Author's Note: I had a couple of reviews from people with private messages disabled, which means I can't review reply. If you want a reply from me after you review, please make sure they're turned on, thanks.

And for some reason, it won't let me change the chapter name, sorry. Deal with the spelling error until this is fixed.

What do you do with a drunken Tamaranian?

Dick didn't know what he expected as Raven released them from her portal. Thoughts of a merrily-belting-out-Tamaranian-folk-lore-songs and happy Starfire crossed his mind, but that didn't account for Raven's worry. Maybe she was getting frisky at a local bar and her strength wouldn't allow Raven to coax her away. After all, it was Starfire, the kindest, gentlest soul he had ever known. How bad could it be?

Raven released them into a world of fire and destruction.

Dick sat back on the bike, staring in dismay. He recognised the area, at least, he thought he did. The old, abandoned warehouse district on the south side of Jump, slated for demolishment early next year.

Starfire stood in the middle of the burning wreckage of what was once a warehouse, beating the rubble with a large, stone column. Her hair burned, her eyes blazed and she yelled each time she brought the column crashing down.

Fire engines rimmed the road up one end of the district, ready to act and aid. A police barrier across the end kept the crowd of onlookers and photographers at a distance. A safety precaution, since the area was also littered with Titans.

Aqualad waited in the river which ran beside the warehouses, Dick could see his head poking out, beside him a green dolphin watched. No doubt they were for fire control, but with Starfire flaming so brightly, he didn't think they could help without her permission. Bumblebee and her team watched from the sidelines, probably came with Aqualad when he was called.

Cyborg turned at the sound of Raven's screech, his face a picture of relief. "Thank god."

"What…?" Dick was dismayed.

"It started this morning, I think," Cyborg said, one hand on his hip, the other rubbed his bald head.

Dick glanced at the night sky, she'd been going for some time then. Why were they only just calling him now?

"We don't know why," Cyborg continued. "We didn't know until she… until when all the alcohol in the Tower was gone and I found her in a liquor store, she'd gone through— she came here and started destroying things. I tried to contain her for a while… but…" he shrugged. "She's not acting like she's drunk, at least by human terms, but… whatever this is, it's not normal."

Dick looked at Raven. "Why was she drinking?" Starfire drinking to excess was disturbing enough, but seeing her demolish made him worried.

"I don't know. I was in Azarath," Raven explained. "Gar called me. I'm…" She pressed a palm to her chest. "It hurts."

"What hurts?" Dick asked.

"Everything. Everything hurts," she said, studying Starfire. "Something bad happened."

"She won't listen to us, man," Cyborg said. "We've tried. You're last resort. She's gotta stop soon or she'll hurt herself."

"What makes you think she'll listen to me?" Dick asked, ducking from the loud crack the column made as it broke. That didn't stop Starfire; she picked up another wooden piece and reduced that to splinters. "We're not exactly on the best terms."

"You have a better chance than any of us," Raven said. "You have more influence over her than you know."

"You just need to get her to talk," Cyborg said. "We need to know why. She can destroy all she likes, but we're all worried."

Dick got off his bike and put the stand down. "Just a sec," he murmured. Pulling out his phone, he called Babs.

"Hey, Dick," she sang happily through the phone. "Are you on your way?"

"Raincheck," he said.

"Aww, what?" she asked, disappointed.

"Check the satellites over Jump," he said. "Don't know how long I'll be. Sorry."

There was a clicking sound, then, "Oh shit… what's going… oh… is that… is that Starfire?"

"Yes. Gotta go. Your pizza's on the way, I prepaid. Enjoy."

"Thanks."

Hanging up, Dick put the cell away.

"Sorry, man," Cyborg said, watching Starfire. "Didn't realise we were interrupting a date."

"You weren't," Dick said and squared his shoulders. "All right, let's see what I can do."

Picking his way carefully through the debris and the fires, he made sure he kept himself within Starfire's range of sight so he wouldn't be sneaking up on her. He could feel the heat of her flames surrounding him. She didn't acknowledge him and he wondered if, in whatever haze she was in, she saw what was occurring around her. He stopped within reaction distance, or the distance from her if she turned on him, he'd be able to avoid what was coming. "Starfire?"

She snarled and did not stop obliterating stonework into tiny pebbles with her foot.

He took a step to the side so he was opposite her. "Starfire, it's Dick."

"Do you think me unaware?" she snarled.

"I don't know what I think," he said, keeping his voice as soothing as he could. "This isn't like you at all. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," she snapped. "Everything is perfect."

"You're scaring people."

She tossed her head as if it didn't matter. "Are you afraid of me, Dick?" she asked, and slammed her foot down on a chunk of concrete.

"No. Never. I know you."

She scoffed.

"I know you wouldn't be doing this unless something was really wrong. What's happened?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line and swayed. Her arms were scattered up and down with little scratches and he wondered how long she'd been doing this before they'd come and gotten him.

"Please," he said, taking a step toward her. "Talk. If not to me, then Raven."

Starfire's body jerked. "No. She cannot know."

"What can't she know?"

Starfire knelt down and dug her fingers into a beam of wood. "I try and I try and I try and it is never good enough." She began digging into the wood as though it were sand, tossing the shreds behind her. "Not human enough. Not Tamaranian enough. Two worlds and I do not fit into either. I will never fit in, no matter how hard I try. The colour of my skin is wrong, orange freak, lay off the tan. My temperament is wrong. Rutha, skorn nu k'urr. I am too much of a warrior and not enough of one. What am I to do? And now they are coming and they will know. They will know that which I hidden for years and it will destroy everything and I shall be forced to do something I do not want to do."

"What will you be forced to do?"

She hesitated, her fingers buried deep within the wood. He watched her flex her hands and draw them away to study her fingers. "Give her up."

"Give who up?"

Starfire shook her head. "Silly little alien, bonded and bound. Caught in a trap she made herself and now cannot escape. Cannot ever escape because she wanted the trap. Wanted it so much and then gave it up because she could not carry the consequences. " She sang her words, a poem which he did not understand.

"Starfire, you're not making sense."

"I cannot," she cried. "I cannot give her up, she is all I have left!" She hugged herself. "She is mine and I am hers and you cannot know! Not you, not you." She clawed at her face. "X'hal, they will kill me."

"Who?"

She shook her head again with more ferocity, the movement making her sway dangerously.

Taking another step forward, he crouched down so he could see her face. "I'll protect you."

The anger in her broke and the flames of her eyes and hair died. Whether that was from his words or she was exhausted, Dick didn't know. Tears fled down her cheeks. "You do not know what you are saying."

"I do. They won't hurt you. I promise. I'll protect you."

She shivered and curled in on herself. "Do not say that."

"You're my friend," he said, stressing each word. "I'll. Protect. You."

"They are binding words. You must not say them."

"Then tell me what's wrong," he prompted. "Tell me how I— how we— can help."

She released herself and reached out to dig her hands into the wood again. "No."

He reached out and placed his hand on hers, if only to stop her from returning to her frenzy. "Starfire."

Eyes riveted on his hand, her entire body went stiff, her face going paler than he'd ever seen her. "Please, do not touch me. I cannot fight it when you touch me."

He didn't let her go. It was the first contact they'd shared in years; he could feel her skin warming beneath his hand. It had been so cold, so cold. Icy, an oddity since she was always so fiery. Tamaranians, so sensitive to touch and he used that sensitivity now to calm her. "Tell me what's wrong."

She met his gaze and then crumpled. "Galfore has perished."

Dick's heart fell into his stomach. "Oh, no. God no. I'm so sorry."

She wept. "My k'norfka is gone and now they come for me."

"Who's coming?" he asked.

"The Royal Guard," she whispered, tears streaking her face. "They wish for me to return home. I cannot go, Dick, I cannot. They will take her from me."

"Take who?"

"I kept her quiet, kept her safe, all these years. She is mine and I am hers." Starfire's eyes unfocussed and she swayed and Dick knew she was heartbeats from fainting. "She is mine and I am hers and she is yours and you are hers but you are not mine and it will never be and I cannot bear it alone."

"Starfire, I don't understand."

Starfire's eyes rolled back and she collapsed, Dick snatching her before she hit the ground. Cradling her in his arms, he called, "Raven!"

TTTTT

Raven closed the door behind her. "She's sleeping," she murmured. "It's a light one, most of the alcohol is draining quite rapidly."

"Lucky," Beast Boy mentioned, then shrivelled under Raven's disapproving eye. "I just meant— I mean— she, I, er, Cy?"

"On your own on that one, B."

Dick stared at Starfire's door, confused. "What are we going to do when she wakes?"

"The best we can," Raven said. "I tried to take some of the emotional pain, but she wouldn't let me."

"She's unconscious, how can she not let you?" Beast Boy asked.

"Unconscious doesn't mean consenting," Raven said. "She has to want me to take away the pain before I can and she's holding onto it tightly. But I feel it's more than Galfore. Galfore's death set this off, but it's been building for a while."

Dick wondered if it could be jealousy. If Starfire saw how close he and Babs were getting, how would she feel about that? He wasn't about to voice that theory though. "You're closest to her," Dick said. "Has she said anything to you?"

Raven shook her head.

Raven cannot know.

"It's something she's been hiding for a while," Dick murmured.

"Did she say something?" Raven asked.

"Bits and pieces which don't make sense at all." He glanced at Cyborg. "She said the Royal Guards were coming for her."

Cyborg frowned and headed for Ops. "I'll check the communications from Tamaran. See if I can confirm the death too."

"Tell the Watch Tower to deny access for diplomatic reasons for the time being," Dick called after him. "Put them and the Network on alert. We're going to assume she doesn't want to go with them, so until she gives the word, any attempt to take her from Earth will be considered hostile."

"We'd risk starting a war with Tamaran," Beast Boy said.

"No, we're stalling," Dick corrected. "Until Starfire's coherent enough to explain."

"I'll sit with her," Raven said.

Dick nodded. "I want to know when she wakes up."

"Of course," Raven said and phased through the door.

"Can I make a suggestion which may help the solemn mood?" Beast Boy asked.

Dick gave him a tight smile. "Yes, pizza would be a good idea right now."

"Good."

Dick watched Beast Boy bound down the hallway and marvel that age never replaced boyish enthusiasm. He rolled his shoulder, his eyes lingering on Starfire's door again. "I need to find a uniform."

TTTTT

"I respectfully decline to allow you access to the Princess," Nightwing said. "She is currently indisposed. As your arrival was not planned nor agreed to in advance, I suggest you wait until she becomes available."

The haughty Tamaranian man scowled at him over the video. "This is an act of war—"

"With all due respect," Nightwing said. "I think our Green Lantern would object to that. Tamaran has no authority outside the Vegan system, for you to declare war on Earth simply because the Princess, your monarch, is currently unavailable to answer a summons which you have the audacity to give without prior warning, is far outside your jurisdiction and we would have the capacity to ask for the Lantern Corps' aid."

"Absolutely," Green Lantern said, crossing his arms and glaring at the Tamaranian entourage which had entered Earth's space to collect Starfire.

The Tamaranians muttered between themselves, several of their eyes flashing green in anger.

"We will notify you when the Princess becomes available," Nightwing suggested. "Until then, sit tight. Enjoy the comforts of the Watch Tower."

One of the females asked, "You are Nightwing, are you not?"

Nightwing hesitated for a heartbeat. "Yes."

"She is under your protection?"

"Yes."

As one the Tamaranians relaxed. "Then we shall take your offer to enjoy the comforts of the Watch Tower."

Nightwing was taken aback by the sudden shift. "Um… okay. Good. Hal?"

"I'll keep an eye on them," Green Lantern said, giving him a wink as they signed off.

"Was that weird or what?" Cyborg said.

"They just… I thought we'd be in for a bigger fight," Beast Boy said. "But they… Dick, what's going on?"

Nightwing frowned. "I wish I knew."