Chapter 5

It was Tuesday and Jason was bored. As per usual. Bruce had him under house arrest for a while until he had learnt his lesson that stealing suits and outing family secrets to assassins was not a good thing to do. Not that Jason hadn't already learnt that lesson well before he had revealed to Dick everything that had happened. But Bruce was technically his father and that meant that punishment was necessary. Yes okay, so most families don't have children who move to different cities and become Heroes and Villains, but then again, this was the Bat Family. Regular rules didn't apply for the most part. And as it so happened, house arrest in a place like Wayne Manor wasn't exactly a prison sentence. Jason had everything he could ever want and more. Except for natural daylight gracing his skin, but then he'd much rather stay in and be bored than go out in Gotham's crappy weather any day.

So what could a teenage boy of Jason's calibre do on a boring day such as this? He was currently sat upside down on the sofa, the blood rushing to his head, not that he cared much. He had finished all of his games and he had watched all of the films. Channel surfing had very quickly become a regular part of Jason's day, but there wasn't much on tv for him to care enough to pick a channel and stick to it. That was until one particular image caught his attention.

"Is that?" He asked no one in particular. He turned upright and focused more on the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It is!" Jason scrambled to his feet so fast that he very fell face first onto the floor as he slipped on the carpet. He bolted out of the living room door and up the main stairwell. He ran the length of two corridors before he reached Dick's bedroom door, which he pushed aside without bothering to knock. But he was met with a sil"ent and empty room. Jason swore viscously to himself and turned swiftly to leave the room. He found himself at the top of the stairs again and looked around wondering which way he should go. The large clock at the end of the corridor showed him that it was coming around to nine in the evening.

Without second guessing it, Jason hopped onto the bannister and slid his way down the wooden rail until he reached the tile floor below. He wasted no time in running straight towards Bruce's study, wherein he stopped in front of a floor to ceiling bookshelf. His eyes scrambled for the right book, which he pulled lightly and let it fall back into its rightful place. The bookshelf moved aside silently revealing another stairwell that was lit with dim red lights. Jason took two steps at a time as he realised he had already wasted enough time. He reached the cave within seconds and stopped behind Dick who was sat in the chair at the main computer.

"You wanna be careful taking those steps like that Jase, they're slippery." Dick didn't even look at him, but rather at the screen where he was helping Bruce by keeping an eye on some camera feeds whilst Bruce was setting up to go on patrol.

"Dick." Jason moved to stand next to the chair he was sat in and typed some things in that showed up on a smaller side screen, so as not to interrupt the camera feeds. "It's still there! Look at this. It's on the national news." Dick swivelled slightly in his chair and wondered what Jason was getting so flustered about. A brunette news reporter from jump city was sat at a desk in the local news room, whilst a footage played next to her on the screen.

"This evening around five thirty-" Dick noted that in terms of the time change, it was about an hour ago. "-reports came in of two members of the Justice League, Superman and Wonder Woman, escorting Jump City's very own Starfire back to Titans Tower. This came after members of the public reported seeing a green light fill the sky, and many claimed that the young Titan looked to be injured, though this is yet to be confirmed. Jump City News is waiting on a statement from either the Teen Titans or the Justice League to explain the phenomenon, and we can only hope that Jump City's sweetheart is alright."

The footage played again full screen, Dick never took his eyes away from it. It was clearly a recording from a phone. As the camera came on, the sky was already green, and a few minutes later Superman and Wonder Woman came into view, and Starfire was very visible in the arms of the Man of Steel. Dick seethed. His face felt hot with anger and worry. She deliberately disobeyed him, and half of the League were in on it. Did his leadership mean nothing to anyone lately? He felt his fists clench and unclench. She could have died. It was practically suicidal. Dick stood from his chair and stalked up to the stairs to leave the cave just as Bruce was stepping down them.

"I asked you to keep an eye on those cameras." He was already dressed in his Batsuit, the cowl hanging round his neck like a misshapen hood.

"I'm taking your plane." Dick went to step round him but Bruce put his arm out and stopped him.

"You're not taking the plane. If Dick Grayson is no longer in Gotham when Robin turns up in Jump with the Batplane, people will get suspicious."

"Oh so you are in on it. That's nice that everyone knows what's happening with my team except for me. She could have died!" Dick didn't mean to explode but he was worried, and his worry was worse than his anger.

"This is why we didn't tell you. You're too close to the situation to think rationally about it. It was all worked out and she would have been fine no matter what. Clark and Diana were there, Raven was waiting on standby, and Cyborg and Beast Boy were keeping watch over the city. It was in a secluded area of space where her energy couldn't harm anything. As I said to your team, the League are not impressed that this solution was kept from us." Bruce stalked past him and continued to set up for his patrol.

"I didn't keep it from anyone, because I'd made a decision that it wasn't an option, so there was nothing to discuss."

"Because of your emotional attachment to Starfire, you stopped her doing something that was potentially harmful. You didn't trust her to be able to control it because of your own selfish reasons. I know it must feel nice to have someone depend on you for everything, but you have to think about her."

Dick grated his teeth together in an effort to calm himself slightly. "This wasn't about Starfire being dependant on me, it was about thinking of the best solution that would avoid any potential threat. I know you hate it, because I don't depend on you as much anymore, but I am the leader of my own team and you keep undermining my authority by bringing the League into it."

"Because you're letting your feelings cloud your judgement. I was the one who had to go to Starfire to tell her we could get rid of that scar, which is what is stopping her from flying. I was the one who had to get you out of the situation with Slade. I was the one who organised Starfire releasing her energy in a safe environment. You should be thanking me. She's halfway back to where she was in the space of a few days, and you're being vindictive because it wasn't you who saved her. Get a hold of yourself and start thinking about what really matters. You can't keep her locked in that tower forever, it was driving her crazy."

"I wasn't keeping her locked up. I just don't want to see her hurt again. Who knows what state she's in right now."

"The rest of your team do. She's in a healing sleep and they suspect she will be for a day or so, and then her energy levels should be back to normal. In two weeks time she's coming to me to speak with the plastic surgeon who will examine her scar and discuss removing it. In less than two months she should be back to normal. You're welcome." Bruce said nothing further as he flipped his cowl over his head and hopped into his car. He started the engine and made sure everything was right. Before he closed the roof, he looked at Dick who was looking at the floor. "Do not take that plane." And then he was gone.

Dick balled his fists. In a way, he knew Bruce was right. He was wrapping Starfire in cotton wool so she wouldn't get hurt, when actually he wasn't doing much of anything to think of alternative solutions. Still, she went behind his back and disobeyed a direct order, and that made Robin angry. Screw Dick worrying, Robin was livid. Without even looking at Jason, Dick shot up the stairs and made his way to his room. He opened his top drawer and fished for his communicator. It beeped a few times before Raven's face popped up.

"Portal. Now." He didn't have to say twice. She got a lock on him instantly and with just his communicator in hand he stepped through her black magic from his cozy bedroom in Gotham, to the ops room of Titans Tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were on the sofa, staying quiet. Raven even looked a bit sheepish. It was odd, even when he wasn't in his uniform and his bright eyes were staring at them, he was still slightly terrifying. "I gave you all an order. I appreciate that the league stepped in, but I am your leader and they have no authority unless I approve. Yes they over look the network and yes they have a say, but just because Batman says he overrules me doesn't mean he actually does. I'm not his sidekick anymore, I don't follow his rules. The next time anything like this comes up, and I'm not here, you call me. And before any of you say it's because I said not to, this is what is classed as an emergency."

He turned swiftly and left the room, the three of them catching each other's eyes. They had expected him to shout, his quietness was bitterly worse. He stalked down the corridor until he reached Starfire's room where he entered her code and stepped inside. The curtains were closed and it was dark. All he could hear was her light breathing. "Starfire." He stepped closer. He noticed that she looked peaceful, unscathed. "Starfire." He got a bit louder as he neared her.

The truth was, he couldn't actually figure out what he was so angry about. He was annoyed she had gone to Gotham, and more so that as far as he was concerned, she had gone to see Bruce. He was annoyed that she had done the exact thing he told her not to in terms of releasing her energy. He was annoyed that she and Bruce had organised the whole thing behind his back. And he was seething that deep down he knew that every thing Bruce had said was right, but it would be a cold day in hell before he admitted that any time soon.

"Starfire!" She shot up and instantly regretted it as her head started to pound. Her eyes took a while to focus as she took in her surroundings. And then her body started to ache. She looked to her left to find a casually clothed Dick Grayson with his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Robin, it is Friday?" Wow, she didn't think her healing sleep would take that long.

"It's Tuesday."

"What? What time is it?"

"Seven."

As she tried to ignore the pounding in her head, the cogs slowly turned as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. It took her a few minutes. "You have woken me from a healing sleep?"

"You went against my orders Starfire." He was unrelenting with his eyes. Their once beautiful blue was replaced with a coldness she hadn't ever seen before.

"Robin, I... Why would you wake me from a healing sleep? It will take a week or more for myself to recover from this now." It was true, healing sleeps for Tamaranian's were wonders as it cut their healing time down by practically half.

"You disobeyed a direct order from me. Why?"

She looked down at her bed cover, her eyebrows coming together as she tried to get her thoughts in order. That's right... She was still heartbroken at the fact that he... Her eyes glowed as the memory flooded back. She looked back at him, his arms still crossed, his eyes still cold.

"I apologise, Robin. I did not realise you cared so much." She huffed as she swung her legs to the side of the bed, her hands bracing on her thighs as her head spun.

"Starfire, that's why I'm so mad at you. Because I care." His voice softened a but but she refused to look at him. "When we discussed you releasing that energy we decided it was a bad idea. You nearly died the first time."

"No Robin, you decided it was a bad idea. I have wanted to do it, but I respected your authority as my leader."

"Obviously not enough to that you felt the need to go behind my back and do it anyway."

"Well it is done now and when I have recovered my energy levels will be back to normal. So we can soon forget that this whole thing happened. I would hate for you to resent me more than you already do." She couldn't stop the words, for some reason. He hadn't even said anything to provoke them and she came out with it anyway. He raised an eyebrow at her, his hands falling to his sides.

"Star, I don't resent you, I just wish you'd have spoken to me about it, that's all. I'm just angry because you could have gotten hurt." He bent at the knees and his hands came up to caress her thighs, but as soon as he touched her, she shooed him off with a light push. "Star?"

"There are more ways to get hurt than just physically, Robin."

He cocked his head at her, she wasn't making any sense. He didn't think anything he had just said had been hurtful. And yes he shouted at her back at the Manor but he was upset, and she shouldn't have been there. He reached up again and tried to grab her hands but she pulled out of his grasp once again. "Why won't you let me touch you?"

"I am surprised you would want to do the touching of me. I am surprised you are even in my presence at this moment." She wouldn't look at him, and his knees were starting to ache so he stood again.

"Why would you say that? Star I'm mad, but I'll get over it, I just needed to address the issue. I might be your boyfriend but I'm still your leader. This is a Titan issue, not a personal one. I was mad on Saturday when I saw you but I got over that, I realise that it wasn't your fault."

"Robin..." She faltered and he noticed the slightest prick of tears in her eyes, his heart wrenched, but as he reached out to her she held her hand up and stopped him. "Bruce had asked me to journey to Gotham on Saturday. He believed that despite what you had been saying, you needed me there to help you in your time of grief. What I found when I arrived, was that you had already left Wayne Manor. Bruce gave me directions to the cemetery, but he was unaware that you had taken someone else with you."

Robin blanched slightly as a memory hit him. She was there. The person in the grey hoodie, was Starfire. She had come to comfort him, only to find him with Bab's saying, reading off his deepest thoughts. "Star I-"

"I do not wish to hear your excuses. It is obvious that you were being truthful when you told this girl about how you feel about me. For the record Robin, I am not overly fond of myself right now either, but I would have thought that you would not lie to me. You promised me. I told you of my fears and you promised me you did not feel that way. How can you expect me to be with you when you look at me and all you see is Slade?"

He visibly cringed. He really had said that. It wasn't even like she was taking the words out of context, he had literally said that. And she had heard every word. "I... I honestly don't know what to say. I can't deny it, because you were there... I could say it's all down to bad dreams, but it's more than that." Robin moved closer to her and sat beside her on her bed. Shame covered his features. "It started with bad dreams. You would always end up attacking me. He would be there, laughing, and you would just attack me. Nothing I did or said would get you to come back to me, but I could never bring myself to hurt you. It always ended with Slade standing over me, you by his side, and all I could focus on was the scar on your arm through the rip in your suit. When I woke up, I could never quite be sure if I was dreaming or if it had actually happened. It sort of terrified me, because it made me believe there was still a chance that he could be controlling you."

Robin dropped his head into his hands and sighed. Starfire just stared at him, unsure of what to say. His confession did nothing but solidify that which she already knew. She echoed his sigh, and pushed herself off the bed. Unfortunately her body denied her the stability she needed and her knees buckled, sending her to the ground. Robin was by her side in an instant, helping her stand. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine. The expulsion takes away dangerous amounts of energy, and waking me up from my healing sleep has left me drained. As I said, it will take nearly a week to regain normal energy levels now."

"I'm really sorry Star, I..."

"I do not care presently. There is nothing I can do to quell your nightmares, and there is nothing you can do to comfort me. In two weeks time I am taking a trip to Gotham, my scar will be removed and we can put this behind us. For now, I am going to sleep, I do not wish to be disturbed for twelve hours." She sat back on her bed before laying down and pulling the cover over herself. Robin stared at her for a while, guilt and sadness written on his face. Then he realised something she had said and his heart fell into his stomach.

"Star... What did you mean when you said 'how can you expect me to be with you'?" He got silence as a response. "Star, are you... Are we..."

"Robin, I do not wish to discuss it presently, will you please leave?"

He sighed and turned to the door, the reality of the situation hitting him like a ton of bricks. He opened the door and stepped out, before turning back to look at her. She had her back to him so he couldn't see her face.

"I love you Star."