A/N: The next chapter following Slade's offensive 'test' against the Titans. With his plans to capture them and force them into action beneath his lead, the diabolical planner sets to work with the next phase of his plan. Find out what happens in the next installment, let's go forward together!

(End A/N)

Chapter 14: All according to plan

It had been something of a full week, where nothing hit the Titans after the loose incident of brawling between the Tamaraneans. While vigilant, the Titans went about their business of living life and checking for crime. The strange rash of various villains attacking and being re-arrested did repeat itself a few times, it was something that Cyborg found odd. Still it was nothing that they hadn't dealt with in the past, some super villains were just that persistent. In this case, the last few days had been oddly quiet, at least until an alarm went off: in a museum downtown.

"There goes the quiet day theory." Cyborg murmured to himself, he'd pressed the comm button and spoke in.

"Titans, to the main room, we have a problem."

The message was brief and as Cyborg went about pinpointing the location and checking on the police response; anyone who had a guess would note that Felix Faust was the villain today. It wasn't one of the favorites...not that any villains were really 'favorites', but it was a whopper of its own. The fact that Faust packed great arcane power was one issue in itself, the artifact that he was likely after was the other issue. Once everyone had gathered in the main room, the Titans looked and seemed to be sizing up the displayed destruction. Faust was presently holding out in the museum, fending off the mystical unit of the police had been formed to deal with people like him.

"Looks like a setup, what are the odds Faust shows up?" Raven stated something that came to mind. There hadn't been any new shipments from the museum according to records. He seemed to have attacked on a whim.

"I agree with Raven, nothing of significant magical power is at that museum. Me thinks he plans to lure us out for some purpose." Xenith backed up Raven on it, as the screen showed the records turned up negative for new shipments from out of state.

Cyborg did agree with them both and voiced that much, "Agreed, something's not right. But either way, we're going out in force. We're going to put Faust down quick and hard."

There was no argument there, everyone seemed to be on board with Cyborg's general idea. The plan that the group came up with was simple: they'd flank Faust and try to keep damage to a minimal. It was about as good as planning could get on short notice. Though they did make a fast decision to split up the team into fast working pairs who could occupy Faust.

The teams were: Raven and Xenith, as the occult members of the team they would work the counter spell angle and clash with Faust's spells. Cyborg and Beast Boy would be supporting the magic team with their teamwork focused on keeping Faust focused on them when the other two were spell weaving. Starfire and Moonfire would be the second team flanking Faust on the forefront, with the idea of keeping him pinned or on the defensive as the main suited strategy. The game plan sounded strong, but often enough the Titans had to make changes on the fly.

"We've got the plan, Titans move!" Cyborg gave the team a dismiss and they all left through their various means. Heading for the downtown area as quickly as they could. Completely unaware that a watchful eye was being kept on them.

-Downtown San Francisco, the Museum of History-

Felix Faust stood at the entrance of the museum, using a necklace that he had taken from one of the old exhibits. In truth, the Necklace of Elanna lacked the kind of power he desired. But it would suffice to test the Titans. He had been paid thoroughly to engage them, and so he chose a cheap trinket below his usual range. The thing he loved most was that the mystery benefactor had told him to do as he wished. The money would serve his purposes better in preparations for greater treasures and he was free to destroy the Titans as he wished.

"Ha ha ha, is this all you police have learned about the mystical arts?! Let me show you some real magic!" Felix's renowned arrogance showed itself as he cast a bolt of eldritch and fire into one of the police cars, blowing it up with little effort.

"Your menial charms are nothing before real power!" the mystically powered villain cackled and gathered more eldritch energies from the nearby area.

As the villain launched dark lightning at the police, a large glyph shield of umbrakinesis absorbed the magical bolts. Several seconds later, released the augmented bolts of magic upon Faust. The blast would hit a barrier erected within moments of the impact, clearly Faust's attack on the police prompted a fast response from the Titans.

"Here so fast, Titans? You heroes are anything if not foolish. Meet your doom, as your pathetic talents cannot match my power!" it was as Faust predicted, they showed up and had Raven with spells.

Though as he fired another bolt of eldritch at Raven, a dark shadow hand absorbed the bolt and gained a charge of the energy to the fist before lowering into a dark void. Floating down at her side, was a second cloaked person, some strange boy with gray skin. This only made Faust grin, so they had a second magic user did they?

"So you have a pale imitation alongside you now, Raven? Surely you don't think you've become my match, even with this pitiful doppleganger beside you." the taunt from Faust was ignored.

Raven raised her left hand and sent a shadow shaped like a disc in Faust's direction. Something he jumped out of the way of, before firing a blast of raw energy from his hand. A second blast that was deflected by Xenith, with a small field of dark magic. It was actually stronger than he'd expected for it to be, though it was nothing that he couldn't handle. The idea was for him to appear intimidating, though it might be a problem for him, even with the use of the Shadow Titan at his command.

"You two aren't normally alone-" no sooner had he said it, did a blast of sonic energy nearly strike him, he'd erected a dome-shaped barrier in time; though as it cracked under the sound, it would shatter from Beast Boy's rhinoceros charge.

This had caused some displeasure for Faust, who retorted by conjuring a blast of lotus fire and cast it in Beast Boy's direction. Though it would not find its mark, as Beast Boy transformed into a song bird and flew above the attack quickly. Though he was darting around for position to try and drop on Faust, he was being covered by sonic blaster fire from Cyborg. This was supplemented by a joint barrage of starbolt energy from both Star and Moon from above. The beam was focused into a narrow beam and presently striking against a stronger, erected barrier of Faust's.

To Felix's surprise, the barrier was being moved and he wasn't sure how. They couldn't be that strong? He'd had shields tanking starbolts in the past, and yet as the mix of blue and green energy battered his barrier, he had no understanding as to why.

"Keep it up Star!" was all that Moon said, as he was glad to see the gimmick at work. Faust had no clue still yet, and they were literally pressing him to a wall.

As Faust grew weary of the attack's effectiveness, he changed tactics. Spreading the barrier out in parts, he formed two large magical palms and clapped at Starfire and Moonfire. It did not take long for the angry sorcerer to try and grab them.

"Like little flies...stay still!" Felix's tone was growing with impatience.

His barrier now was subject to constant pummeling from the array of Titans: from the air it had been both Tamaraneans, from the ground a physical contact from Beast Boy, and shots from a sonic cannon. His shielding was starting to fail. Suddenly, the shell burst under pressure from the sonic cannon and with as Faust attempted to conjure another spell, a large shadow hand would wrap around him. Such as the scenario had become one where it looked like victory, something seemed off. Faust wasn't remotely concerned that he had been caught and as Xenith neared him, and wrapped his stolen item in a magical barrier, it was Raven who spoke to him.

"Now Faust, you've lost. Why don't you tell us why you really came here?" Raven got to the point, as she was not buying that he came after something that was so nearly a trinket of magic, less for its power.

"Why whatever do you mean, witch girl? I came for that amulet. You've taken it from me and subdued me. I believe this is where you heroes celebrate." Faust's casual, smug tone had only served to make Raven more suspicious.

"Right, if we believed that this was anything less than a distraction. Who are you working with, Faust?" Raven pressed him again.

Faust yawned and went slack in the grip of the arm.

"I don't believe I owe you any answers, I am in need of delivery to the police and to speak with a lawyer. Good day, witch...hope you see the next step coming." Faust's laugh was unnerving, but as it was; he was handed over to police.

Even though the damage was minimal and the would-be battle ended with them quickly, the Titans did not find any closure with the ending. At the moment the group were standing off to the side, questioning what happened. A group discussion mostly about what anyone learned from either the situation or Faust himself. Raven took point, since she'd taken to questioning Faust while he was in their custody briefly.

The questions were to the point and were used to discern what kind of foe they were dealing with. It left a bad impression on her, as she sensed Faust's arrogance and superiority in the situation: since he knew that he was not trying to waste the Titans seriously. That smug sense had been caught by all of the Titans, Cyborg was first to mention it.

"Faust is playing a game, someone must've given him something that he wanted. That was a weak attempt at resisting us." The team leader wasn't buying how things were playing out.

"That's for sure, I'm worried about the WHO in the equation." Beast Boy was wary of what he was hearing.

"Someone is manipulating the situation and we'd better find out who. Otherwise we'll end up on the broad side of a trap." Moonfire voiced his concern.

"Agreed, but we need some clues and those are a scarce thing to find right about now." Raven hated to admit that, but there was nothing as of yet.

"The only two clues we have are my fight with Moonfire and this event involving Felix Faust." Star was still thinking about it, the two situations somehow seemed connected. Even though there were no signs of anything around the island, as was the word from both of their magic users.

There was an event that the group hadn't mentioned. It was something that Beast Boy brought up again, since it was something older, and overshadowed by the recent two.

"What about those Military snipers? Remember those two taking pot shots at us? That was unusual, and the beginning of this oddity. At least if you think about it, right?" BB's point was simple, he had been curious to see if anyone thought the idea was sound.

Xenith's eyes lit up at the mention of it, as he remembered that he and Raven took care of them. It was a fast end for a fight, but still they had been prepared and well trained snipers.

"That is brilliant, BB. Remind me to get you a meat bone, or some steak later." the stygian sorcerer joked about it, since he knew that BB wasn't partial to that.

"Bleh, don't even joke about that man!" he'd waved his hands and then looked to the others for more.

Cyborg was doing some contemplating, they had a set number of things happen over the previous period of time. It was a good time to return to the Tower, discussing this in the city was likely a bad idea.

"Let's regroup at the Tower. We can discuss this in more detail, then we can see what comes of all of this." With the word given, the Titans broke into smaller groups and started heading back.

As there could have been an attack at any time, it would not do to be in a larger group formation. With that, Raven led Xenith back to the Tower via flight, Starfire taking Moonfire over the bay, and Beast Boy and Cyborg heading back by car. Tentatively, this was an exercise in patience for a few of them. In the case of Raven, she was already trying to consider the plot behind this. The worry she had was that it was focused on her somehow, Faust was a good example of the occult.

"Xenith...if this someone is targeting me, promise me that you'll help me in whatever I ask." Raven's suddenness caught him off guard.

"Eh? Of course I will, do you even have to ask? Anything short of binding you, since with your strength, I doubt even my freeverse sorcery would work on you." Xenith knew his limits, while he had much in common with her, he was not Raven's match in the knowledge or prowess of magic.

Raven took his hand and squeezed it, before continuing.

"I'm glad there is no hesitation on your behalf. My aim is to take down whoever's trying to conjure whatever hellish evil that involves me, first." Raven would take the initiative as soon as she could.

"Then I'd go to detect them and we would crush the plot cold." Xenith sounded more than serious, as he had only seen the result of the world under Trigon's influence. He'd attempted to help the Titans with his brother, and they hadn't faired well.

But nothing mattered to him more than Raven. He would do anything for the Titans, but it was his beloved that mattered more. His feelings for her had grown since joining the team, where the constant collaboration between the pair led to friendly relations. It didn't hurt that they'd had some things in common. He was shaken from his thoughts by another squeeze to his hand.

"Keep the others safe, ahead of me, whatever the cost." Raven's words again, stated with a firmness to them.

"I will, though it will never come to that, if I can help it." Xenith was fine with agreeing to her terms. But he would not let it go that far, it was simply not possible for him.

With the conversation dying down, the two flew back towards the Titan Tower hand in hand. It was just a trip that was calmer than it was moments ago. Still tension was running through with a few of the Titans still. For Star, she felt tense about being targeted as she and Moon had. It was only natural that she was tense, she'd been extra protective of Moonfire due to it.

This was something that Moon himself noticed, Star was insistent on checking out things first on mission, was extra observant, amongst notable things. Even now as she held his hand, she'd been having a small glance around, before enjoying the casual flight.

"Star?"

"Yes Moon, what is it?"

"Are you worried about what happened before happening again?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well all the looking around and the extra concern...I mean I appreciate it all. I've also tried to be more observant, but you are really intense about it."

She was quiet a moment, it was true that had been this way. The reasons were sound, but she could sense he wanted to say more.

"Yes, I am intense, do you have concerns about it?" she probed for an answer.

"Only that you might stress yourself out. That's really it, I don't want you to overdo it, Starfire. We've got the team to help out too." Moon hoped pointing that out might help ease her mind.

She was quiet again, since knowing that should bring her comfort. They were all actively considering their options, though it still gave her pause. As deep inside she felt the nagging cry, the fear of losing Moonfire did have her working harder to prevent it.

"...Moonfire." she said his name softly and he drifted up to her side.

"Yes?"

"I don't want to lose you, alright? I mean, to anything if I can. That's the simple reason I am trying so hard." her tone revealed the strain of her words, her fear was quite apparent.

"Try not to fear too much, I'm not going anywhere." Moonfire's lasting devotion was apparent, as there was no reason for him to want to leave. Without due reason, he'd always be with her.

"I know you won't leave me willingly, but there are those people who would see us suffer. That might try to kill you, that is what I fear this could be. A plot to hurt the Titans." she expanded her reasoning to her friends, but still Moon was a high priority for her.

Moon stopped their progress towards the tower and slipped both arms around her waist. As he drew her into an embrace, he could feel her arms wrapped around his shoulders and slowly sliding down to his waist also. There were no words between them, just the embrace and a gaze into one another's eyes. It was Star who acted first, drawing Moon in closer and gently pressing a kiss to his lips. Maintaining a chaste kiss was difficult, but Star was good about it today.

The show of affection had calmed her somewhat and as she drew back, she rubbed his back again. Giving him a grateful smile, she let him go and resumed holding his hand as the two started flying back once more.

-Back at the Titan's Tower-

The Titans had all gathered in the main war room and had been discussing the matter at length by now. Taking all avenues and considering all run-ins they had the past few months. It was expanded to try and pick up the slightest thing that was off. The run-ins were few that were truly odd, despite most of the missions being textbook, there was one from a ways back that stood out. It had been a run-in with Slade, this was another odd thing, even though it had been a ways back.

"So...that random run-in with Slade last time, nothing really happened, right?" BB was throwing the question out there.

"Aside from a ruined time of enjoying ice cream, no. Between that and saying he had plans for us to witness or something to that extent." Star grumbled lightly, Slade had ruined it in part.

That in itself was odd, aside from Slade saying something about having plans, nothing really was done. Still it was loose, they tried to look at it with the other things and were having trouble with connections.

"Theoretically if Slade was the mastermind behind this then...he'd sent snipers after us to get caught. Then somehow influenced the fight between Star and Moon, and lastly he was responsible for Faust's attack on the museum...that about covers it." Xenith looked at it, if they were playing connect the dots.

Those were pretty shallow connections. But they had nothing else going, and from what Xenith studied on Slade from the archives: he could do it.

"The only real problem with all of this is, we haven't hide nor hair of Slade in all of this. I admit that I don't know him beyond the case study, but even if he could do this; we'd need to link him to this all somehow." Moonfire was trying to be objective, given that they had nothing but this.

Cyborg decided to put an end to the debating. He felt that since they had little to go on, they'd have to try and find the facts, if possible to see who had woven this web of things.

"Alright, we go with the thin and build from it. The computer will keep the data active, and as we go through things from here on out, we can try and make links. Maybe we can chain this together somehow. So that's the plan, for now let's not overthink this. For now, dismissed. Good work today with Faust."

With the vote agreed upon with a quiet set of nods and various gestures. The team split up for the time being, it was still early evening and some time left in the day. It left everyone with a bit of time to enjoy to themselves. For Starfire, this was the best kind of news and with a bit of jubilance, she took Moonfire's hand and headed off. As they left, Beast Boy laughed and shook his head, as the two were sickeningly cute at times.

Once down the hall, Star announced her plans for the evening to Moonfire, "We just need a bit of time together. Like every night, but I just want to focus entirely on you. It's time I tried to relax."

"Then I'll gladly help you with that, as I'm sure I can distract you, Starfire." Moon said her name with a bit of flair to it.

He was promising at least something of an interesting time. For his mind, he was focused on cuddling and snuggling with her in his arms. He hoped this interested her as much as it did him. Then again it would likely fly with her, she didn't have any issues with his preferences, since she accepted all of them. Moon never knew what was coming, as they rounded the corner and he drifted into Star's arms.

"Oof~" he let off a soft sound, though it wasn't of discomfort, but surprise.

The sound was in such a way that it was cute sounding, Star giggled at it and pecked Moon's nose gently.

"That's for being cute."

"Heh, that tickles!"

The two shared a moment of laughter, while she drew him into a tight squeeze. While the pair floated backwards down the hall, eventually they'd bumped into a wall. Star leaned back against it, then turned to look and was glad they were near her room.

"Come." was all Star said, as he joined her in propelling them towards her room.

-In Starfire's Room-

The short time it took them to accurate bounce off of the walls to reach her room, the amused pair were still presently floating in the air and looking at one another. Star was feeling a bit relaxed by this time, having been focused on her silly boyfriend did help. It wasn't the only thing that worked for her, but it certainly was a big plus. She had her own personal kitten, who happened to have grooming habits that rivaled her own. That in itself was just amusing, since he took great care and did so as much as her.

Of course he wasn't without some drawbacks: there was the constant shedding of his tail fur, the occasional awkward tongue grooming he gave his tail (oddly cute, but strange), mood swings (due to periods of the mood, cute also but leads to butting heads), and his habit of being too nice or submissive. All in all, her boyfriend was good for her, but hampered by his past as a slave. Between moments of either submissive tendencies or short sighted anger sparked by periods of the Moon's fullness, Starfire found no space for complaints. None that she wished to pose, she preferred to work through the small issues with her cute Moonfire. She was stirred from her introspection by a soft nuzzle.

"Helllooo? Star, you there?" the song-sweet voice made her glow with happy vibes.

"Hee, yes I am here. Thinking too hard though.~" Star admitted, in a melody ridden voice.

That same voice so sweet to Moonfire, had him nodding and gently tapping her nose with his pointer finger gently.

"I see, well we should put a stop to that."

"Oh really? What do you suggest?"

"Maybe a game? Something to entertain your mind!"

"My, that does sound like fun, what are the details?"

"Pretty simple...a bit of...Tag! You're it!" he'd say this while quickly darting to the corner of the room.

"Huh?! You little cheater, get over here!" Star said as she darted towards him, only to narrowly miss grabbing him.

"Ha ha! No no, not so easy.~"

The taunt was followed by another dodge, as he slipped by her on the right in feline grace. Star giggled madly, something about the chase was always invigorating to her. In this play, the room itself wasn't very large and yet, she missed her cute Moon on as many as 7 occasions so far. Each one a near miss, as she adapted to his tactics. As the eighth time came to pass, she had a planned feint or two for him to position him just right for capture.

"I'm afraid, Moon, that this game is over!"

She'd say this while grinning, and as she moved in on him: she revealed her first feint and side stepped to his left, matching his attempt to slip at her left. As he stepped back, she moved in on him and matched him step for step. Moonfire tried a quick right-left quick step to shake her, but he'd found that she ignored the right and met him on his left step and tackled him over.

"Ah!" Moon yelped in surprise and fell over, hitting the ground with a thud. There he lay on his back with Star upon him.

As the Tamaranean Princess looked upon her quarry, she let off a smirk and traced one hand over his cheek as she spoke, "I wonder what I should do with my silly Zagrah? Now that I have you, it may be customary to show a sign of my victory."

He blushed a little bit, feeling her hand trace his cheek. Normally, Moon wasn't worried about what Star would do with him, but a look of mischief indicated it wasn't going to be pleasant necessarily.

"Uh...have mercy?"

"What, on you? You've been a bad subject though, that requires punishment. Maybe some water on your tail or in your ear?"

"N-No, please! Anything but that, its so itchy when its wet!"

"Ha, is that right? But you made another little mistake~, you are begging, but all but demanding with that tone. You do need some kind of punishment, so pick: water in the ear or on the tail?"

"T-Tail." Moon frowned, he couldn't escape water on his tail?

He loved water normally, but not when it was dry. Those times like right now really were not moments for water. But as he grumbled softly, he awaited the cup of water, which Star got quickly from the bathroom. With a look of mischief still present, she took a little of the water into hand and flicked it along the length of Moonfire's tail. That kind of action which made him roll onto his side and kicked off quickly from the floor.

He'd scuttled through the air and once he landed on all four, he moved to the wall and plopped down against it before he started grooming the tail. This set of actions made Star giggle some more, before she set the cup on the table. Part of her was immensely pleased by this little bit of play, as it was the first real fun she'd had in weeks. She knew that Moon was grumpy now, but like any cat it would be short-lived. He lapped at the tail fur until it was straight, before long he was done and sighed lightly. Though he was pouting, he was still cute as a button to Starfire.

There was something about that pouty look that made her smile, just a little thing that a bratty feline had in the gaze.

"Hee, you still love me, Moon?"

"*grumble* yes, I love you Star. The things you do to me. *sigh*"

The exchange brought a strong warmth to her heart, just how cute was he? It went a long way beyond mere words, she found. Her hands patted at his side and rubbed there, as she knew he was a fan of it. Though he tried to pout, he started to smile and seemed to be enjoying the patting sensation. Still with that feeling running along his body, he gave in and leaned up to nuzzle her. It was the reaction that Star had been waiting for, she embraced it and gave his nose a kiss afterwards.

"You're just so cute, Moon!"

"Of course I am."

Though he tried to sound grumbly, it didn't work since he was smiling. Star hugged him from the side and continued to rub his stomach over gently. There was nothing better than having him in her arms, she found. Though the spot of mischief had been to Moonfire's annoyance, a good part of him was definitely enjoying her caress. As there was simply nothing better than having Star show him her affection.

In truth one might wonder why he did not call her Kory or Koriand'r, certainly Moonfire knew her true name by now. A thing shared within the first weeks of getting to know her. And yet, he shied away from it due to the fact that knowing his own name, hearing it said only reminded him of his father. A pit gladiator of immense skill and destructive power. A beast that had nearly killed his 'child', because they were opposites in a match.

That look of a haunted distance in Moon's eye was something that Star knew well. As she stroked her hand through his hair, she called his name to stir him.

"Moon...hey, you're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

"Sorry...I really didn't want to, but the thought just came back."

Star gently kissed his temple and hugged him close to her again. She never wanted to think about what that was like: having a cruel parent was at least easier than having a savage for one. Still she remembered listening to him tell the tale, and that his father addressed him only as another snack. Rather that if he could not survive, then he wasn't really his child. Then the two fought like beasts, influenced by the large moons on the world of Exmatir.

A place that his warlord father would escape, due to his son's destructive potential. That being just another haunting reason that Moon had to bear with. She could feel her sweet love quivering against her, he was still reliving that brutality that could not even be called a battle. Still he had survived it and come to her, there was nothing more that mattered concerning that. It was unfortunate that a time of amusement had somehow turned into one of minor despair for her Moon.

"Let's get that mind focused on something brighter, shall we?" As Star said this, Moonfire gently nodded to her words.

With the thought coming to her mind, Star gave Moon a soft peck on the lips, to test how he felt about it. He returned the sweet gesture and rubbed a hand over her shoulder. As soon as she felt this response, she smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him with a tenderness and slid her left arm around his waist. This was responded almost instantly, as the half Zagrah leaned in and kissed her with a bit of fervor. The pair squared off in a kiss that was growing much deeper, as Moon's body flattened against the Tamaranean princess's completely.

With one of the few logical thoughts still on her mind, Star managed to pull back from the kiss while panting. She uttered out a question, one that was important to her. "We're...*huff* alright doing this...with you thinking the way you were a minute ago?"

"Quite fine, my silly princess." Moon did not sound the least bit bothered or perturbed by the thoughts coming around. He refused to let them get in the way of their personal time right now.

(Caution

-Mature Content Ahead-)

With that said, he kissed Star again and brought both hands up to her breasts. He cupped her bosom in between his dexterous fingers and squeezed them tenderly. This earned him a soft groan from Starfire as she grabbed his shoulders and rolled him onto his back, making sure that she sat promptly in his lap.

This position was one of her favorites, often allowing her to enjoy his affectionate touches while maintaining leverage on the pace. As she felt a tightness building up in her stomach, joined by butterflies, the princess happy deepened the kiss and continued a happy caress over her lover's shoulders. Feeling Moon's hands massaging her bosom, she let off something of a muffled cry as his fingers stroked her nipples through her top and bra. Those finger claws of his came in handy at times, this was one such time that Star was very grateful for them. While she pressed her hips against his swelling hard-on, her left hand reached down his shoulder, stroking over his chest and rubbing across his abs and let off a small sigh.

It wasn't just that he was strong, but the fact that every part of him seemed to be involved in the act. She had wondered about how he managed to rub back against her hand and her entire body with such fluid movements. His hips would move and the wave of motion would carry up through his body to rub against her the way that only he could. Star tried to tell herself here, it was a good time to get her clothing off. She enjoyed nothing more than making love to him, skin to skin, but at times she was too needy and the urge grew stronger.

It was just like now, where she felt the heat sweeping her away. Star was soon to press her tongue against his lips, asking for entry. As she felt his lips part, she thrust her tongue aggressively into his mouth and let off a muffled moan while she squeezed his groin gently. At some point, she'd managed to grab at his crotch and while grinding against his loincloth, her hand was gently rubbing at the hardened flesh in between his legs. The sensation of her femininity growing wetter in succession with feeling a small pulse of heat from her core.

'This is it...again I can't wait. How terrible of me, mmph.'

Part of the Princess of Tamaran felt dirty but how excited she got, more that she couldn't contain herself and had no desire to await disrobing before she planned to take him into her. In fact, her hand was already quite busy adjusting Moonfire's loincloth and sliding the now untied and unbound cloth off of his waist. She drew the whole of him into her hand and caressed it with her fingertips slowly. It was this feeling here that always made her need more.

She had no desire to curb her lustful behavior and had continued to meet the lips and wrestle tongues with her beloved, pressing her body closer, while drawing his maleness to lay back against his stomach. Once it was flat, she pressed her panty-clad womanhood against it and pressed down hard, now outright grinding against his hot flesh while sighing deeply. If anything the building hit made her femininity slicken, enough to the point that she could feel the wetness forming against her panties. Aside from this, a throbbing had become steady and her perspiration had increased from the physical action. Her mind was reading all things, in both a clinical and yet incredible manner that made her want more.

It was time now, she acted on her needs and after raising her hips partway, she brought his shaft up and held it at an angle. While she lowered her hips and pressed the head of his length against her panties, she used it to scoot her material to the side and slid him deeply into her.

To say that it brought heaven to her was an understatement. The feeling of having him inside of her was beyond mere words. Her fingers dug into his sides and she leaned back while growing used to the intensity of the pleasure that sparked up her spine. As she finally remembered to breathe, with a gasp she planted both hands on Moon's chest and she wiggled her hips up and down a little bit. The feeling was not only divine for her, it was an empyrean feeling that encompassed his being.

"S-Star...!"

"Hnn...Moon...it's hot."

Starfire's murmur of words, that statement seemed to mark how she felt. A deep, piercing heat in her core that was beyond mere words. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever felt. The desire to move came from her epicenter and she answered it. She gently rubbing his chest with her nails before swaying her hips forward and up, before writhing a little on his tip just as her hips pushed down and forced Moonfire back into her womanhood slowly.

The movements began to pick up as she slid her fingers along his stomach and set something of an energetic pace. It was a moment that Moon took advantage of, he'd taken his tail and fastened it around Starfire's waist and started using it to help him meet her thrusts. As she tugged up, he drew back and as she came down; he pushed up and plowed deeply into her. The stroking was something fast and deep, that was the tone of the pace. Given the desires that had been hiding in Star's mind much of the evening.

"Yes...that's it, please..."

Star's voice was frantic with her pleas to Moonfire. She wanted him to keep moving the way he was, it was perfect and she found herself quickly approaching a peak, the one that was growing more frantic as her walls provided more lubrication. It was tight, wet, and wonderful for her: nothing could beat the feeling of being filled and then that drag of friction as Moon exited her. Each motion was met by a powerful 'whap' of Starfire's descending hips. By now, she had burrowed her nails into Moon's shoulders, before she grabbed him and tugged him into a sitting position.

"A-Ah..!"

A cry that signaled a strong response, as she felt the feeling of barbs inside of her body. The small evolutionary trait that she welcomed, a part of the Zagrah beast physiology that she appreciated. That extra friction stroked her in just the right places. Unwilling to part from Moonfire, she rode out the last of the powerful tide harshly. Unable to restrain her strength, she'd took to pounding Moonfire heavily with her hips.

Those mighty muscles squeezing his maleness hard, almost to the point of it being vise-like. To say she was close didn't cover it, he'd put her there and then tossed her over the precipice of pleasure. As she felt herself letting go, her hands squeezed as she clenched around Moon's shaft tightly; letting off a loud cry as she felt her womanly essence creaming his length and his groin. She'd climaxed hard enough that it made her dizzy, within that same instant, Moon lost his ability to hold back and released his essence deep inside of her. There he lay against Starfire's bust, with his hands clutching at her backside, while each of the spurts went on to weaken and then stop eventually.

The two huffed and Star looked down at Moonfire with a smile, a lazy one as she slumped down against him. She had been deciding on whether or not to have a shower with him, even though that might lead to more. For now she felt sated and chose to rest against him. While she felt a blanket dragged up over her back, it reminded her that he had moved his tail from her waist some short time ago. That explained what it had been doing, as she was now feeling the comfort of the blanket covering them both.

"I love you, Moon." she sighed gently and kissed the base of his neck after saying this.

"I love you too, Star." the words shared between the pair were simple, but to the point that mattered most.

(-End Mature Content-)

As the two grew closer yet more after their evening of passion, the veil of night covered San Francisco, and while the Titans were worried about what still lurked in the shadows, they were starting on a track that would lead them to the end of the proverbial marionette master. The Terminator was waiting for them to catch on, and slow progress was steady at least. As Slade stood off watching the Tower from a safe distance, he scoffed at the fact they had no clues beyond a small guess about it being him.

"Titans...you are far too slow, don't continue to disappoint me now, I am hopeful you'll catch on faster. Now hurry and jump through my first hoop." the mercenary had high hopes for them, once they did catch onto him and come to his new lair; the gauntlet would begin.

He was looking forward to the festivities, for he planned an extensive set of games for them all. It was not only a matter of whether they'd measure up to the bar that he'd set for them. The Teen Titans seemed to be sure of their teamwork, but it would be he who was the judge of that.

"Soon." the Terminator would say, before turning to leave, he had preparations to ensure were complete.

(End Chapter)

Here we have it, the next installment ends with Slade waiting for the Titans to catch up. He expects more of them and if they continue to fall short, then he'll drag them up to par, kicking and screaming if need be. The real action will be picking up next chapter, I realized that I needed to lay some more groundwork for this whole scenario. Had to lay in that bit about Moon's past, and in part the reason why I don't use the first names. It's not that I don't know them, but rather that Moonfire hasn't gotten over his little name issue entirely. While no conflict between the pair, it will lead to a bit of drama, naturally you'll just have to see if you've read this far.

Slade's small cameos will be growing also, I imagine some readers are waiting for the second clash to really happen, but this takes some effort to work out. Things are trick to work out just right, but I have a feeling that it will be ready with the next chapter Looking forward to what comes out ahead, let's see it together.

Until the next time, adieu.

-Quentix