Chapter 4
Robin, or Dick Grayson, depending on who he was talking to, was laid on his bed with his eyes shut and his arm over his face. In retrospect he should probably have shut the curtains to block the light out. It was the middle of the day, and the sunlight wasn't helping his pounding headache. When does the sun even shine like this in Gotham? Out of all the questions running through his head, this is the one that currently bothered him the most. Because he was pretty sure the sun was only shining that bright to piss him off even more so than he already was. He sighed and turned away from the window.
Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have exploded at Starfire the way he did. Technically it was Bruce's fault for inviting her, seeing as Starfire would never say no to Batman, especially not if it included a chance to get rid of her scar. Not to mention that it would be beneficial to Robin as he could start to love his girlfriend again. Wait... No... That's not right. He did love her. Does love her. He's just going through a hard time at the moment. Because his girlfriend reminded him of his worst enemy. Because she was part of his worst nightmare.
No. Today is not the day to be thinking about anything like that. Nothing Titan related. Nothing Robin related. Just Grayson's. His mind wandered back to the cemetery, to Babs' hand resting on his shoulder, it wasn't the greatest comfort, but it was nice. Though he did wonder if she actually did have anything to say about the Starfire situation. Maybe later, later meaning tomorrow, he'd ask if she had any advice for him.
There was a knock at the door, and Dick grunted to say that whoever it was could come in. Bruce walked through and shut the door behind him before gently sitting at the edge of Dick's bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Shit."
"I know I tell you this every year, that it doesn't ever really get easier, but I don't think it's supposed to. It hurts for a reason. Because you loved them. And you know, they loved you."
"I don't think I'd feel half as bad if I didn't have other things to worry about on top of this. I can't catch a break." Dick ran his hand through his hair before cuddling back into his pillow.
"If you can manage to be shot by the Joker, carry on until he was captured, get the bullet pulled out with just mild anaesthetic, and then create a whole network of super powered teenagers, I think you can handle this. Slade is in prison, and Starfire will come around."
"Oh yeah? What happened to 'don't get close to anyone, relationships only get in the way'?"
"If I told you to break it off with her, you'd never speak to me again. You're the closest thing I'm ever going to have to an eldest son, and I'd quite like to keep it that way. I've gotten used to having you around." Bruce smiled a little as Dick nudged his back with his knee. "I know we've had our differences but I'm always here for you. I made that promise years ago. If you need to talk to someone, I am always here. Unless it's something I really don't want to know, then please don't." He chuckled and Dick cracked a smile. Bruce got up to leave and as he opened the door he looked back at Dick who was clearly deep in thought. Hopefully, he would be able to talk to Starfire and sort out their relationship. He needed her. And despite Bruce's ideals, he wanted his son to be happy.
Later that night, some time around midnight, Dick wandered around the manor aimlessly trying to find something to do, but at the same time he didn't feel in the mood to do anything. He had fallen asleep around two and woke up at seven, meaning he was wide awake. He walked through to the living room where he found Jason staring at the TV, a bag of crisps in one hand and a glass of Coke in the other. Dick leant in the doorway and watched silently with him. Jason loved his action films. Anything with guns and explosions and fast cars and Jason was right in there. Tonight's pick was Mission Impossible, a classic that he could never get enough of.
Dick watched the film for a few minutes before he decided he was bored again and headed down into the Batcave to see if there was anything interesting happening on Bruce's patrol. He spent a good hour or two scouring the Internet for news articles and breaking news stories and headlines, but nothing that came up was remotely interesting to the young Robin. With a sigh, at 2:45am, Dick trudged off to the kitchen to see if he could eat his boredom away. Besides, Alfred wasn't there to shout at him for taking anything from the fridge.
And this was how the next few days went for our dear Robin. He moped about, watched tele with Jason, had some interesting conversations with Alfred, and on one occasion he even went out for dinner with Bruce and Jason, as promised the week before. On an up note though, the Titans hadn't called to deliver any bad news on their end. It seemed that for the moment, all was good in Jump City. It was slightly stressing him out that he hadn't spoken to Starfire, he hadn't exactly parted with her on good terms the last time they met, and he was genuinely a little worried about seeing her. Okay, so he hadn't picked up his communicator and called her, but In his defence, she hadn't called him either. And no, the fact that she was probably respecting his orders of not calling unless it was absolutely necessary did not count in this situation. Robin sighed every time he thought this as he realised it was his inner childishness getting the better of him to make him feel less shitty.
In any case, he would be home in two days and then everything would be fine. He and Star could apologise to each other and everything would fall back into its usual routine. Hopefully. All he had to do was get through tomorrow, which consisted of spending the day with Jason mainly, and Thursday which consisted of visiting the Gordon family before heading back to pack for his departure on Friday. Simple enough right? You would think. But then again, not all people of Robin's age had an intergalactic girlfriend.
XXXXXX
The fact of the matter was that Starfire was currently stood with her arms crossed, her eyebrows knotted together in frustration as her three friends stood defiantly in front of her. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were all refusing her access to the main console. Well, until Robin returned.
"This is ridiculous. You are all being highly unfair." Starfire huffed her anger out of her nose.
"We're not being unfair, we're following orders." Raven stood stronger, to show that she wasn't going to budge. "Robin left clear instructions that under no circumstances were we allowed to let you do this. And I can guarantee that you haven't managed to get permission from him over the past few days like I told you to."
"You are correct. I have not obtained permission from Robin, I do not need it." Starfire stepped forward but Cyborg moved towards her, his arms stretched out. Starfire raged. "Robin should not have left those instructions on this console. He could not possibly have known I would resort to this. As far as I am concerned, it is not his business."
"We were given an order Star." Cyborg softened his stance. "He might not be here, but he is our leader. We still have to follow his rules. And that includes you.
"And I have explained that I do not need to follow Robin's leadership should the Justice League be involved. If you would give me a moment to use the computer, I am awaiting expressed permission. If Batman tells me that the Justice League approve, then I have no need to wait for Robin, who would only tell me that it was a bad idea."
"Sorry girl, it's not gonna happen. At least not while I'm in charge. Argue with Robin all you want about it, but he said no, so I'm saying no."
"I would rethink that if I were you." All four of the Titans jumped at the new voice that radiated around the room. Starfire smiled slightly as the rest turned to face the screen, only to find Batman's stoic face there. "The Justice League have discussed Starfire's situation and to be honest, we're not at all impressed that this solution to Starfire's energy problem was not mentioned to us earlier. We have decided that yes it is acceptable, but Superman and Wonder Woman will be present to monitor the situation. I will not be present as I have other matters to attend to, but I trust those two enough to know everything will be fine. Starfire, your window of opportunity will be in five hours exactly. At five this evening I want you to be ready, on top of the tower to meet Superman who will take you to the safest point. The rest of it is up to you."
"I thank you. Truly. And Robin he is..."
"As far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with him. He'll have something to say but he'll get over it. Though I can guarantee that you will see him before his designated return time of Friday."
"I will be ready. And I will take full responsibility for my actions should anybody take quarrel with them. I thank you, you and the Justice League." Out of habit Starfire dipped into a low bow, her hair falling forward. Batman nodded at her as she rose and the screen went blank. She looked round at her friends, who all looked sheepish, if not a little concerned. "Please friends, you need not do the worrying so much. I will be the okay. I promise."
Raven stepped forward and put a comforting hand on Starfire's shoulder. "Okay Star. If this is really the only option, we'll support you. But I'm coming with you. That way, if some thing does go wrong, I'll be there to help you. Cyborg and Beast Boy will wait here in anticipation for any given situation."
Starfire looked round at her friends who were all smiling reassuringly. She smiled back at them. "Thank you friends. We have the time, shall we go and venture to the place of pizza for food?" Well Cyborg looked at Beast Boy, who looked at Cyborg, and they both turned to look at Raven who signed and just gently said...
"No arguing."
The two aforementioned males ran full pelt to the door, both yelling something about the last one to the T Car would be something grotesque. Raven looked at Starfire who was giggling. "I am sorry I mentioned it."
"We better go before they come back and drag us. And Star, I'm sorry. I was only following orders."
"I know, I apologise for my temper." They smiled at each other and walked out the door to the elevator which would take them to the garage. Beast boy was already sat shotgun,mounding in his seat due to excitement and cyborg had already started the car.
"Move it or lose it ladies." Cyborg hollered out the window just as Raven was about to open the door, she glared at him but he didn't acknowledge it.
"If anyone annoys me I'm transporting you all to hell." Raven made her threat but she had a small smile on her face. It seemed that all of her time with Starfire had helped her tolerance and patience just a tad. No one was transported to hell though as they had a peaceful time. Jokes were made and food was eaten and Starfire felt happier in herself. Thanks to the Justice league, or more specifically, Batman, before the end of the day she would be one step closer to being her old self again. Sure, there was Robin to deal with when he returned, and yes as Batman said he would probably return before Friday. But she would deal with that when it came to it. For now, Pizza.
XXXXXX
Five o'clock rolled round and Starfire and Raven were on the roof of the tower with Superman and Wonder Woman. Cyborg and Beast Boy had stayed in the ops room to keep an eye on the city. Robin would flip his lid more so than they expected he was going to if they left the city unattended. Regardless, Starfire took Wonder Woman's hand and let her lift her from the concrete, Raven decided to stay were she was, so she was ready in case things didn't go quite as Starfire planned. It was easy enough for her to get to Starfire with in a second if needed. She watched as the two Women rose into the sky, following the man of steel as they went. He knew where to go. Starfire sent a small wave back to her friend before her face became determined and hard. She was on a mission that she was not planning on failing.
The three aliens flew higher until they broke the Earth's atmosphere, up where nothing and no one could be hurt. Wonder Woman brought Starfire up to her eye level. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"I hold no doubt in my heart."
The two women released hands and Starfire started to float as there was no gravity to pull her down. Superman and Wonder Woman created a distance between themselves and the Tamaranian girl. Starfire closed her eyes and brought her hands together. When she opened her eyes, they were pure green, but brighter than they had ever been before. And then she started to glow. It was faint at first, a slight shimmer that surrounded her figure, but it grew. It got brighter and it got bigger. Her hands started to glow with the starbolts she was famous for, and as the starbolts grew, she moved her hands further apart.
After months of holding it all in, and trying to relay her energy in different places, she finally released it all with a scream that couldn't be heard. A wave of green energy burst out in all directions. Wonder Woman and Superman were pushed back, much to their surprise. Starfire could feel her energy levels dropping as the power left her. She was on her way to returning to normal. Except that a process like this was easy to start and difficult to stop. She kept pushing, sweat started to roll down her forehead and her eyes were shut tight. Almost there. With great effort, Starfire pulled her arms and legs in so she was curled into a makeshift ball, and with one final push, she let it all out.
Another wave hit the two Leaguers and they were again pushed back. When they recovered, and the light had died down, they flew to where Starfire was floating, motionless. Superman grabbed her as Wonder Woman stroked her hair. Her eyes were wide, and she was breathing heavily. "I was... Successful." She smiled a weak smile as she lay her head on Superman's chest.
"Let's get you home, Princess."
