Tales of the Titans: Crucible, Chapter 12: Help
Blackfire was released from the Orb later that day. Starfire was not present when Athena helped her climb out of the strange substance, or whatever it was, that comprised the Orb. Cyborg was there, as was Omega, to run some tests on the mendicant. Although they knew the Orb did an uncanny job of healing humans, considering how far removed it was from humanity, they were nonetheless curious. They all looked at Blackfire's new heel. There was a slight but definite demarcation line showing where the heel had been nipped off. "Well," said Blackfire, a bit ruefully, "I used to worry about tan lines. Never thought I'd have 'em on my feet."
…
Starfire was keeping to herself a great deal, and Raven worried about her. She stopped by Starfire's room, on her way to the conference room. They had scheduled a meeting, and Starfire had been missing a great many of those lately. So Raven took it upon herself to extend a more personal invitation. "Star?" She signaled for entrance. "It's me, Raven."
"Come in, my friend."
The Tameranean girl was seated on her bed, clutching a pillow to herself, and staring off into space, her gaze not focused on anything in particular. Her expression was….somewhat distant. Raven thought her friend looked a bit thinner and more pale than the last time she'd seen her. She knew, from Cyborg, that meals brought to Starfire's room more often than not went back untouched. "Look, Star, you can't go on doing this to yourself. You've been cooped up in here ever since…ever since the accident. That's not healthy for you. You need to come out sometime. We're about to have a meeting, and we need you there. So come on. Okay?" Raven did her best to put on an encouraging smile, even though smiling wasn't something she was really very good at doing.
"I thank you, Friend Raven, but I believe I will remain here."
Raven thought fast. Then, "But it's really important that you come to this particular meeting. It's gonna be about Beast Boy."
"Beast Boy? What do you mean?" Starfire's attention was jarred away from whatever private scene of misery it had been fixed upon, and was now focused on Raven, sitting beside her on the bed.
"Well, you know, back when he was having those spells of his? And he attacked Cyborg? We have to decide what disciplinary action to take on that. After all, no matter how you look at it, no matter what the reason, he did attack one of us; can we afford to just let that go?"
"Raven? Am-am I hearing you correctly? You—and the others—are actually contemplating some form of punishment for Friend Beast Boy because of some action he could not help?" Starfire looked at her friend as though she'd lost her mind.
Raven shrugged, careful not to meet Starfire's gaze. "Well, I mean, it did happen. I know he's not an active Titan right now, what with still being on his honeymoon, and probably won't be a fully active member once he returns with Terra—they are going into semi-retirement, after all-, but…the bottom line is, he did attack one of us. We can't afford to just ignore that."
"But—but he was not in control of himself! He cannot be blamed for his actions! And he has gained great control over that aspect of his powers since then! He clearly did not intend to harm anyone! I cannot believe what I am hearing! How could you even think of punishing him for something he could not control?!" Star's voice rose as her temper was roused in defense of her friend.
Now Raven looked her right in the eye. "The same way you can continue to punish yourself for actions taken when you were clearly not yourself."
"Oh." Starfire visibly deflated, taken aback. "So that was all the ruse, then, yes? You are not really contemplating some form of punishment for our friend?"
Raven sighed, leaning back and drawing one leg up against her chest. "No, Star, we aren't. But we are getting a little tired of you beating yourself up this way, over something you couldn't control. Now, come on. Omega wants to see you in his lab, downstairs. He has some things to show you, and he needs your input." She got up, pulling the Tameranean girl up off the bed. "And we need you now more than ever, with our numbers down. Plus, you're our friend. So come on. Don't shut us out, okay?"
Starfire sniffled. "O-okay, Friend Raven. I shall try."
Down in Omega's lab, the Osiran showed the two halves of the red crystal to Starfire and Raven. "Do these look familiar to you, Starfire?" Kitten looked on, curious about these strange objects. They were clearly artifacts, artificially created things, the designs on them strange and unfamiliar.
"No…yes…I am not sure. I remember the color…" She almost seemed to shrink away from the crystal halves, as though they were somehow repulsive to her.
Maybe they are, thought Omega. He told her and Raven about Tara's being down in his lab, about the crystals she carried in her handbag, and her usage of one in the restroom. "I conclude they must have some effect on human—and Tameranean—emotions. Tara was much more calm when she emerged from the restroom." He extended the crystals to Starfire, who shrank back from them. "It's alright, Starfire, they're harmless now. I believe they contained some sort of energy charge that affected the emotion change." Gingerly, she picked one up.
So, she thought, this was the thing responsible for her…doing what she did. "But where did these come from?"
"That's just it: we aren't sure." And here he looked significantly at the others, particularly Athena, who'd joined them. Blackfire, of course, had absented herself from her sister's presence, flying back to New Zealand to keep an eye on Terra and Beast Boy. "But one thing we can tell: the technology used to create these crystals…." And here he paused for just a moment…..
"….Is strongly reminiscent of Osiran technology."
…
"Osiran tech?" Cyborg said, his eyes fixed on the crystal shards. "But how's that possible? I mean, you guys are the only ones with any Osiran tech…."
"We were the only ones. Evidently, that is no longer the case." He nodded to Athena. "We both know these crystals did not come from here, from us. So they must have come from someone else. Whether or not it is truly Osiran technology or simply technology that resembles it, we are still trying to determine that."
Raven held one of the shards of crystal. "What are we looking at if it is? For that matter, what are we looking at, period?"
Athena spoke up. "I heard rumors, on some of the worlds in the Empire, of such things. Crystals such as these were reputed to alter one's moods, via induction, in various, select ways. Needless to say, on those worlds of the Empire, where emotions were strictly controlled, they served the same or similar roles as the mind-altering chemicals in your society today. But as to how such things got here, that I do not know. The technology to create such as these…would have to be somewhat higher than anything currently on Earth."
Raven turned the crystal shard around. "Could the Kindred do it?"
Athena shrugged. "Arguably. But I cannot think of any reason why they would do so. Such an act would basically be against their—and our-moral code. It would be more…." The Osiran struggled for the words. "It would be more in the nature of, well, of drug dealing. I suppose what I am saying is, I would think it to be beneath them, as we understand matters. For Tara to've had one or more in her possession would seem to indicate she bought it, and I can't see the Kindred as having any interest in human currency. In any case, it would constitute something of an attack, an attack on your society. I simply do not think they would do this sort of thing."
"Well, one thing's for certain: somebody is."
"Indeed. And we know at least one person who knows where and how to find a source, or at least a supplier, of these crystals."
…..
Tara was nearly asleep, in her room at Titans' Tower East when her door chimed. "Who is it?" she called out, stifling a yawn.
"It is I, Athena. Tara, it is imperative we talk."
Athena? Here? She supposed it wasn't beyond the bounds of possibility; although Jump City was, after all, in a different time zone, the Osiran could fly, presumably at considerable speeds. And it was, what, an hour? Two hours? Earlier there. "S-sure, just a minute." She threw a robe on over her pajamas and went to the door. "Athena? What's going on?" she asked as she ushered the Osiran girl into her living quarters.
Athena "sat" on one of the chairs in the room, motioning for Tara to do the same. "Tara. Something has happened, and we need your help."
Tara looked towards the door. "What about the others? Shouldn't we get them?"
"You might prefer it if we didn't. It involves this." And Athena held up the broken shard of the red crystal Tara had dropped in the restroom.
Tara's eyes grew big. "So that's where—I mean, I—I don't know what-*"
Athena put her hand out imploringly. "Tara. No one is accusing you of any wrongdoing. But there has been an…incident." She went on to relay what had happened between Robin and Starfire, and their surmises as to why. "We believe she accidently came in contact with this crystal, in its whole form, and was affected. That's what these do, isn't it? Affect your moods?"
Tara was silent for a long, long time. "I….I guess there's no point denying it. Yeah. They—they do. I, I didn't know what else to do! Oh, Athena! Please don't tell anyone!"
"I wasn't about to. But we do need to know more about where these things come from, Tara." She saw the other girl's expression. "I understand your reluctance to provide us with this information. You feel you need these crystals to cope with stresses and strains, correct? And they do help, don't they? Or they did, at one time. But Tara….they also hurt you, too. They hurt you because you become dependent upon them, needing them more and more, in greater and greater quantities and strengths. I know; it was the same way with the Lords." She sat back, crossing her legs and remembering. "When I first came here, to this world, I was so used to the Lords' controlling my emotions that I had virtually no controls of my own. And I'm still learning. But I was a murderous psychopath because of that. You don't want that for yourself, trust me.
"And there is another matter. We believe these crystals were tailored for human beings, specifically. That means this one may have somehow harmed Starfire in some way not immediately obvious to detection. Or it may not have. But the thing is, we don't know, not for sure. Not unless we can obtain another, undamaged red crystal."
Tara was crying again. "I, I'm sorry, Athena. I never meant for any of this to happen! It's just…I hurt so! And, and…" But here she broke down completely, and Athena gathered the tormented girl into her arms, whispering the three most powerful words in the English language:
"Let me help."
To be continued…
