Author's Note: This is the beginning of my end game, so things are gonna get pretty heavy from here on out. I'm gonna start earning that M rating, although this chapter is not that bad. It's also relatively short, so the next chapter will be up Friday evening, and that one is VERY heavy. You are warned!

Songs: "Dethbed" - Alkaline Trio (relevant from when Starfire runs off the roof)

Don't forget that the songs and other info about the fics is posted on my Tumblr (see the link on my profile page)


Chapter 11: Gone

"Again!" Slade snarled, hitting a button on his arm.

Several targets appeared against the wall, firing lasers at her where she hovered.

With a sigh, she handily disabled them with her eye beams, which she had obtained a week or so ago. Since then, Slade had been drilling her relentlessly, calling her in at all hours for practice.

"Slade," Starfire groaned, sinking to the floor of the cavern, "it is 3 in the morning. If I do not return soon-"

"We're done when I say we're done," he snapped back, folding his arms behind him as he strode toward her.

She grumbled various Tamaranean insults under her breath, crossing her arms as he approached.

"Oh, so you think this is beneath you?" he mocked, stomping closer to her.

"Well- I- I-" she mumbled, staggering backward, her eyes nervously scanning side-to-side looking for escape routes.

"You think you've trained enough? You think you're finished?" he snarled into her face.

"N-No," she stammered, panicking as she slammed against one of the machines, running out of space to put between them.

"Speak up!" Slade shouted, so close that she thought she may have felt some saliva hit her cheek through the slots in his mask.

"No," she repeated firmly, dropping her eyes to the floor as she pressed herself against the metal behind her.

The next thing she was aware of was an excruciating pain on the left side of her face. She toppled to the right, bringing her arms up in front of her to break her fall as she collapsed into the dirt. Lifting a hand to the stinging side, she felt something warm and slippery beneath her fingers. She pulled her hand up in front of her face to find the fingertips coated in a thick, red substance.

She whipped her head around, staring up at the dark figure hovering above her.

"NO!" he affirmed, bending down to point at her threateningly, "You're not done! You're not finished!"

He bent down, grabbing her by the arm and throwing her back up against the machine, his hand cutting into her skin even through the protective suit.

She whimpered as her head banged against the metal, wriggling helplessly under his superhuman grip.

"You don't stop until I say you can!" he continued to yell, rattling her roughly. "IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?"

"Y-Y-Yes," she breathed, her eyes stinging with fear and pain.

He hit her again, sending a fresh wave of pain through the injured area as she yelped.

"SPEAK UP!" he railed, his voice near deafening.

"Yes, yes," she pleaded desperately, nodding emphatically, "I understand!"

"Good," he spat, throwing her back to the ground as he released his grip.

She landed hard, gasping as she fought back both the sobs and the stinging in her left cheek.

"Get out," he ordered, turning his back to her and walking away.

She staggered to her feet, inhaling and exhaling rapidly as she watched his tall, stiff form disappear into the shadows. She then ran out the door, not even attempting to fly. Her footfalls were heavy and fast, echoing around the concrete tunnel. She reached the manhole she usual exited from and collapsed on the ground at the foot of the ladder. Pulling her knees up in front of her, she sobbed violently, rocking back and forth in a horrified ball.

She had been attacked, again. She had been hit, again. She had allowed that to happen, again.

She shook her head violently, trying to expel the memories that were flooding back, memories she had long suppressed. The cages, the chains, the beatings, the-

She screamed, gripping the sides of her head with her hands as she continued to shake.

After her sobs dropped to whimpers and the rivers of tears melted to streams, she stood up, leaning against the wall behind her. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She had to regain her composure. She had to go home. They could not see her in such a condition.

She changed in her usual inlet, packing everything into her backpack and exiting onto the street. After glancing around to make sure she was alone, she flew off through the city toward the Tower.

By the time she crept into her room it was nearly 5am, and she was careful to float instead of walk so Robin would not be disturbed. He was always incredibly easy to wake up once it got past 3am, something she had learned the hard way through the past few weeks of these overnight training sessions with Slade. She even winced as she closed the closet door, afraid even the minute -click- would somehow rouse him. She changed into her pajamas in the air as an added precaution, and settled down onto the bed as lightly as possible.

She watched as the clock ticked from 5 to nearly 6, unable to sleep. She must have rolled over hundreds of times, trying to avoid lying on the severed corner of her mouth. She was lying on her stomach, sighing heavily into the mattress, when she realized rest would not come to her tonight. The sun would be up in half of an hour or so, and she could never sleep beyond that; the sun gave her too much energy for that to be possible.

Internally grumbling, she lifted off the bed and pulled a fresh uniform and her bathroom bag from the closet before heading to the door. She jumped at the sound the door made, it seeming so much louder in the absolute silence of the Tower. She floated down the hallway to the bathroom, grateful to find it unoccupied, although that was not exactly unexpected.

Locking the door behind her, she set her fresh clothes and bag on the counter and looked up to survey herself in the mirror. She grimaced at the sight, realizing just how lucky it was that she had not met anyone in the hallway.

Her cheek was bruised faintly, and the left corner of her mouth was red and raw, a cut evident on her lower lip. With her accelerated healing, it would all be gone in a couple of hours or so, but she would have to be careful not to be seen until then. Other than that, she simply looked ragged, which would be expected after yet another night with no sleep.

She leaned into the shower, twisting the large, silver knob. Water shot out of the wall, and she adjusted the temperature to her preference before slipping out of her pajamas and stepping inside. She spun in the stream, letting the water wash over her face, which caused her to hiss in pain as it crossed her damaged lip.

She leaned out from the curtain, plucking her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and scrubbing device from her purple bag. After lathering, rinsing, and repeating, she quickly cleansed her body with the lavender-vanilla body wash and twisted off the shower as soon as all of the suds were cleared.

She reached her hand out to grab a towel, pulling it into the shower with her. She dried herself off slightly before stepping out onto the fuzzy, blue rug that awaited. Once her body was dry, she twisted her hair up into the towel and pulled on her uniform. It was then that she noticed the bruise on her upper arm from where Slade had gripped her. That would heal soon enough as well, but she would have to return to her room to obtain some sort of sweater until it did.

After ruffling her hair somewhat dry with the towel, she packed her bag and headed back toward her room, still hovering so as not to rouse Robin. Plucking a sweater from her closet, she quickly slipped her arms into it and headed back to the door. The sun would be rising soon, and she would heal even faster if she could soak up some energy.

Luckily, she got through the hallway and up to the roof without encountering anyone, but she knew Robin would be awakening any time now. Settling herself down on the edge of the roof, her feet dangling off the edge, she breathed in the early-May, morning air. The cool temperature was a welcome relief to her stinging lip, so she sat there quite content as the first hints of light began to traverse the midnight blue sky.

As the light grew brighter, streaking the night with hues of pink and yellow, she could feel a slight tingling in the corner of her mouth, a sign that it had begun to heal. Hopefully, it would be gone before anyone discovered her whereabouts.

"Up early again?"

Or not.

She turned -to the right so the injured side of her face would not be presented- to see Robin walking toward her. Her heart leapt into her throat, but she managed to smile back.

"I could not sleep," she replied simply.

Thankfully, he sat down on her right side, and she went back to looking out at the bay, her fingers clenching the edge of the roof with anxiety.

"Yea, me neither," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I heard you get in the shower."

"Oh," she muttered, too nervous to form complete sentences.

"Well, I mean, I don't like listen for when you get in the shower or anything," Robin expounded nervously, obviously misinterpreting the reason for her discomfort.

She giggled softly, turning her head slightly toward him. "I understand your meaning," she assured, and he flashed a small smile back at her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching as the colors in the sky began fading to pale blue.

"Uh…Starfire?" Robin murmured, and she glanced over again to find him looking down at the small bit of space between them.

"Hmm?" she acknowledged, raising her eyebrows.

"I- I've been thinking," he mumbled hesitantly, "about…what happened…a-awhile ago."

She looked at him quizzically, but she had a faint suspicion as to what he may mean. Not enough to respond, however, so she simply looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"And- uh- well, ya see…the thing is- Well, I-" he stammered, turning away from her. He inhaled deeply, exhaling out toward the bay before turning back to her, this time looking her in the eye. Or so she assumed, at least.

"Star," he began confidently, and her heart stopped as her eyes flicked down to where his hand had moved to cover hers, "I…" His eyebrows wrinkled together as he hesitated, his mouth pressing into a determined line.

Abruptly, he lifted his right hand, stretching across to settle it on the left side of her jaw. With light pressure, he turned her head toward him, and her breath stalled.

Her lips trembled as he moved closer, their noses mere centimeters from touching. Her eyelids were just fluttering closed when Robin suddenly froze.

"What happened?" he asked furtively, his thumb grazing across the corner of her lip.

She snapped back with a wince, turning her head away from him as her mind spun frantically, trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

"Star," he continued forcefully, replacing his hand on her cheek and trying to twist her face back to his, "what happened?"

She shook his hand off, looking completely the opposite direction. "I- I bit my lip," she fabricated weakly.

"In the corner?" Robin challenged, his voice rising. "Well that'd be impressive."

"Per-Perhaps it was something I ingested?" she stretched further.

"Like what, glass?" he confuted with a snarl.

"Dehydration?" she squeaked, wincing.

"Starfire!?" He pulled at her chin again, and this time she followed, knowing there was no remedy for it now.

"God, Star," he breathed, his fingers grazing across her cheek, "you're all bruised."

"It is nothing," she assured, sliding her hand over top of his and pulling it off her cheek.

"That is not nothing!" he argued. His body then froze, his eyebrows rising with dawning comprehension.

"Did you- Did someone-" he stumbled, his voice shaking with restrained fury, "Did someone hit you?"

"No," she lied, her head drooping.

"Like hell!" Robin snapped. "I know what that looks like, Star. I've taken a punch or two."

"Robin," she tried to assure him, "you are mistaken. I was not-"

"STOP!" he shouted, jumping to his feet beside her. "Just stop!"

He paced back and forth across the edge of the roof, gesticulating furiously as he ranted.

"This has gone too far, Star! This is too much! I can handle the mysterious absences and the sleepless nights and, yes, even the odd lie," he rambled.

"But this?" he emphasized, gesturing down at her as he stopped his pacing. "I can't do this! I can't just stand by and-"

Her eyes filled with tears as he exhaled heavily, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Star, please," he pleaded, his voice shaking and broken. "Please," he lifted his hand to her cheek once again, "tell me what happened."

She could not look him in the eye, turning her head to stare across the roof as a few tears broke loose.

Robin swept them away with a graze of his fingers, lifting his other hand so her face was now completely cupped in his hands.

"Please," he whispered, and she whimpered at the sheer volume of pain contained within it.

"R-R-Robin," she cried, shaking her head as much as she could within the confines of his fingers, "I-I cannot."

"Why?" he begged, green gloves wiping at her cheeks. "Why can't you tell me?"

She sobbed weakly, lifting her hands to his. "I-I am sorry," she apologized, finally looking at him.

She ripped his hands off her face as she stood up, running toward the door.

"STARFIRE!" he bellowed, and she heard his heavy footsteps take off after her.

She turned as she passed through the door, closing it briskly behind her. Lighting a starbolt in her hand, she hovered over the handle, melting the metal together.

There was a heavy thud as Robin hit the door, and she heard him jiggling the handle uselessly.

"Starfire!?" he shouted, several more thumps echoing around the stairwell as she raced down to the next floor. "STARFIRE!" His voice echoed behind her as she burst into the living room, panting and crying.

Knowing she did not have much time before Robin found some other way down from the roof, she pounded down the hallway to her room, no longer caring to be quiet. She locked the door behind her before leaping to the closet, ripping it open. Her hands shaking, she frantically packed a few extra uniforms, Slade's suit, and her communicator into her backpack. Carrying the sack over to the desk, she dumped the contents of her bathroom bag inside, not caring about what was still damp or not. She threw the backpack over her shoulders as she made her way to the window, fumbling to open it.

"STARFIRE!" she heard Robin yell, sounding as if he were on his way down the hallway.

She glanced frantically at the door before turning to the window, placing her hands on the frame and preparing to thrust herself through. She paused, however, looking down at the Titan communicator on her waist.

"Starfire!" Robin shouted again, now pounding on her door.

Wrenching the communicator from her belt, she snapped it open, poking at the keyboard. After hastily typing a short message, she threw the device onto her bed and flew out the window, trying not to hear Robin's strangled cries.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Robin

"Starfire!?" he screamed, pounding and kicking at the stairwell door. "STARFIRE!"

He backed away, looking frantically around the roof. His eyes caught a vent some ten feet to his left, and he raced for it. The top came off with one, swift kick, and he jumped inside, falling several feet before landing with a loud crash. He crawled frantically through the vent, winding his way around until he was above the ops center. He kicked in the cover and flung himself into the room, landing with a crouch on the carpet. He bounded back up immediately, bolting for the main door.

"STARFIRE!" he bellowed as he entered the hallway, bounding toward her bedroom.

"Starfire!" he shouted again, both fists crashing repeatedly against the metal. "Open- this- DOOR!" he magnified, enunciating every word with a heavy kick.

He paused for a moment, listening intently, but heard no sound coming from within her room.

Panicking now, he hardly noticed as Raven appeared in the hallway behind him, closely followed by Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Enable voiceprint analysis," he ordered the unseen computer system.

"Voiceprint analysis online," a mechanized, female voice answered.

"OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!" he commanded, giving it another punch for good measure.

"Command confirmed," the voice said, and the door swept open in front of him.

"Starfire!?" he panted, his eyes furtively searching the room.

Her closet was open, stray pieces of her uniform on the floor in front of it. Her purple toiletry bag was lying on its side on her desk, water dripping out of it and darkening the carpet below. The last thing he noticed was the window, which was open, the curtains billowing inward with the breeze.

"No, no, NO!" he shrieked, feeling himself losing his mind.

He raced over to the window, thrusting his upper body through.

"STARFIRE!" he bellowed into the sky, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Hyperventilating, he leaned back into the room, turning around to see three terrified faces staring back at him. His lips were trembling as he tried to slow his breathing enough to explain, and that's when he noticed the communicator.

He dove forward, whisking it up off the bed. Blinking furiously, his vision momentarily blurred with panic, the text on the screen slowly came into focus.

I had to. I am truly sorry. Goodbye.

"No…" he breathed, staggering backward and collapsing against the windows. He slid down to the floor, staring at the communicator he still held in his shaking hands.

Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.

He read it over and over, his head shaking with denial.

"Robin," Raven's terrified whisper broke in.

He was dimly aware of her kneeling at his side, a hand placed gingerly on his shoulder.

"Robin, what happened?" she asked breathlessly.

He looked up at her, seeing his own terror reflected in her violet eyes.

"She's gone…" he faded away to nothing, the words somehow making it all the more horribly, terrifyingly real.