen. A black mask covered the top portion of his face and ended in two pointed ears. A gold belt was looped around his waist and a black bat could be seen on his chest.

Batman.

Keenyara looked him up and down a moment. He looked back at her. A single eyebrow raised and a condescending smirk formed on her lips.

"Aren't you a little old to play dress up?" she asked loudly, knowing that he would hear her from the way Starfire had interacted with the earlier one. She watched his reaction carefully, secretly approving his control. He only looked back at her skeptically, seemingly unaffected by her rude comment.

"Cute," he commented, somehow looking just as patronizing as she, even without the easy access to his eyes. "
Tell me, is there someone… better around I can talk to?" Keenyara only smirked wider.

"You remind me of someone, somehow. Let me see… ridiculous costume, don't touch me attitude, strange fixation with masks… of course! Hey, Bluejay, you've got a message," she called over her shoulder before hopping over the back of the couch and heading off to somewhere in the Tower. Being as anti-social as she was, she did not invite anyone to go with her and left without another word. Robin kneaded his forehead again and stepped into the monitor's line of view.

"Batman," he greeted unceremoniously.

"Robin. I see you've got a new member. She's you people person, right?" Robin groaned quietly.

"Not funny. What do you want? I assume it's an emergency if you actually sent a live transmission." 'Though the site of Keenyara talking to a recording would do me some good,' he added mentally. Batman nodded.

"Yes. There has been some strange activity going around in your area. I was wondering if you could clarify some of it," he remarked back. Robin crossed his arms.

"I don't know. We're going on a road trip and we're leaving soon. Starfire has some business back on Tamaran. We're leaving as soon as we can get the Titans East to cover for us," he said, gaining a kind of pleasure from denying the legendary Batman.

"I'll tell you what. We've got some new recruits coming in who are claiming that they'll drop dead any minute unless they get a 'serious' assignment. Why don't you stop in the watchtower before you head out and let them city-sit for you while you're gone? We've heard about the situation on Tamaran. We need a conversation with your resident princess too." Batman crossed his arms.

Robin's eyes narrowed in annoyance. He would much prefer to have nothing to do with the watchtower or the Justice League, but he did not have a good enough reason to refuse. If the Dark Knight noticed Robin's apprehension at the prospect, he did not show it. Robin took a deep breath.

"Fine," Robin muttered. "We'll be there."