Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait! As I predicted, school is NUTS. I will honestly be surprised if I can post another chapter before I graduate, but who knows. The projects are piling up and I'm drowninggg! But, aside from my agony, here is a nicely sized chapter. :)
Chapter 11: Stay Away from the Light
It had been a few months since Starfire's encounter with the man cloaked in black within her recurring nightmare. She was careful to not reveal it, or her other visits to 'the room,' to any of her team, especially Robin. She continued to go there every night, but it was always pitch black with the eerie hum of technology echoing off the walls; the lights never came back on again. However, as she twisted and turned on the table - in a weak attempt to break free - she could feel her abdomen swelling further week by week. But after her close call with actually being pregnant, she knew that subject was likely a little touchy with Robin. Though he seemed a bit more relaxed after she had told him the tests came back negative, he also appeared more sullen, sad even.
In addition, she had finally gotten more control over her previous, easily provoked nausea, much to her and Robin's relief. She went to the doctor a week after finding out she wasn't pregnant to see if they could determine why she was sick, but they offered little explanation, saying it was likely just a temporary bout of the stomach bug. They admitted they weren't very knowledgeable about Tamaraneans though, mainly their system of nine stomachs, so their diagnosis was up for reconsideration. Not really wanting to go back to her home planet for a check-up, Starfire felt it would be best to just endure.
Though she seemed much better now, Robin still worried about her. Over the past four months, he had searched through every newspaper since Slade's disappearance - that is, after he helped Robin save Raven from her demon father's clutches. Finding only one article that sparked his interest, detailing a theft of numerous medical supplies with a 'man in a dark suit' caught retreating from the scene on camera, he was pretty hopeless about discovering Slade's hideout or his plans; unless it has something to do with building his own hospital, he thought.
Each of the Titans were in their own corners of the Tower - Cyborg working on the T-Car, Beast Boy watching T.V., Robin training in the gym, Raven reading in her room, and Starfire up on the roof - when the alarms sounded, ending the calm of late day. They quickly gathered in the common room, Cyborg already on the Tower's computer, interpreting the distress call.
"Cyborg, report." Robin said firmly.
"Looks like Dr. Light is at it again… man, will that guy ever retire?" Cyborg asked rhetorically, bummed that he couldn't finish his car's upgrade.
"You'd think he'd get the hint by now. Some people just aren't fast learners." Raven stated in a monotone.
"There's no use in standing around sulking about it. Where is he, Cyborg?" Robin pressed, eager to practice the martial arts techniques he had been practicing.
"Outside the city… at the power…" Cyborg's voice trailed off as the lights in all of Jump City flickered out across the bay, the once twinkling coast now dull in the dark blue of late evening, "...station."
"Oh great, a power out. So much for my marathon of Clash of the Planets." Beast Boy pouted.
Robin groaned at Beast Boy's selfish concerns, then directed everyone outside, heading off to battle with their adversary.
Starfire flew alongside Raven, enjoying the wind that ran through her hair. Now that the team was more mature, not as many villains tried to get away with stuff. Before they had scoffed at the idea of possibly being beaten by a bunch of kids, but now that the Titans were young adults, many criminals didn't even try to aggravate them, staying hidden away in the city's slums. Because of this, there weren't quite as many local calls to action anymore. They were far from being bored, still regularly protecting the city and other areas, but this rush was getting a little more rare, almost beginning to classify as 'the good ol' days.'
Their target came into view in a dark valley filled with power lines and towers, using his suit to drain the remaining energy from them, sparking brightly in the dim twilight. He whipped his head around to see the Titans coming straight for him, ready for a fight.
"Hahahaha, you think I didn't come prepared this time!? Now, Titans, you are no match for me!" He rose his suit's right arm, energy pulsating from the orb embedded into his hand.
"That's not the first time you've said that." Raven pointed out bluntly. Dr. Light cringed slightly at the sight of the dark girl, but quickly regained his confidence.
"Perhaps I've been cocky before… but mark my words, I'll never need to say it again! I'll be finished with you once and for all in just a mo-" His speech was cut short, side-swiped by one of Robin's birdarangs. Robin reached his hand out, catching his weapon as it flew back to him.
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Light."
Dr. Light sneered. "Oh, very well." His hands sparked rapidly, shooting a thick bolt of energy at Robin. Raven reacted quickly, shielding Robin with a wall of dark energy. Cyborg jumped over the makeshift wall, aiming his sonic cannon at the narcissistic villain. Raven phased into the ground, appearing behind Dr. Light a moment later, a black aura surrounding her and her eyes narrowed into pure white slits. Dr. Light gasped rather obviously.
"Honestly, you don't seem any more threatening than you used to be." Raven remarked, her cloak flowing in the breeze behind her.
Dr. Light smiled wickedly. "Are you sure about that?" Before Raven could deliver a comeback, he shot her with a bolt of electricity as she was in very close range, immediately causing her to crumple onto the rocky ground. He grinned, satisfied with his work, and turned to the other Titans.
"Raven!" Beast Boy yelled. He tried to get around Dr. Light, but was stopped by a zap of energy, causing him to fall back roughly.
"The dark one should take back her snide little remark. My suit is new and improved! It is now able to better deliver the lethal energy that comes with light. You don't stand a chance!" He waved his arms in front of him, causing electricity to pulse outwards in a large, horizontal wave, wiping Robin and Cyborg off their feet. Starfire, hovering steadily in the air, watched in dismay as Dr. Light incapacitated each of her friends.
"I will not allow you to win, Dr. Light!" Starfire exclaimed, diving through the air, shooting star bolts from her eyes. They hit him square in the chest, as he was unprepared for the aerial attack, sending him flying backwards. As she continued pummeling him with her native energy, the three boys of the team stood up shakily, Beast Boy limping over to Raven who still lay motionless on the ground.
"Why isn't she waking up?! Cyborg! Robin!" Beast Boy shook her, but it did no good.
"Beast Boy, stop! His rays are much more powerful than we remember, we need to get her out of here." Robin instructed. Cyborg picked her up with Beast Boy guarding him, retreating as Robin and Starfire dealt with Dr. Light. They had encountered him before when he harnessed the raw power of the northern lights, but this time his bolts were much more refined and precise, dealing dangerous blows in the blink of an eye.
After a few minutes of fighting, no one side particularly gaining an advantage, Dr. Light grew impatient. "See if you can dodge this!" He summoned a deadly amount of energy to his hands and let it crackle around him. He then sent a steady stream of it at the Boy Wonder, sweeping across the ground at such velocity that there was little way to escape but to hide under his cape. He quickly ducked, avoiding the electric shock. However, Starfire, who was floating high above the scene, looked upon her husband worriedly, planning to swoop down and grab him so he would not be so vulnerable on the ground. As this thought was passing through her mind, she did not notice another beam coming straight for her...
"STARFIRE, LOOK OUT!" Robin shouted from below. But it was too late. As she turned to face the goliathan bolt, it was striking her, clipping her invisible wings and sending her tumbling to Earth. Robin, as always, caught her before she smacked the ground. He looked upon his now unconscious wife, lying limply in his arms. "Starfire..." he breathed out quietly.
Starfire's eyes shot open, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her heart pounding in her chest. Instead of being in the middle of a battle with Dr. Light, she was now trapped in the white void, the lights once again shining brightly in the empty room. She tried catching her breath, getting over both the shock of electrocution and visiting her mind's prison without having fallen asleep first. Her eyes darted back and forth in disbelief, trying to grasp what had just happened.
A moment later, she heard the man in black curse audibly from outside the wall. Machines were beeping and alarming erratically, filling the usually quiet room with unwelcome noise. Starfire wanted badly to cover her ears, but her arms were still cuffed to the table.
Now that the lights were on again for the first time in months, Starfire glanced down at herself in curiosity. She saw a pronounced belly, now quite obviously pregnant. She began to hyperventilate again.
"Too bad about your little girlfriend!" Dr. Light taunted, proud of his fine work. "Now just to rid myself of one final annoyance." He brought his electrified hands together, preparing to strike.
Robin still stood there, holding Starfire, tenderly brushing the hair away from her face. His sadness quickly turning to unbridled fury for the one who caused this. Not only had he injured Raven... but now Starfire... and that was too much.
"She's not my girlfriend." Robin stated sharply.
"Excuse me?" Dr. Light retorted, slightly annoyed at Robin's lack of reaction to his impending doom.
"She's not my girlfriend." Robin glanced up, looking Dr. Light directly in the eye, a determined scowl contorting his features. "She's. My. Wife." With this, Robin lightly set Starfire on the ground, cradling her head so it landed softly, and turned on the villain, more than ready to get his revenge. Robin's sudden ferocity, plus the fact that Robin and Starfire were married, startled Dr. Light, but he recovered, sneering at the young hero.
Robin grabbed his bo-staff, unfolding it and pushing himself off the ground in one swift movement. Dr. Light shot highly charged bolts at the young adult, but Robin was too quick, dancing around them as if choreographed by a Hollywood director, getting closer and closer to his target. He reached into his utility belt, throwing several smoke bombs in Dr. Light's direction, submersing him in an opaque fog. As it cleared, Robin reappeared behind Dr. Light, posed on top of a rocky ridge, the final pastel streaks of light in the dark sky displayed prominently behind him.
Dr. Light laughed mockingly. "How can you possibly expect the beat me with your mediocre weapons?"
A moment later, Robin moved aside, revealing a fully-armed Cyborg and an enraged green rhinoceros, charging at full speed at the unsuspecting villain.
Aiming straight for the suit's power core, Robin and Cyborg performed their signature move - the 'sonic boom' - resulting in an explosion that knocked Dr. Light ten feet backwards. Before he could react, the three Titans threw everything they had at the fallen criminal, the main component of his suit cracking under the stress, electricity leaking out.
"No... NOOO!" He clasped his hand onto the broken part, but it was too late, his power now supply damaged and drained. Though he was clearly defeated, Robin kicked him with all his might, sending Dr. Light tumbling across the ground. He chased after him, punching him repeatedly without faltering.
"Okay, okay, I surrender! Please!" He begged, his suit falling apart more and more with each of Robin's blows. Cyborg and Beast Boy walked over to them carefully.
"Robin, we got em... you can stop." Cyborg said gently.
"NO! You haven't surrendered, Light, and you know it. You always come back, cause so much pain and so much trouble, then fail and claim to be sorry. Well you AREN'T!" Robin shouted angrily. He couldn't stop. So many things had happened to Starfire since they were married that this one finally pushed him over the edge, the anger he had been bottling up for so long releasing all at once.
Beast Boy approached Robin quietly so as not to provoke his severely angered state. "Robin, that's what bad guys do. That's why they're bad guys. They don't learn from their mistakes... but we do."
Upon hearing those last few words, Robin paused, his fist raised into the air. He let it fall slowly, finally showing mercy on the battered bad guy.
"Please... just... go get Starfire and take her to the medical bay." Robin requested, keeping his eyes fixed on the fading horizon and motioning towards where she still lay, safe but unconscious. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked over in the indicated direction, pain spreading across their faces upon realizing that not just one, but two of their teammates, and good friends, were badly hurt.
Starfire sat motionless on the table, simply taking in the strange sensation of pregnancy. It felt so real to her, her body harboring a new, growing life. She was sure that this world wasn't real and neither was her baby inside her, but she couldn't help but find some comfort in the fact that now she technically wasn't alone with the man in black.
"Infuriating little..." The man muttered, abruptly entering the room, hurrying to the screaming machines.
"Why do they make such noise? I know you dislike me, but please, tell me something." Starfire pleaded. There were so many mysteries surrounding this dream; she was now more curious than frightened, which allowed her the courage to question her oppressor.
He continued typing into a computer and took out a screwdriver to access its mainframe. "Little Starfire," He spat contemptuously, "you couldn't have gotten electrocuted another time, hmm?" His hands balled into fists, attempting to keep his apparent anger under control. "It's going to be a joy to repair you."
"Man, I just don't understand, how could Dr. Light have knocked her out?" Cyborg monitored Starfire's vital signs, his face clouded with confusion. "Raven, I get, but not Star. Her race is practically impervious to these kinds of attacks."
Robin sat beside a sleeping Starfire, his hand resting gently on her limp arm. She breathed in and out quietly and steadily, but showed no signs of consciousness. No twitches, no sighs - nothing.
Beast Boy also sat next to a hospital bed, but this one contained Raven, who floated up and down slowly, clearly sedated by one of her healing trances. He looked at her sadly. Seeing her this way brought back memories of the time she was injured by Adonis - but for a time he had thought he was responsible for her pain, and that feeling still haunted him. He whimpered slightly, the despair inside him trying to claw its way out.
"Cyborg... come on... you have to know something. Anything." Robin pleaded softly, becoming more worried with each passing minute that Starfire's eyes didn't flutter open.
"I'm sorry, Robin. I don't know what to tell you. The machines indicate that there's absolutely nothing wrong with her. Every part of her is functioning normally. She's just simply... not conscious." Cyborg looked over the scene, saddened by the condition of his teammates.
A few moments later, the boys heard a loud gasp, and quickly directed their attention to the girls. They found Raven's eyes wide open, scanning the room intently. She shot upright, groaning as she held her throbbing head.
"Raven, you're okay!" Beast Boy exclaimed, enveloping her into a tight hug. She blushed hard at his unexpected maneuver and shoved him away.
"What happened...?" She couldn't exactly remember the events that had lead up to her being bound to a hospital gurney.
"Dr. Light got ya with one of his rays, it knocked you out cold." Cyborg explained. Raven looked up at him, having more questions to ask, but then saw Starfire in the bed next to her.
"Starfire?" She leaned off the side of her bed, getting a closer look at her motionless friend. That's when she noticed Robin, who hadn't budged from his place beside his wife. Robin couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Raven had woken up and not Starfire, though he mentally slapped himself for thinking that way, since Raven was his friend as well.
"She got hit by a beam too." Cyborg said, addressing Raven's obvious curiosity.
"Where is she..." Raven whispered to herself, almost inaudibly. She saw Starfire right in front of her, an overwhelming piece of physical evidence, but couldn't sense the least bit of her presence. To her, the room contained herself, Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. The Starfire she saw was an empty shell. She continued to observe her, trying to hold back her rapidly rising panic.
"Repairs?" Starfire repeated, tilting her head innocently at the black figure.
The man growled. "If you ever want to wake up again, you will shut up and stop asking questions." His threatening tone silenced the curious alien. He pulled a lever, and the beeping machines finally quieted, leaving behind a heavy silence in the room. She began to feel a familiar sleepiness tug at her eyelids.
"Good. Everything's in working order. Hope you've enjoyed our time together... because I guarantee that the next time won't be as pleasant." With these final words, Starfire departed from the room, awakening to the sounds of the various instruments of the Titan infirmary. She heard a sudden rise in activity in one of the machines, its beeping increasing in tempo.
"Guys, she's coming to." Starfire heard Cyborg say from above her. Her eyes opened and slowly focused on the four Titans that were surrounding her, looking very relieved at her return.
"Starfire." Robin sighed, a small smile playing across his lips. Even if she still wasn't totally recovered, she was awake, which was a good sign. She sat up, entering Robin's waiting embrace.
"Please... what have I missed?" She asked from inside Robin's arms. He chuckled lightly at her innocence, just happy to hear her sweet voice.
"Dr. Light attacked you with one of his electrical beams... you were knocked out from it. I've never felt so...- What happened, Star? I thought you were... you know... more tolerant to electricity than humans." Robin said, a little shaky.
"I am. Or I, well... I thought I was." She shook her head, feeling the same confusion as Robin. Plus, her last encounter with the man in black still lingered in her mind. Robin watched her, bewildered.
"What are you not telling us." Raven said suddenly, making the others jump.
"Raven?"
"Starfire... we need to know what's going on so we can help you. So help us help you." Raven looked her straight in the eye, not allowing their eye contact to break. As soon as Starfire had begun to regain consciousness, Raven felt Starfire return. Not physically, but, for lack of a better word, her soul. Her self. Her mind. She knew Starfire was hiding something important.
"I..." Starfire thought over Raven's request, uncertain of how to proceed. She still did not want to bring up the topic of her strange dreams, but was so shaken that she couldn't remain totally silent. "I have merely been feeling odd lately. Worried..."
Robin took her hands into his. "Worried about what, Star?"
"About not waking up..." She echoed the cloaked man's words, feeling tears spring to her eyes. Raven's expression softened slightly upon seeing Starfire's weakened disposition. Robin pulled the crying girl back into his protective hug, giving Raven a look that told her to not push the matter. Raven turned and left the room, feeling her control on her emotions beginning to slip again. She's hiding something. Why won't she just tell us. I'm... I'm worried about her. A nearby lamp exploded as a sudden burst of energy escaped from Raven's clutches, her emotions getting the better of her. Upon hearing this, Raven stopped walking down the hallway and took some deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Rae?" Beast Boy asked, coming up behind her.
Raven's eyes narrowed. "What."
"I, uh, just wanted to see if you were okay..." He ran his hand through his hair a little sheepishly.
"I'm. Fine." Raven replied through gritted teeth. Beast Boy edged closer to her, unphased by her defensive glare.
"You don't look fine to me." He looked her in the eyes, appearing genuinely concerned.
Raven sighed. She felt her anger subside slowly. Seeing that Beast Boy cared about her somehow brought her emotions under control.
"I'm just... worried about Starfire. I mean, haven't you noticed her acting strange?" She didn't really want to bring up the other reason for her suspicions.
Beast Boy nodded tentatively. "Yeah... maybe a little. But come on, she's Starfire. She can get through anything, and I'm sure this time is no exception. And we can trust her to tell us anything we need to know."
Raven listened to Beast Boy's words in minor shock, having a hard time believing that such sound reasoning could come from him.
Beast Boy smiled at Raven's reaction and grabbed her hand, leading her back to the infirmary. To his surprise, she allowed him to pull her along, letting him guide her without any resistance.
I can tell she was only mad out of concern for Starfire... she just hides it behind a wall of anger and stubbornness, Beast Boy pondered as he approached the medical bay, Raven following after him. Aside from her indifference and her harshness, she really is a totally different person... and I'm gonna find that person... one day.
Author's Notes: Yep, totally added some cheesy what-the-heck-am-I-doing BBRae in there. XD In my defense, I wrote this back when I was just starting to 'fall' for BBRae. I'd like to think I'm progressively getting better at writing about them now. XP