I know that Batman has a spaceship. He uses it in Batman/Superman #64. I was just gonna use the Batwing, but I decided not to. I don't think it's ever been in space in DC continuity, but I'm probably wrong. There's so much Batman material out there that I can't possibly have read it all. I kind of took some Bat-poetic license and mashed the Batwing and the spaceship form B/S 64 to create the Bat-ship. If you aren't familiar with DC comics, I made it a hovercraft. Flat and round and goes in space. Except that instead of being round it's shaped like a bat. Because not having it shaped like a bat is just silly.
Chapter 12 - Betrothed
"What do you mean, married?!" Selina spluttered into her webcam.
Starfire stared down at the keyboard. "I understand that it is quite difficult. But it is what is necessary."
"Okay, jeez. Um, who's the lucky guy, Starburst?" Harley asked, frowning.
"I... do not know. I have never met my betrothed." Starfire traced her finger over the keys in the shape of stairs.
"Starfire," Selina said softly. "Your planet... it's important to you. I get that. You want to protect your people. But... You don't need to sacrifice yourself for them. There has to be another way."
She squeezed her eyes shut. Selina was being kind, of course. She was always kind, in the end. Starfire usually enjoyed Selina's kind words and her concern and protectiveness. She often could not believe that she was lucky enough to have someone other than Galfore care for her in such a way. But today, Selina's kindness pierced her like a blade. She couldn't stand it.
"There is no other way," the alien princess said solemnly.
Harley shot her a sympathetic look. "Well... well maybe you'll get there and he'll be really hot?"
Starfire sighed. "Perhaps."
"Yeah. There you go. Look on the bright side!" the blonde balled her hand into a fist and bent her elbow, sweeping her arm across her chest.
Selina narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Harls... go hang out in the toy room for a sec, okay?"
Harley tilted her head, knowing that she was being sent away. But she smiled anyway, and she chirped, "Sure thing, Kitty! Talk to ya later, Starry!" She waved at the camera and flounced away.
Selina looked at Starfire for a long moment, and Starfire rested her chin on her hand.
"Starfire," Selina began, softly but sternly. "You've already been through so much. It's not fair of your people to ask this of you. Your life doesn't belong to them."
Starfire shook her head and dropped her eyes. "No, my friend, you are wrong. My life will always belong to Tamaran. If sacrificing myself- whether it is the spilling of my blood or the giving of my heart and body- saves my planet and my people, I will do it. And gladly," she added, although she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Selina or herself.
The older woman just stared at her. "I think you're making a mistake."
"Thank you for being so supportive," the teenager mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Don't you think you've paid your dues already?" Selina demanded. "How long were you on the Citadel, again?"
"It does not matter. I am still alive. I still have work to do."
"Okay. Fine. Go back to Tamaran. Give your life away. But, Starfire..."
There was a moment of silence and Starfire lifted her eyes to the camera. Selina was waiting for her to look up again, and now that she had, she continued. "I'll be here. You can always talk to me."
Starfire swallowed. "Oh, Selina, I cannot. Once I am married, I do not believe I will be allowed any contact with worlds other than my own."
"You can't be serious."
"It is a common practice. I have... got to go."
Starfire quickly hung up and brushed at the tears that were spilling over her eyes. Oh, she would miss Selina.
The speakers from her computer emitted a high-pitched ringing. Selina was calling back. Starfire snapped her laptop shut. She couldn't go through that again. It was too painful.
She walked over to her round bed and threw herself on her stomach. The sun was just winking out over the horizon, setting in the pretty way that it did here.
She didn't expect her goodbye to Selina and Harley to hurt so badly. She'd really become attached to the woman who'd taken her in and her odd friend. She even found Poison Ivy interesting, although she was rather haughty and she seemed to regard Starfire mostly with disdain.
She wasn't quite finished. She wanted to go say goodbye to Robin, as well. The thought of doing that made her throat constrict. She let tears spill from her eyes freely and pulled her blankets over her feet. She didn't want to sleep, really, because that would make the next day come faster. But she didn't have the willpower to make herself do anything else.
...
Selina growled to herself. She drummed her fingers on the desk and ran her hand through her hair.
She should just let it go. She offered to help. The brat turned her down. She wasn't about to get any more involved than she needed to. It wasn't her fault the kid was so intent on throwing her life away.
Dammit. She couldn't just let her. Fuck if she knew why, but she was invested in this kid.
The screen was dotted with different icons. There was Harley's, Ivy's, both Bruce Wayne's and Batman's, Oracle's... the mouse hovered over one in particular. Selina rolled her eyes at herself and clicked it. While it was ringing, she remembered herself and pulled on the hood of her Catwoman suit and pulled the goggles over her eyes.
There was no answer. Selina sulked at that a little, but she wasn't very concerned. With a teeny bit of simple hacking, Bruce's entrance code, and the fact that she knew her way around Wayne security systems, she was able to make her call go through to the main monitor in that ridiculous Tower.
A living room of sorts appeared, two teenage boys dropping the controllers to some kind of video game console in surprise.
"Shit!" the green boy squeaked. "It's Catwoman!"
"How'd you do that?" the robotic boy asked, wide eyed. "This system is protected by my own personal firewalls, not to mention-"
There was a girl on the couch as well, away from the boys, and she was reading from a book. She didn't deign to look up, which kinda bugged Selina.
"Tell me," Selina purred to the two boys on the couch, "where's Robin?"
The boys gave her a skeptical look and she raised her eyebrows to show them that she wasn't messing around.
"Uh... I'll get 'im, Ms. Catwoman," the green boy offered before turning into a green cheetah and scampering away.
She waited impatiently until the doors slid open again. Robin did not look happy. Which was kind of satisfying.
"What do you want?" he asked from the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest moodily. The green boy was hiding behind his cape, peeking around his shoulder at Selina.
"Answering my video calls is not optional, Robin," she scolded.
Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "Guys, can I get a minute?" he asked his teammates. The green boy scampered away, looking relieved to be dismissed. The robot boy let his controller clatter to the ground and he left too. The dark girl didn't move and she turned a page with her powers. It wasn't until Robin stood on the side of the couch closest to the monitor that she let out an annoyed sigh and disappeared into the ground.
"Hello!" Selina said brightly.
He didn't look very amused. "What?" Robin demanded impatiently.
"I need a favor."
"Haven't I done you enough favors?" he snapped. "I have a team. I can't just leave them to help you do whatever is that you-"
"I'm sorry. Not me." Selina looked at her nails for a dramatic pause and Robin stopped his protest. "Starfire needs a favor."
"I've done more than enough favors for her, too," he snapped.
Selina raised her eyebrows at her. "Did you two get in a lover's spat? What's the matter?"
He sulked for a minute before saying, "I just can't keep helping her out. She's a criminal and I'm a hero. It doesn't work like that."
She gave him a stern look. "She's an alien who's lost and confused," she countered.
"And I offered to help her out. She wasn't interested. I'm done. Unless she's robbing another jewelry store the way you taught her-" he paused to glare at Selina- "I can't keep doing her favors. So, sorry. Get someone else to help you."
She studied him, looking indignant, annoyed, and suspicious all at once. "Is this about that Red X guy?"
A very faint blush spread over his cheeks. "No," he said too loudly. "How do you know about that, anyway?"
Selina rolled her eyes. "Some random guy kisses Starfire and you didn't think she'd tell me about it?"
"You didn't tell Bruce, did you?" Robin asked quietly.
"No, sweetie, I didn't. You're going to have to soon, though." Selina waved her hand dismissively. "This is not what I wanted to talk to you about. You're going to help me help Starfire, and you're going to enjoy it. We'll be there to pick you up in the morning."
Robin narrowed his eyes at her. "I am not. What do you mean we?"
"Me, Harley, maybe Ivy..."
"Poison Ivy? I'm not helping you if Ivy goes."
Selina rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Just don't kiss her. You know all about how that works, don't you, Dickie?"
"Shut up."
"Can't you immunize yourself to that?" Selina asked with a tilt of her head.
"You can't immunize yourself to pheromones. What do you even need help with, anyway? What'd she get herself into, this time?"
Selina narrowed her eyes at him, not liking the implication that Starfire 'gets herself into' things. "It's not her fault," she snapped at him.
"Yeah, yeah. What is it?" he demanded impatiently.
Selina paused and looked down. "She's leaving, Dick."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Leaving? You mean she's going back to her home?"
She scowled at him. "Her home is in Jump. She's going back to Tamaran."
Robin didn't seem very affected by that, which made Selina angry. He knew what she was like. He knew how special she was.
"Why?" he asked quietly.
Maybe he was more affected by that than he let on. "She's... she's getting married."
He blushed again, this time more prominently. "What?!" he spluttered.
"That's what I said!"
Robin narrowed his eyes at the screen, recovering. "If she's getting married, I don't see why there needs to be any kind of interference."
"No, you little idiot, you don't understand. She's being forced to get married."
"Oh." Robin tilted his head thoughtfully. "Maybe it's a Tamaranean thing. Maybe it's just what her people do."
Selina glowered at him. "I'm going to go over there and personally beat some sense into you. There's something wrong about all of this. She needs us."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, Selina. Maybe she just needs you."
She stared at him for a second before putting her face very close to the camera. "I am not kidding about this. You're going to help me with this and I don't give a damn if you want to or not. You're going to be ready tomorrow morning when we come get you. Tonight, you're going to get your ass over to that penthouse to talk some sense into her."
"You can't order me around," Robin growled. "I'm not a sidekick anymore."
Selina sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not giving you a job as a sidekick. I was asking you as a friend. Now I'm threatening you."
Robin laughed. "Threatening me? I can break even with you in a fight, at the very least."
"Not a fight. Blackmail," she purred with a smile.
Robin blanched. "What do you mean, blackmail?"
"I'm not sure yet. There are so many options. You think about that. I'm going to be watching the security tapes of the penthouse. If I don't see you there, I don't think I have to go into every painful detail about what's going to happen to you."
He glared down at his feet. "I don't know where the penthouse is," he mumbled.
"Figure it out," Selina ordered, her face blank. She leaned forward and ended the call, closing her laptop.
She held her hand up to her forehead. She had work to do. Pack a little, get out her extra Catwoman uniforms, get Harley ready... acquire a spaceship...
Sending Robin over to her was a good move. It wouldn't change Starfire's mind, of course, but seeing him again would make her upset. And an upset Starfire was more likely to listen to Selina's reasoning than a determined, independent one.
"Hey, Harley..." she called as she stood up and pulled off her Catwoman hood. "Wanna go to a tropical planet covered with orange cat-people?"
Harley appeared in the doorframe. "You bet your sweet patootie, I do!" she chirped.
...
Robin threw himself back onto the sofa. Selina couldn't just order him around. She wasn't in charge of him. Blackmail. He wondered what she had in mind. She could probably very easily dig something up on him, either as Robin or as Dick Grayson. He wasn't sure if she would. Bruce would be pissed. Although, that only stopped Selina most of the time.
He was just finishing up damage reports, anyway. Maybe it wouldn't hurt. Of course, he'd have to go research and snoop to find Selina's damn penthouse. He shouldn't do it. He couldn't do favors for Selina just because she got huffy and teary eyed. He wasn't connected to Starfire. In any way.
Well, in the way that she was a bad guy and he was a good guy. Mostly. All of his attempts to arrest her had failed, when he tried. He kicked the coffee table back. Okay. Maybe he had some kind of... crush on her. Or something. But that wasn't his fault. Within the first ten minutes of meeting him, she'd kissed him. If that wasn't grounds for at least noticing that a girl was pretty, then he didn't know what was. And she toyed with him. He knew she did and he was sure she knew she did. She'd come up to him and invade his personal space and grab his cape and she'd say things.
More evidence that this was not his fault. And all this just made it so confusing. Why had she kissed Red X? He squeezed his eyes shut. Oh, he'd been angry when he saw that. Angry at her. Why would she spend so much time flirting with him and looking at him the way she does if she was just going to kiss other guys?
He took a deep breath. He couldn't do this. It wasn't okay. Not only was she his enemy, he was... well, he was Robin. Robin couldn't have a crush. There were so many things wrong with that. He'd get distracted. She'd have influence over him. Selina was already using that to her advantage.
She was leaving. Forever. She'd be gone. It was for the better, really.
But maybe seeing her one more time wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't help anything, but it wouldn't hurt. She was leaving and there was nothing he could do about that.
He stalked out of the common room back to his investigation room and looked up the apartments and penthouses in Jump. He searched for Selina Kyle, assuming she'd rented the place in her name. If she hadn't she would have told him.
Found it. It was in one of the nicest buildings in Jump, which really shouldn't surprise him. Selina was one for luxury.
He went down to the garage and grabbed his helmet. Cyborg was down there, and he stopped hovering over a motor- probably for the T-car, but Robin couldn't be sure- and he narrowed his eyes at his leader.
"Everythin' okay, man?"
"Yeah."
"What'd Catwoman want?"
"It's not important," Robin told him dismissively.
"So... where're you goin' now?"
"It's okay. I'm not being forced into anything. I promise." He smiled reassuringly.
Cyborg didn't look any less worried. "Okay. But if you need anything... you know we got your back."
Robin mounted the R-cycle and smiled at him. "Yeah. I know." He revved the engine and shot through the tunnel that went under the bay, emerging through a decoy dumpster and coming out of an alleyway.
He was going to be quick about this. Go in there, say bye forever, get out. Simple. She was probably packing her wedding dress, anyway.
He parked the bike and locked it up. His locking mechanism was much more effective than Cyborg's. He rigged so that unless he deactivated it first, the bike sent a shock to whoever touched. Not enough to do real damage, of course. But it hurt. He tested it on Beast Boy, which he kind of felt bad about but the results had been hilarious.
The grappling hook released with a pneumatic puff of air and pulled him up onto the roof. Right above Starfire's penthouse. There were several skylights dotted across the roof, and through one he could see her bed, which was raised on a sort of dais, two steps high. The room was empty. Robin opened the skylight and dropped in. The bed was round, just like he'd seen when he went into the future, and it was unmade.
Seashells were everywhere. There were a few she'd turned into jewelry, there were shells which she'd put into vases artfully, shells glued around picture frames, shells on the top of almost every flat surface. It was a little odd.
The apartment was dark. None of the lights were on, so she must not be here. Robin knew that there was only one other place she would be, and he tried not to think about what that said about their relationship.
He went to stand on her bed to exit through the open skylight when he saw an array of things sprawled on her bedside table. Which wasn't a big deal, and he would've left if one of them wasn't the bracelet he'd given her. And, weirdly, a birdarang. The cool metal was familiar in his fingers and he turned it over. It wasn't a replica. It was one of his. There was a jewel- this one wasn't red or green and it was well cut. Selina must've given this to her. There were red and black hair scrunchies that could only have come from Harley. Robin set the birdarang down and picked up an x-shuriken. He flicked it back onto the table.
Starfire was so odd. He couldn't quite figure her out. She was probably looking at things that were important to her, reminiscing over things and people she liked.
He dragged a hand through his hair and sighed. The grappling hook sank into the roof and he pulled himself up onto it, closing the skylight after him.
He flipped down to the ground and drove the R-cycle to the beach, where he dismounted and walked over to the pier. He turned on his night vision, not needing the infrared.
"Starfire? Are you here?" he called softly, even though he knew she was.
"R-Robin?" her voice answered. She wasn't under the pier, he could tell by doing a quick sweep with the night vision. He ducked out from under the pier and scanned the beach. She was holding her boots in one hand and standing ankle deep in the ocean, the water rising to her shins when a wave crashed a few feet in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, wrapping her fingers around her elbows.
"Um. I... Catwoman told me. About your... betrothal." Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "Is that... I mean, are you... happy about it?"
She tilted her head at him. "That does not matter."
The flow of the water reached the toe of his boots before ebbing away. The distance between them couldn't be more than two or three yards, but somehow she felt very far away.
"Yeah. But are you?"
She looked down at her toes as the water frothed around her ankles. "I... have become very attached to this planet. If I had my wish, I would not leave it."
"You can't... like... get out of it?"
"I cannot shirk my duties, no," she answered. Her voice was soft but he could tell that she was offended that he would ask. "The only way to do the 'getting out of it' would be if someone had secured my hand for betrothal prior to this one," she mentioned.
That made him uncomfortable. "So... like..." he stammered inarticulately. "Are you marrying, like, a prince or something?"
She sighed. "I do not know anything about my betrothed."
"Seriously?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't know anything. You're expected to spend the rest of your life with this person and you don't know anything about them? What if they try to launch an invasion of Earth, or something?"
She actually laughed at that. "Why do Earthlings think that other planets wish to conquer them? You are quite the group of narcissists."
Robin was less amused. "Star. Seriously. I mean maybe you should try to find out about this guy. See why he wants to marry you, even."
She made an indignant noise. "I am quite the valuable spouse!"
He laughed a little, both nervous and amused. "Ah... that's not what I meant. I mean that he's never met you, and he's never even seen you. So what could make him want to marry-?"
"Diplomacy," she interrupted him softly. Her tone of voice made him squint at her. She sounded sad and quiet and timid and... and there was some kind of accusation there, too.
"Um... what?"
"Diplomacy. The language that everyone speaks. What is best for both parties."
He gulped and looked down, remembering Batman's claim of diplomacy as he stared at the handcuffs he'd just freed her from, the street cracked because they were so oppressively heavy. He raised his eyes to hers slowly, studying her for what might be the last time. "But... Star... it's not best for you." He took a step forward and he didn't care that his boots were getting wet, and he took another step and one more, and he stretched out his arm to touch her fingers, which were still wrapped around her elbows like she would unravel if she didn't keep them there-
She jerked back violently and she went sprawling on her back into the water. Her boots, which she dropped as she fell, were floating over the waves, one of them beginning to sink as water filled it. Her hair hung over her eyes and she shook her head violently before raking her fingers through it to brush it away from her face. She choked on the saltwater.
Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "You okay?"
The water was lapping at the hem of her black shirt, but she didn't seem inclined to stand. She curled her knees up to her chest and she rested her forehead on them. "Oh, Robin, I do not know any longer."
How did he always end up in these situations? "Um, hey, it's..." He was going to say 'it's okay', but how could he? He didn't know what would happen to her. Instead, he leaned over her and grabbed her boot that sank into the sand and he scooped her other one out of the water. He tossed them onto the shore.
"I'm sorry, Star," he murmured, standing over her. "Come on, get out of the water."
She didn't move. "I am proud to aid my planet in their time of need," she said, her voice tight and watery. "B-but I am frightened. I do not know what lies in my future." She looked up at him and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Perhaps it will be nice?"
He sighed and crouched in front of her, putting his hands under her biceps and standing, making her stand, too. She allowed him to pull her up and bring her back onto the sand. "Maybe it will be."
"Robin?"
He looked down at her eyes. She was taller than him but right now she was so hunched and hanging her head so low that he had to look down at her.
"Yeah?"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "P-please release my arms."
Stupidly, he glanced down at his hands, which were still curled gently around her arms just below her shoulders. "Oh." He dropped his arms quickly. "Sorry."
"I am not offended." She gave him a small smile, although she stepped away from him. Her arms went over her torso, her fingers wrapped tightly around her elbows again.
She looked so pitiful like that, a waterlogged, scared kitten. She just looked at him with bright, wide eyes like she was waiting for him to answer a question. She shivered where she stood, little trembles. Robin didn't think she was cold, since her skin was pretty warm where he was holding her, but damn it, Selina was right. There was something about her that made him want to protect her.
He wrung the water out of the bottom of his cape and pulled it over his head. "Here," he said, and he draped it over her shoulders.
Her eyes got wider and she let go of her elbows to clutch at his cape. "Oh... thank you."
"So... that's it. You're leaving," Robin concluded dully.
"I must." She looked down at her feet and clutched his cape tighter. "It is not as though I have a choice, is it?" She squeezed her eyes shut now and Robin crossed his arms over his chest to keep himself from reaching out to her. "I marry a stranger or my planet is decimated."
She looked so sad. He just wanted to help her. He couldn't protect her from this. He wanted to do something... anything... to make her feel better.
He turned away from her and squinted at the water as it ebbed away from the beach. He plucked a shell from the ground and shook the wet sand off of it. "Here." He extended the shell out for her to see.
She looked at him, confused. "What?"
"Come on. Help me look."
Her eyes lit up. "You wish to locate some of the shells of the sea?"
"Uh... yep."
"Oh!" She let his cape drop from her shoulders onto the sand beneath her and she floated to his side.
They spent the next hour looking. Really, Starfire looked and Robin watched her, and she'd shove a shell excitedly into his hands and smile at him and turn her attention back to the ground.
It was good that she was leaving. The amount of times he caught himself looking at her in a way that he shouldn't, or thinking about her in a way that he shouldn't, or- at least twice- touching her in a way that he shouldn't. Nothing drastic; a hand on the small of her back or on her arm.
Starfire yawned and stretched her arms above her head after a while.
"Robin," she murmured. "I must... leave. I have the big day ahead of me and I must be well rested."
"Yeah. No problem," he said, kind of glad. It was getting hard to remind himself that he couldn't let himself get too comfortable with her. It was difficult, especially since there would be no consequences since she was leaving. He desperately wanted to know what her lips might feel like against his and what her hair might feel like if he threaded his fingers through it... What was with him today?
She smiled at him and before he could do anything about it, she threw her arms around his neck and she nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. "Thank you," she said softly.
He couldn't breathe. She wasn't even holding him very tight, but he lost the ability to inhale or exhale. "Um... no problem..." he managed, his hands straight down at his sides. He wanted to wrap them around her, but he couldn't. It was too easy to go from putting his hands on her back to putting them on her hips or in her hair. And he couldn't.
"No," she said, and he thought he could hear tears in her voice. She pulled back, sliding her hands to his shoulders, and she tilted her head at him. Oh, she was going to kiss him. He couldn't let her do that. But he couldn't muster the willpower to push her away.
His eyes fluttered closed and her breath fanned over his face. He felt her lips brush against his cheek. He sighed, half relieved, half frustrated. Her eyelashes fluttered against his skin and she stepped away from him completely. "I meant thank you for being my friend."
Her eyes were sparkling, filled with tears that reflected the light of the stars back at him. He rubbed his neck, his flaming. "Um... it's not... I... I haven't exactly been a very good friend to you, Star."
"Please do not say that," she said softly, her voice tight. "You have been the best friend I have ever had."
He let out a nervous chuckle. "You haven't had very many friends, have you?"
She shook her head and gave him a sheepish smile. "No, I have not." She blinked and tears spilled over her eyes. Her smile didn't fade the effect that it had on her was haunting and surprisingly beautiful.
Robin took a step back. "Um, yeah. Listen, I gotta go."
She brushed her tears away with the heel of her hand. "Oh! Do not forget your-"
He glanced at his cape in her hand and up at her eyes. "Keep it."
She clutched it to her chest and that did odd things to him. "Yeah. Gotta go. See ya."
He froze. She was still standing over by the water and he was almost at the boardwalk. Her posture became hunched and she murmured, "No, you will not."
"Ah... I'm sor-"
She streaked into the sky before he could finish and forced himself not to watch her go. He sighed and walked back to the R-cycle, and he was so distracted that he shocked himself before he remembered to disengage the locking mechanism.
...
Robin lay on his back, his head pillowed on his arms. He hadn't slept much. He was afraid of sleeping- well, of dreaming. Not of having nightmares. Quite the opposite. He could control his thoughts while he was awake, at least.
Selina never said what time she'd come get him. He knew she would. After all the threatening she'd done there was no way she was gonna let him go.
Not that he really cared what happened to Starfire. In fact, he was convinced that it would only be good if she really left. How bad could the guy she's supposed to marry actually be?
His Titan's communicator rang on Batman's frequency and he flipped it open. "Batman. Have you spoken to- Selina?"
She smirked at him. "What's up, Robin? Ready?"
"What are you doing on this frequency?" he demanded, propping himself on one elbow.
"I borrowed it."
"You borrowed it?"
"Just be ready in ten." And she hung up.
That was odd. Robin pressed his palm against his forehead and ran it down his face slowly. He grabbed a drawstring bag- red with the black and yellow R insignia emblazoned onto it- and shoved a change of clothes and pajamas into it. He hesitated and glanced at his dresser and grabbed the white seashell bracelet out of the drawer he'd shoved it in a while ago. He curled his fingers around it, the shells almost like porcelain as they tinkled against each other. He threw that in the bag, too, although he wasn't sure why. He grabbed his laptop and typed a quick message to his friends that he was leaving for Gotham for a few days and not to be worried. He always did this when Bruce didn't give him much notice before calling him back, so it wasn't anything unusual.
He made his way to the roof and waited. Before too long, he saw it. A big black mark on the horizon. The Bat-ship.
That was actually good, because nobody would think it was too weird, Robin getting in a Bat-vehicle. But he was a hundred percent positive that Bruce wasn't on the ship.
The two bags thrown to the side- one plain and black with nothing really discernible about it and one black and red checked with a clown doll sticking out of it. Undoubtedly Harley's.
He stormed over to Selina and spun her chair. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Selina removed his hand from her chair. "I told you I'd borrowed it," she said innocently.
"Were they in the Batcave?" he demanded.
"Don't be stupid. I didn't bring them anywhere near the Batcave. Harley, let Robin co-pilot," Selina called.
Robin blanched. "Harley... co-piloted the Batship."
Selina gave him a wide smile. "We're going to have a fun trip."
He sighed and sat in the chair Harley had just vacated. "So... no Ivy?"
"She doesn't do space, apparently."
"Did you tell her Tamaran's a tropical planet?"
"That doesn't change the fact that there's light-years of cold, dead space between it and the Amazon." Selina shrugged. "Did you talk to her?"
"Yeah. Do you really think we're going to change her mind about all this? She seemed pretty determined."
Harley spun his chair around to face him. "If we can't, we'll at least be there for the weddin', chump. And then the priest'll say 'speak now or forever hold your peace' and one of us..." She looked at him pointedly before continuing. "...will make an emotional speech and she'll come back then."
Robin inched the chair away from her. "Um, that's a good plan. But assuming that there's no priest and we can't understand the language they're speaking..."
Harley deflated. "No priest? I been brainstormin' for a speech all mornin'."
The ride there was long and boring, and Robin spent most of the time thinking about how Batman would react once he found out he let Selina steal the Batship.
He didn't let her, exactly. He wasn't there when she stole it. In fact, Bruce probably let her. So Robin shouldn't get in trouble for that.
"Cheer up, kid," Harley said at one point. "We're goin' ta bring back yer girlfriend."
Robin rubbed his temple. "She's not my girlfriend."
The harlequin just looked at him distastefully. "Yeesh, Starry sure knows how to pick 'em."
"Um, guys?" Selina called, panic in her voice. "We got a problem."
Turning to the window, Robin was met with dozens of green spaceships that resembled insects, forming a blockade around the pink and white planet that could only be Starfire's home.
"Do those look familiar to you, Robin?" she demanded, engaging the offensive systems.
"Me? How am I supposed to know?"
"Just shoot 'em!" Harley commanded, clutching the back of Selina's chair.
Robin and Catwoman navigated around the fleet of insect-like ships, although the ship sustained a lot of damage. As Selina shot at on ship, Robin's side get smacked by laser beams.
"Oh my god," he muttered, jamming on the controls like a video game, "Batman's gonna kill me."
"I'll kill you, if you let another ship get a shot in," Selina snapped.
They landed on Tamaran, and as they stepped out of the Batship, a legion of people with Starfire's skin coloring surrounded them.
Harley cowered behind Robin's cape. "Are they can fry us with them star-thingies?" she whispered to Selina.
"No. Only Star can do that," Selina answered.
"Really?" Robin asked.
"You didn't know that?"
"Shut up."
The Tamaraneans were speaking among themselves, not that Robin could understand them.
"Whatta we do now?"
"We find Starfire," Selina answered calmly.
Two guards flanked each one of them and grabbed then roughly by the elbows. Robin nudged them away with his shoulders, which was a bad move because they squeezed his arms tighter and lifted him off the ground.
"Hey!" he growled, kicking his feet.
Selina sighed. "Robin, knock it off. You're making all kinds of trouble."
Harley was complaining, too, although she hadn't pushed them way. "Get'cher grubby hands offa me. Wait 'til Mista J gets his hands on you. He'll blow up yer whole stinkin' planet." Ugh. Harley wasn't really that bad when he wasn't fighting her, but she was kind of annoying about the Joker.
Robin and the two women were led into a dungeon, with beams of light cutting down from the ceiling like spotlights. Tamaraneans and other aliens were in these beams, either standing or sitting.
The three of them were shoved into one and Selina put her hand against the edge of the light. She couldn't pass her hand out of the beam of light.
"Great." She cleared her throat, Robin and Harley sulking beside her. "We're looking for Koriand'r," she purred to the guards. At her voice, they both tilted their heads at her.
"Kitty?" Harley called.
"Love a planet full of cat-people," Selina purred. "That's right, darlings. Koriand'r. Go fetch her for me."
"Koriand'r?" one of them echoed back, focusing on the word both of them knew.
"Koriand'r," Selina echoed. "Bring her."
The guards shrugged and left the dungeon room, and Selina sighed happily and flat on her back. "I could peacefully take over this entire planet in a few days."
"Ooh, let's stay, Kitty! We c'n bring Ivy an' she c'n have a whole forest all ta herself, an' I c'n have-"
"If you bring the damn Joker into this fantasy I'm going to have the guards feed you to that creature," Selina growled, gesturing to a grey animal that appeared to consist mainly of a mouth and legs.
Harley sulked some more.
"Catwoman? Harley? …Robin?!" Bright light entered the room and a flash of black and red settled in front of them. "Oh, my friends!"
"Surprise!" Harley cried, throwing her arms wide.
Starfire turned to the two guards and the light above them dimmed. "Come out of there, immediately!" she cooed. "I cannot believe they threw you in prison. She chattered in Tamaranean and the guards kneeled in front of her.
"What's with the welcoming committee?" Selina asked as Starfire hugged her.
She turned solemn. "That is the reason for my betrothal. I am the terms of a peace treaty between Tamaran and the planet Drenthax. The fleet will leave Tamaran when I leave with them."
"Starfire…" Selina said gently."
Starfire ignored her. She smiled brightly and clasped her hands together t her chest. "Friends, you have missed the dining festivities and the games of strength. Truly, I was about to retire to my quarters to prepare for-"
Harley took Starfire by the shoulders and peered into her eyes. "So, is he cute?" the blond woman asked as though it was the most important question in the world.
Starfire seemed to look through her friend for a moment. "He is… a powerful Sklerch."
"Sklerch?" Robin echoed harshly. "You're marrying a Sklerch?"
"That is his species, yes." She tilted her head at him. "What are you doing here?"
"We brought him along for the ride," Selina told her dismissively. "Do you like your… Sklerch?"
Her eyes became distant again. "Robin! You remember my sister, do you not?"
"Um, yes. Why?"
"She is… Grand Ruler. She has put this treaty together and has saved Tamaran."
"Blackfire?" Robin spluttered. "Blackfire did this?"
"Robin, she is my sister," Starfire reminded him sternly. "I trust her."
"But she-!"
"Come, allow me to bring you to your chambers for the night. My friends will not sleep in a prison." She turned away quickly and Harley and Selina exchanged glances.
Starfire deposited Selina and Harley in one room and she opened another door for Robin. She stood in the threshold while he entered the room and looked around. "I hope the room is to your liking?"
"I… Star, I can't even tell the difference between a chair and something that might… eat me." He turned to face her. She laughed nervously, but he didn't drop his serious expression. "Do you really want to do this?"
She took a step back so that she was in the hallway. "I will see you at the ceremony, my friend," she said softly and closed the door after her.
Robin sat on the rounded surface that was probably supposed to be a bed. There were no pillows, and he couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Not that long after Starfire left. Harley and Selina barged in.
"Any bright ideas, Boy Wonder?" Selina asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"This isn't right," he said to her. "Her sister… she's very…"
"Bitchy," Harley finished. "We heard all about her."
"Manipulative," Robin said instead. "She must want Starfire out of her hair. We just have to prove it. Catwoman, go see what you can dig up on this guy. Harley, inspect the Drenthax fleet for anything suspicious."
"I ain't takin' orders from a kid!" Harley pouted indignantly.
"Come on, Harls." Selina raised an eyebrow at him. "What're you gonna be doing?"
"I'm gonna go try to talk her out of doing this," he muttered.
Harley gasped excitedly and Selina nudged her in the ribs. "Fine. We'll meet up back here in an hour."
…
Robin stood at the base of the balcony to Starfire's room, holding a birdarang tightly in each hand. The surface of the wall was smooth, so he'd have to use the birdarangs to create handholds. God, this was kind of embarrassing. Robin didn't often wish for superpowers, but he found himself doing that now. Just the ability to fly for ten seconds. It would make this so much less dramatic and unpleasant.
Going up was easy. Honestly, he was used to pulling stunts like this while also being shot at. So this wasn't really much of a challenge. But this wasn't the hard part, he knew that much. The part was going to be-
Aw, hell, she was out here already. She was just looking out, and he couldn't tell whether or not she was sad. She was just kind of listless. Her hair swished over her back as she turned to go back into her room and he swung his legs over to sit on the ledge of the balcony.
"Starfire," he called. He didn't say it particularly loudly, and he hoped and worried that she didn't hear him.
She froze and spun around. "Oh! Robin! Than X'hal you have sought me out!" She was smiling so widely and she rocketed forward and hugged him tightly. She must have been excited, because she was hugging him too tightly.
"Ah… Star… I gotta breathe…" The night air stung at him at the absence of her body heat and she took three or four steps back.
She folded her hands together in front of her and looked down at the ground. "I trust that you are enjoying your stay?"
He put his hands firmly on the ledge of the balcony where he sat. "C'mon," he said, jerking his head behind him, indicated the ground. "We're getting out of here."
She backed away from him even more. "I am sorry, Robin. I cannot."
"Starfire-"
"No, Robin," she said firmly. "This is what is best for everyone."
He leaned heavily on his palms, still planted on the ledge, forcing himself to remain sitting. "It's not what's best for you."
She closed her eyes and turned around. "If you cannot be happy for me-"
A hand closed around his mouth and he made a strangled noise against it. If he wasn't so worried about keeping his hands on the damn ledge, he would have been in a better position to retaliate. As it was, two guards had him- one was holding his face and left wrist, the other had his right arm in a death grip. He couldn't call out, and biting wouldn't work against the guards' gloves, either. He flicked his ankle and a miniature birdarang slid out of a compartment on the sole of his boot. He kicked at the air and the birdarang sliced against one of the guards' arms. His right hand was free and he ducked as the birdarang came back. It hit the other guard, whose hold loosened around Robin. An elbow to the guard's stomach set Robin completely free and he loosed smoke bombs from his belt.
He underestimated the slightly heightened senses of the Tamaranean people, and a blow to the back of the head sent him staggering. He was caught by two pairs of arms and he was dragged back to the dungeon he'd been in before. Yes, dragged. If he was going to be locked up, he wouldn't help them out.
They tossed him unceremoniously at the ground. The black and red pants of Harley's suit came into view.
"You okay, kid?" she asked, her high-pitched voice jabbing at his pained head.
"I couldn't talk her out of it," he said, ignoring her. He leaned on his balled fists, his head still swimming. "She has to marry him. For her people."
"Ummmm… Actually…"
He looked up at Harley sharply, the light shining over them stabbing at his eyes. "What? Actually, what?"
"Them ships're fakes!" she informed him. "There ain't no fleet. Just a buncha empty ships."
Robin forced himself into his knees. Selina offered him her hand and, grudgingly, he took it. Once she'd pulled him up, he rubbed the back of his head gingerly.
"It's a setup." Selina's eyes blazed behind her amber goggles. "Blackfire's trading Kory for some jewel that enhances her powers."
"Then we have to tell Starfire that! Before it's too late…"
"I think I can change my wedding-interrupting speech so that it says somethin' about the sister bein' a bitch," Harley grumbled.
Selina walked over to the edge of the beam of light and raised a diamond-tipped claw to it. The light fizzled and sparked at her, but nothing else happened. "I can't get through this."
"I'll get through it," Robin growled. He took a generous palmful of explosives and threw them at the ground just in front of the light barrier. He threw his cape across his face and chucked two spheres at the fixture above them, and they exploded on contact.
"Jeez, kid, don'cha know you're not supposed to play with that stuff?"
He ignored Harley and jumped over the group of guards that were advancing on them.
"Hey!" Harley shouted, annoyed. "Get yer butt back here"
"Let him go, Har. We can take these guys," Selina purred.
All through the halls in this place, guards were prepared to chop off his head. They wielded some sort of double-sided axe that pinged when it hit the walls or the floor. But Robin was in a blind rage.
What Selina said that one time about wanting to protect her? That's what he was doing. Not only was the prospect of forcing someone to marry someone they didn't want to enough to make his stomach lurch, but Blackfire was just using Starfire. Trusting, innocent, Starfire.
Well, not so innocent when she breaks into any jeweler's she pleases, or their Tower with the intent to bother him. But that wasn't the point.
The point was that she needed him. And he wouldn't fail anyone who needed him again.
He could see the ceremony below him, Blackfire with that stupid red jewel on the plating on her chest. Blackfire's voice echoed around him, but the walls around him didn't seem to let any noise carry through to the other side. No one even glanced up at him as his bo-staff clacked against another axe.
"My humble servants, we meet at moonset to bind my sister to this handsome young Sklerch. Can anyone among us offer reason why these two lovebirds should not be together forever?"
Dammit. There was a circle of guards around him and he was running out of time. He couldn't do anything to stop it.
"Do you Glgrdsklechhh take Starfire to be your wife as declared by the Grand Ruler of Tamaran? And do you Starfire take Glgrdsklechhh to be your husband?"
He was pushed by one of the guards against the glace, all of them pointing the bayonet-like ends of their axes at him.
"I… I…"
Seeing her down there about to walk into a trap that would seal her fate… it was like watching two figures fall from the ceiling. They were going to hit the ground and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Yes, sister dear?"
He did what he'd been trained never to do. He turned his back to the guards. One of them could spear him in the back and he'd likely die before long after that. But he didn't care. He cupped his hands around his mouth and as loudly as he could, he shouted "STARFIRE!"
"Silence! SILENCE! Do you wish to do what is right and take this thing to be your husband?"
She spun around and their eyes met for a second before one of those bayonet-points came too close to the back of his knees. He jumped on top of it, the surprised guard still holding up the blunt end, and Robin kicked another axe out of a guard's hands and on the ground.
"I do… not!" Starfire growled at her sister.
"Atta girl, Starry!"
Robin glanced behind him as he blocked a punch with his forearm. Harley was cheering at Selina's sad.
He raised an eyebrow at Catwoman. "Little help?"
"Boys, please," Selina purred at the guards. They guards all got a dreamy expression on their faces and Robin swept his foot under the ankles of the guard closest to him out of spite.
"Catwoman," he sighed in relief. "I have literally never been happier to see you in my life."
Red light flared through the glass that separated them from the main floor and Harley pointed at the glass. "Um, guys?"
"Let's go," Robin said and he took off. He heard Harley protest about taking orders from a kid, but he ignored her.
"Treason! I thought we agreed you would do what is best for Tamaran little sister? You will marry the Sklerch!"
Robin burst through the wide double doors of the main floor, Harley and Selina hot on his heels. "It's a trick! All of it! Blackfire's behind everything!"
Starfire's eyes widened, then they narrowed in the way that they did when she was really, really pissed. She pulled off the headpiece she was wearing. "You are not best for Tamaran!" she spat at her sister.
"You dare challenge the Grand Ruler?" Blackfire snarled back.
Starfire lether green energy flare around her body, spreading over her like a flame over a wick. The wedding dress disintegrated completely. "I challenge my sister," she announced calmly. "For the crown." Crackling green light flooded her eyes.
Blackfire's energy was sparking, generating its own lightning instead of a streamlined beam like Starfire's. It had to be that jewel on her chest.
"Hold," a gigantic "If anyone interferes, the challenge is void. The princess will lose."
Robin glared up at him. Why would it void the challenge to help out Starfire, but not to have a power-enhancing gem?
"Besides," Catwoman said, watching the girls twist together through the air with a smug smile on her face, "my Kory can handle herself."
The fight between them was strangely terrifying. They were ruthless, shoving each other through walls and floors and using their full power against each other. It wasn't until Starfire stole the gem off her chest that she was able to get a few good hits in, and it wasn't long after that that she was standing in front of a large crowd, wearing the headpiece that her sister wore before.
It was the way things should end. Starfire was happy, her planet was safe. There was no way the Gordanians would try to abduct her now that she was essentially queen of the whole planet, right? He could go back to normal. Without being constantly distracted by… thoughts. Thoughts that had been escalating lately.
This was for the best. Bruce would get off his back about putting her in prison and he would finally be able to concentrate. It didn't change the fact that he was going to sulk off to Selina and Harley's side until they dropped him back at the Tower.
"Someone very wise once told me that I should listen to my heart; and so I overthrew my sister because she was not good for Tamaran. And now my heart is telling me that I am not best for Tamaran either. My life- and my heart- is on Earth." She turned to face Selina, Harley, and Robin, and she smiled at them widely. "That is where I belong. I leave you in good hands; the hands that cared for me as a child. All hail Emperor Galfore!"
She landed in front of Selina and Starfire hugged her. Selina patted her back soothingly and Harley threw her arms around both of them. Robin found himself smiling softly. Starfire would be happier this way. On Earth. In Jump.
His smile faded. Oh, no. This wasn't so good.
"Come on, Robin. Into the Batship," Selina said, putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him.
"I hope you're taking full responsibility for that," Robin told her darkly.
"Just get in." And Selina was in such a good mood that she ruffled his hair.
Robin walked up the ramp onto the ship, fixing his hair as he went, and he started taking inventory for his belt. He was really low on explosives, and he'd have to replace the birdarang in the sole of his boot, and-
Distracted. That was fast. "Hey." He didn't look up at her as an indication that he was busy. She didn't seem to care.
She kneeled next to him. "Thank you, Robin."
He froze as her lips pressed against his cheek. Oh, man. That was the second time in as many days. He didn't move. He didn't know if he couldn't or if it was some odd tactical strategy. Great. A pretty girl kisses him and his instinct is to play dead.
It wasn't even a long kiss on the cheek. It was short. Friendly. Happy. There was no reason to get bent out of shape over it. Selina had given him similar kisses. Babs, Bette, Kathy, hell, random civilians had.
She floated away from him and he rested his head against the wall. He had to get this under control. Soon.
Dun dun dun. Misplaced Batbrat teenaged boy angst. (Is what I call Robin avoiding his feelings for Star.) Oh mannnnn guys. Confession time. I have issued myself a challenge. And that challenge is to not have them kiss until the last chapter. Which is not like me at all because I am all about the RobStar lip contact. But I think in this story, it's better not to have them kiss. Especially since this is a parallel to the show, or something. There is, however, an alternate ending to this chapter where they kissed on the beach. Because I couldn't not. So… I don't know. Maybe I will post it as a bonus chapter after this is done. Maybe I'll put up a new fic of deleted scenes from this fic, although I don't know. I don't usually like it when people do that. Maybe we could discuss what I should do with this alternate chapter, if you guys are interested in seeing it, in the reviews?
Unrelated to that: I kind of underused Harley in this chapter. And I went back and I tried to fix it, but I don't think I can. Because in the episode, everyone except for Robin and Starfire and Blackfire was underused. I couldn't see Harley letting Selina leave to save Starfire without her after the whole Chrysalis Eater thing.
I was going to go into Batman being all cross and broody about Selina jacking the Batship. But this chapter was too long anyway. So it's open ended I guess? Maybe more material for deleted scenes?
Here's your teaser. Can you guess which episode it is?
"They will be found, Robin," she said soothingly, picking up the communicator and holding it against her chest. "You must have faith in your friends."
He turned and glared down at her. "Having faith in my friends didn't do me much good with Terra, did it?" he snapped.
"Oh! Terra! The statue girl!"
"Slade gets his claws into you," Robin growled, and he took Starfire's wrist in one hand. His grip was surprisingly gentle. "He hits you where it hurts. That's why I wanted you-!" He shoved her wrist away and clenched his fingers around his communicator. "You're just distracting me. Go back home, Starfire."
