Chapter Thirty-Six: Purple

Robin had stood in shocked silence for nearly a minute after Em had handed Red X to him. He snapped back to his senses when X groaned. Robin had no idea what was going on, but that didn't stop him from tying X up and giving him up to the police. He put the mask in the evidence room and locked Red X's belt away, having fixed his safe.

"That ended kind of suddenly, didn't it?" Em said brightly to her fire element. Em had walked straight to her room after her defeat of Red X and shut herself in to meditate.

"Yeah…" fire replied suspiciously. "He was holding back."

"What?" Em snapped.

"He wasn't fighting to his full. He could have beaten me if he had tried," fire replied dully.

"What's with you being so gloom and doom? We beat him, end of story. I'll never have to think about him again," Em replied stubbornly.

"But you will keep thinking about him, even if you don't have to," fire shot back. "That wasn't exactly a fairy-tale ending. Something was wrong."

"I wasn't looking for a fairy-tale ending," Em replied hesitantly.

"You need to talk to someone apart from me," fire said boldly. "Tell Raven or Starfire. They listen to you just as well as I do."

Em nodded and retreated from her mind.

Em hesitantly approached Starfire's door. She stopped outside it and looked up and down the hall. The rest of the Titans were in their rooms, apart from Robin up on the roof. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"One moment please!" Starfire's voice called from within the room. Em smiled a little. Starfire was always happy when there was nothing to be unhappy about. The door opened seconds later.

"Hello Em! Erm… what is up?" Starfire asked cheerfully.

Em smiled again. "I need to talk to you if you're not busy," she replied.

"I am never too busy to talk to my friends. Please come in," Star said as she stepped aside to let Em into her room. Em wasn't particularly fond of the color purple. But she reminded herself that her next element would be purple and decided that she had better get used to it.

"Please, sit down," Starfire suggested politely.

"Thanks," Em said, smiling as she sat down on the end of Star's bed. Starfire sat down across from her.

"So, what is it you wish to talk about?" Starfire asked, unable to keep the curiosity from her voice.

"I have to tell you something that you must never tell anyone else as long as you live," Em said, her voice quiet but serious. "Especially Robin."

Starfire's interest was sparked. "I promise I shall never tell a soul," she whispered confidentially.

Em took a deep breath and told the Tamaranian girl everything about Red X from the kiss to the capture. Starfire listened intently through the whole story and remained thoughtfully silent at the end.

"I am very glad you thought you were able to confide in me," Starfire began slowly after a few minutes. "But I believe there is someone else you need to talk to."

"Who?" Em asked.

"Red X," Starfire replied seriously.

Em was about to protest, but she stopped. "You're right…" she muttered. They became silent for a while, but then Starfire smiled a little.

"When he kissed you… did it feel wonderful?" she asked quietly.

Em looked up, smiling in spite of herself. "Yes... I just wish it could have been with someone else… you know… that it had meant something…" she sighed.

Starfire smiled sympathetically.

"So how are things going between you and Robin?" Em asked slyly.

Starfire rolled her eyes, though she couldn't stop herself from beaming. "I could not be happier," she replied simply.