Chapter 11

Three days ago?

"Chains? Really?" Red X asked Octave.

The man leant against the door frame of the cell. "Just a little incentive to make sure she stays put this time."

Red X turned back to her. "I told you to stay away," he whispered, too low for Octave to hear. She didn't look at him, not that it mattered since he was not meeting her eyes anyway. "You should've listened."

She glared at Octave over Red X's shoulder, while Red X clamped a manacle around her wrist. She'd be able to move small distances, unless she ripped them from the wall, but it was the principle of it. "It does not matter now."

Octave sighed and shifted his weight against the door, tapping his cane against his upper arm.

"You are a sad, small little man," Starfire said, snarling at him. "When the Titans find you, and they will find you, you will wish you had never been born."

"I'm not the one who did this to you," Octave said, grinning. "You can blame your boyfriend for that. They'll be looking for him, not me."

Starfire lit her eyes, full intending to eye blast him in the face regardless of the pain. Perhaps this time she'd do more than singe his eyebrows. Still crouching, Red X moved across her to her other arm, effectively shielding Octave from her. She narrowed her eyes at him and let her eyes dim.

Something pinched her palm and she became aware he was fiddling with her hand. Hand, not wrist. Glancing at him, he met her eyes briefly, then looked pointedly at her wrist. She followed his gaze and saw him slip something inside the manacle. Just tucked it there, she'd be able to shake it free.

A sliver of anticipation welled inside her.

"Passion and freedom," he murmured, looking at her eyes.

"And you," she replied.

He had a plan. He had to have had a plan. Some way to save them all, she just had to play along. Play the good, obedient girl.

"No whispering," Octave called. "No plotting or being sneaky."

"What are you going to do with me?" Starfire asked.

"That depends entirely on him," Octave said, gesturing Red X. "He does three last jobs for me, I'll let one of you go with each job. You. Him. Sweet little Violet. Free as a bird. Wipe the slate clean, no more debt."

Starfire didn't believe that for a moment and by the looks of his face, neither did Red X.

"He fails, you die."

"But the Titans," Starfire whispered to Red X urgently. "You cannot-"

"It'll be okay," Red X murmured. His hand touched her cheek then closed the distance between them to kiss her. Just quickly, once, twice on the lips, then he carefully crafted his blank look on his face and turned back to Octave. "Let's get this over with."

He was gone without a backward glance and Starfire was back in the dark. She waited, it wouldn't do to go straight for whatever Red X had left her with in case they were still watching her, but after a while, she couldn't help herself.

Shaking her wrist, she stared at the little device which fell from the manacle.

An ear piece.

Smiling to herself, she placed it in her ear and settled down to wait.

It was several hours before she heard a crackle on her earpiece. She'd been reciting the Tamaranian Song of Patience to pass the time, using a tiny amount of her strength to bend the area where the chain reached the wall to weaken them for when she needed to be free in a hurry. After all, the chains themselves would make good weapons.

"Star?"

She didn't stop the Song of Patience, but she made her tone questioning.

"They can't hear you. Keep your face away from the camera."

She flopped on the mattress, trying to make it look like she was going to sleep and turned toward the wall. "Greetings."

"Hey. Fucking hell, Starfire, why couldn't you have stayed away?" he ranted, "If you just listened, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"If you had explained to me, instead of doing the breaking up and pushing me away, I would have."

"I was trying to protect-"

"I do not need protecting. Where are you?"

"Staking out his first steal spot. I told him if I was going to do this, I had to do it my way."

Starfire was surprised. "And he trusted you?"

"Hell, no. I have enough power for three teleports and his goons are about a hundred yards from me watching. But I have my mask so they can't tell I'm talking."

"What are you stealing?" Starfire asked.

"Honestly, you don't want to know." He hesitated. "Star..."

"Yes?"

"The minute I break into this place, the Titans are going to be all over it."

"That is a reasonable assumption."

"I can't risk being stopped."

"Will you accept their help if it can be obtained?" Starfire asked.

"How can I get that without giving myself away to Octave?" Red X asked. "He's watching and I'm sorry, the Titans aren't the best actors. No. No more people at risk for me."

She was disappointed, her friends could help. Even if Robin couldn't bring himself too, Cyborg and Beast Boy were friendly with Red X, they would listen. "X-"

"I'll just have to be fast."

"What would you have me do?" she asked.

He sighed. "I don't know."

"Do you know where your sister is being kept? Perhaps I can-"

"I'm trying to find out. It's difficult, more so now, they're watching everything."

"X..." Starfire hesitated, then pressed on. "Are you certain she is still alive? You told me... you said there was a car accident."

Another sigh. "I thought she was too. My mom... I saw her after... That's what I was told, that Vi was gone too... but then- well- I got this phone call a few weeks ago. Sounded like her asking for help but there wasn't a lot of info to go on. I thought... if there was a chance... I had to find out."

"Then you need not put yourself through this, demand proof of her safety first-"

"He's still got you, Star."

Her heart fluttered.

"This'll buy us time," Red X said. "Just sit tight."

"I am not the damsel in distress. I do not take kindly to waiting."

"I'm aware of that. You kicked ass getting out of your cell. I just need... a day. At most. If I can't get some results, bust yourself out again and don't look back."

"I will not leave you."

"Starfire-" He sounded exasperated.

"Tell me about Octave."

Red X was silent, although she could hear his breathing in her ear. She could hear footsteps in her ear, indications he was moving so she remained silent. "That picture, how recent was it?"

"I do not know," Starfire replied. "Robin would know. She... appeared older than in the picture you have."

"If that's her."

Starfire acknowledged that with a small sound, not sure how to comfort him.

"What do you want to know about Octave?"

"He is the mentor you spoke of?"

"You could say that, yeah. I grew up under him. My mom was one of his whores for a while and he took a shine to me. Trained me up to be the best cat burglar in Skip." He sounded proud of that fact.

"Until you were caught."

Red X deflated. "Yeah. 'til then. He didn't help me out, wouldn't lift a finger, but when I got out of juvvie he was there, waiting. Said I still had a debt to pay and it was worse now because of the missed income. I told him where to shove it."

"Then they perished?" Starfire asked. He'd never spoken about his past like this and she was interested.

"So Octave said. Told me it was my fault and if I didn't want the same thing to happen to me, I'd keep working. I did until Robin made the suit. Then I saw it as a way to escape."

"How did you know it was Robin who made the suit?" Starfire asked, curious.

"Are you kidding me?" Red X blurted. "C'mon, every crook in the region knew about Slade and what he wanted. Octave was trying to sell my services to him when Red X appeared out of nowhere and stole my gig. I was sneaking into that compound to steal that chip out from under his nose. You guys got him first, so I saw the whole thing. I knew Robin wouldn't be returning to the suit after that." He was silent for a moment. "First time I saw you in the flesh too."

"Oh?" she asked, fishing for details.

"I'd never seen Octave so mad than when that chip was nicked by someone else." He chuckled. "Was an eye opener. Octave wasn't a big bad any longer. There was someone out there worse than him. Slade. Made it easier to leave. I had nothing left to lose after all. With the suit, I could just vanish." He sghed. "Guess I'm not as good as vanishing as I thought."

"Why?"

"Couldn't escape him. Can't escape you. Some thief I am."

There was a sinking feeling in her belly. "Do you wish to escape me?"

Red X was silent.

"X?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Star, you gotta be careful."

"I will be," she promised.

"Okay, I gotta start, I'll leave the comm open as much as I can, but..."

"I shall be quiet."

"Thanks."

"Good luck."

He chuckled. "Did you ever think there'd be a point where you, a Titan, would be telling me good luck on a heist?"

Starfire saw the humour in it. "No. I did not."

"Me either."

He didn't say much more. A couple of random cuss words, but mostly all Starfire heard was his heavy breathing, the sounds of his foot steps, some mechanical beeps.

"No Titans," he whispered at one point.

It was odd they hadn't come, but then Red X was trying very hard not to alert the authorities. Sometimes she wondered if he tripped alarms on purpose so they'd come chase him. "Perhaps they are searching for me."

"Maybe. Wouldn't Raven be able to find you easily?"

Starfire lifted her wrist and studied Gizmo's bracer. "That would depend on how Gizmo fashioned these restrains."

"Hmm... I'll see if I can find a way to get them removed. Ah-ha! Got it."

"Good."

"Now for my grand escape. Going to have to switch the comm off now, sorry. Getting out is easier than getting in and I know for a fact they can't see me right now. Can't risk the comm being found."

"That is okay."

He cleared his throat. "Right. Bye."

"Be safe."

"You too. Star?"

"Yes?"

"I..." He hesitated, then coughed. "If you see an opportunity to run... take it."

The earpiece went dead and Starfire sighed heavily.

There really wasn't anything she could do. If Red X's sister was alive, any action she might take against Octave would endanger her. He was right, there was nothing she could do but wait.

Two days ago?

Thirst was the worst of it. That and the need to use the bathroom. Then the hunger, nine stomachs were not pleasant when she was hungry.

No one had come in, the earpiece hasn't activated again. She didn't know if he'd been discovered, if he was safe, if her friends were even looking for her. So many unanswered questions.

Starfire felt so alone.

The room was cold and damp. She'd gotten little sleep at all, waking to every noise, every bump and murmur in the dark. It was impossible to tell what time it was. All Starfire could do was sit and wait.

And she didn't like that in the slightest.

Because her brain would not stop thinking. Worrying. About the future. About the past. What would become of her, of them. Was there a chance for her and Red X to have a normal relationship? A healthy kind? Dating. Dancing. Laughing together. Going to the movies and dinner.

It had taken her two years to put herself back together after Robin and then it had taken Red X months to wear down her defences enough to allow him in to her heart. And now, there was still a question of whether he even wanted to be with her.

What kind of life did she even want? She had no idea where Red X lived, if she would be welcome there.

She was an alien to this world, she knew very little outside the Titans. Sheltered was perhaps the correct word, but only in the way the world worked. Bills and electricity and phone lines, managing household budgets. She could learn that, but what could she do outside the Titans? Could she still help people? Would she be allowed to? An alien, not affiliated with any organisation, would they let her?

And then she realised, no. This was not being true to herself. It did not matter what other people thought, it mattered what she wanted. What made her happy. She could not, would not, live her life on anyone else's terms but her own.

She'd find an apartment, she had some Earthen money. Move from the Tower into her own place, probably in Jump because she did like the city and knew it well and she did not want to move far away from Raven, Beast Boy or Cyborg. She'd get a job, she was very good at translating and people always needed help with that. Find some time to study and better herself.

She'd help people, because she could and she wanted to and she was good at that, but she wouldn't be Starfire of the Titans, she'd just be Starfire. Or Kori. She liked that. Just Kori.

If Red X wanted to be a part of her life in any sort of capacity, she could make room for him. But she would not depend on him.

It was as if a weight had been lifted when she came to that decision. Things were making sense in her mind, forming lines and pathways and a future all of her own. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and imagined what her first apartment might look like.

It would be small, because she had the whole of the sky to roam. Somewhere with a balcony. A sturdy kitchen because her Tamaranian cooking did tend to melt benches. A basket for Silkie. A couch, for kissing, perhaps, but certainly for friends who would visit to sit. A corner plant, why she was not sure because she normally killed plants but she wanted one. A doily, she didn't know what it was, but she liked the word, so she'd have one of those too. Normal, human things. Her very own bathroom, not one she had to share.

The door opened and Starfire blinked and shielded her eyes from the rectangle of light which blinded her. The chains on her wrists jangled as she lifted them.

"Starfire."

Her heart soared. "X."

With a hurried step, he crossed the room to her, crouching by her side, as pleased to see her as she was him. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"I need to use the bathroom," she said, smiling sheepishly.

He snorted and he reached down with a key to take off the manacles. "We have a small reprieve."

"A reprieve?"

Red X's small smile of humour faded. "A chance for you to use the bathroom and eat. Octave wants us to dine with him."