Chapter 7
Starfire didn't get much sleep after Robin's revelation. He had followed her to bed and the warmth of his presence comforted her, but it did nothing to quell the memories that flooded her mind. Twice now she had been forced into the same situation, and whilst she didn't remember one, it still happened. She had proof of that. Cruelty was something that Starfire could never understand. Sure she was from a warrior planet who were taught to kill their enemies on sight, but they were never cruel. Quick deaths for anyone who dared challenge you, that was the Tamaranian way. Still, Earth was a nicer environment and the people were certainly entertaining, despite the handful who make it necessary for the Titans to exist.
As she woke that morning to find Robin still sleeping beside her, his arm laid gently over her waist, Starfire felt a small pang of relief to know that her starbolts were getting back to normal. She was also feeling marginally better physically too, which was great! A few more days and all would be well until she got the call from Bruce about her appointment. Everything was returning to the way it should be, slowly, but surly.
Slipping out from Robin's grasp Starfire gathered her uniform and left the room, opting to change in the bathroom since Robin was in her room. After changing and brushing her teeth, she made her way up to the roof, to soak in the Sun's rays, and for once, have it be on her terms. Stepping out of the doorway she made her way over to the east of the tower and stood looking over the water. The soothing sounds of the early morning waves were reading her completely, and the sun was energising her. She was happier already. Unfortunately, as the fable goes, happiness was short lived for the Titans most of the time.
As the sun rose, it's light hit something on the concrete of the roof, the light then reflecting into the corner of Starfire's eye. Curious, she walked over to it, thinking it was maybe a piece of glass or something. Boy was she wrong. When she got to the object, she almost fell, her knees weakening. With a shaky hand she picked it up and brought it to eye level, making sure she could see it properly. Quickly, her head wiped round, scanning the surrounding area for anything. A movement, a shadow, anything. Her senses were on high alert, so when something hit the air vent causing it to clang, she jumped. Holding the first object in her hand, she carefully made her way over to where the sound had come from.
Something was sticking out of the vent. Something small and sharp. An exact replica of the object she was holding in her hand. She looked out at where the object must have come from, and saw nothing but water. No one could make a hit that high. There were no boats, no aerial devices, no people. Starfire started to physically shake. She reached down for her communicator, not wanting to leave, but needing to get her friends here. She hit her distress button, and waited.
Robin was obviously the first one to appear, clad in his uniform but without his cape or gloves as that is how he had slept last night, but making time to put his boots on. He skidded out of the doorway and to where his girlfriend stood, shaking like a small puppy. "Star?! What's wrong?!" Wordlessly she pointed to the vent,and when Robin's eyes fell upon what lay there, his blood began to boil. Cyborg, Raven, and a groggy Beast Boy all appeared behind Robin, confused as to what was going on. Starfire held her hand up to Robin, motioning that she wanted to hive him something. He held out his hand and let her drop the cold object onto it. The rest of the group gasped.
S.
It was a cold, sharp, metal S. Much like the ones that had been on Robin's and Starfire's uniforms when they had been under Slade's control.
"I came out to enjoy the sun. I saw the one you are holding on the floor, and as I was looking upon that one I heard a sound come from the vent. I investigated and found the second one protruding from it. I looked around but there is no one here."
Robin turned the object over in his hand, the cogs in his brain turning. "Surly the Watch Tower would have let us know by now if Slade got out. They wouldn't keep that information from us. Let's go call them, see what they have to say." Robin motioned for the rest to go inside before taking Starfire's shaking hand and leading her in behind them. He made the call from the Ops room computer, Superman answered.
"Hello Robin! Titans! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"It's not a pleasure actually, Superman. We've just had an incident involving these." He held the object up to the camera and watched as Superman's expression dropped, his eyebrows knotting.
"If Slade got out, we would know about it in an instant, but let me check anyway." He moved to a side keyboard and typed away, his motions hurried. "Well, as far as these camera feeds are concerned, he's still there." The screen split and the Titans saw Slade laying on a small bed in his holding cell. "I'll make a call though, just to make sure it isn't looped or anything." Again Superman moved to the side, contacting the facility where Slade was being held. The Titan's could only hear Superman's side though. "Hello, this is Superman calling from the Watch Tower. I need a status report on prisoner 135... Alright, thank you. Superman out."
He returned to the screen and confusion took over his face again. "They say he's tightly sealed in his room still. He spends most of his days just staring at the ceiling. Whatever caused your incident, it can't have been him."
"Alright, we'll keep an eye out anyway. Thank you Superman! Robin out." The screen went blank and Robin seethed. Who the hell was playing games with them now? He turned to Star who was sat on the sofa, her eyes sad. "Right well, that was unhelpful. If anyone sees anything let me know immediately. Titans you're dismissed." The other three went their separate ways, and Robin went to sit by Starfire. "It's okay. Whoever it is, it's not him."
"Superman is wrong." She said it so abruptly that Robin was caught off guard. Only Batman was allowed to call out Superman when he was wrong, because he rarely was.
"Star, you saw the footage, it's not being looped, and Superman called the facility. They checked. He's still in his cell."
"Superman is wrong. Slade is the clever, he has found a way out. Who else would have access to the small S shapes? Red X was Jason and he is in Gotham. Wintergreen was a frail old man who served as Slade's personal assistant. There is no one else."
"Look, I get that you're worried, but I don't know what else to tell you. Slade is in his cell. The guards saw him with their own eyes."
"And how many times, may I ask, have you been deceived by a replica of Slade?"
He had to admit, the words stung a bit, but since they were trying to rebuild he wasn't going to bite. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Look Star, I know you're worried, but Superman knows what he's doing, honestly if Slade had gotten out somehow, we'd know. He's being watched 24/7, he couldn't have possibly replaced himself with a robot. Please, just trust me." He got a smile out of her at least, and a small nod, which was good enough for him. Robin gently placed a kiss on her forehead before heading to the roof to remove the S from the vent.
Starfire sighed as he left, her eyebrows knotted together. Fine. If Robin wasn't going to listen then she knew someone else who would. Pushing up from the sofa, she made her way to her room. Deep from the depths of her closet, she pulled out a small bag, the same one Bruce had given her when she last left the cave. From the bag she retrieved a small device that was very similar to her own communicator, except it was all black, and a tablet which she turned on as she went to sit on her bed. Bruce was right, keeping the communicator on her would be easier, so she was going to do that from now on. Sending a call from the communicator, she used her tablet to expertly bring up the camera feed from the security facility that Slade was being kept in. It was the same feed Superman had been using, and Slade hadn't moved an inch.
It was odd, she realised, that despite the knowledge and skill she could show by being able to hack into feeds like this, she knew Robin would be all too disappointed in her regardless. In actuality, the skills she had learnt would be of great use to the Titans, but then she'd have to admit to Robin that she'd been working with Batman, and she could really do without that hassle at the moment. All negative thoughts aside, she concentrated on the feed as her call was answered.
"Talk." Batman looked slightly bloodier than normal, the dim lighting of the cave not helping. He didn't even look at her when she spoke.
"I have reason to believe that Slade is free."
"I got the information about your call from Superman. He said Slade was secure."
"It is not Slade in that cell. It is one of his robots." At this statement, Batman brought his full attention to Starfire.
"What makes you believe that?"
"I am watching him now, he has not moved from the same position in fifteen minutes. Superman said that the guards stated that Slade spent most of his days laying there. Also, as I have been watching, I have noticed that he does not blink. The robots are very convincing, but I truly believe this to be one."
Batman considered it for a moment before getting up the same feed and watching. "I see your point, but he would have had to make the switch at some point, and we would have been alerted. Besides, this place has so much security that getting out is hard enough, never mind also getting something in."
"I just have the bad feeling. I know it must sound ridiculous but I would really rather like somebody to check. Even if I have to go there myself."
"Fine, I'll send someone. I don't want you going anywhere near him until you have your flight back. I will ask someone from the League to go and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Also, I need you in Gotham in four days. Your appointment has been moved forward. Have Raven drop you off at the cave at noon on Saturday."
"Glorious, I shall! I thank you Batman."
"I'll be in touch."
The screen went black and Starfire glanced at the feed of Slade. Something about watching him just didn't creep her out like she thought it should. Probably because she was utterly convinced that it wasn't him. But if it wasn't him in the cell, where was he? And if it was him who was at the Tower earlier, what did he want? Those were the questions that terrified her the most. She shut the feed off and hid the device under her bed. The communicator she placed in a pocket on her belt just before Robin knocked on the door.
"Star? Can I come in?"
"You may enter."
The door swished open and he entered, he now had a fresh uniform on, gloves included. He sat beside her on the bed. "Try not to think about it. Everything will be okay."
"Batman called when you left the room. He has requested my presence in Gotham on Saturday. My appointment has been moved forward."
"Oh that's great news Star." He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned into her, she didn't hug him back due to the awkward angle, but one hand found its way into his hair, gently running her fingers through it. He sighed into her shoulder and squeezed tighter. "I love it when your do that."
"Do what?"
"Run your hand through my hair."
"It would be nicer if you used less of the gel product."
Swiftly he jerked upright, an expression of mock hurt on his face, and a hand over his heart. "Are you saying you don't like my hair?"
"Not at all Robin, I simply prefer it when your hair is left to its natural state." A small cheeky smile appeared on her face. "I also think you should grow it out. Not as long as mine of course but definitely past your shoulders." He got what she was getting at and decided to play along.
"You want me to make the switch to Nightwing? Is Robin the Boy Wonder not good enough for you?"
"Well he was most handsome Robin." She put a finger to her chin, feigning deep thought. "He was taller than I am, and his muscles were well defined. The black clothing he wore complemented his physique perfectly, and I do believe I liked the outfit without the cape."
"This cape has saved you from being shot more than once Star. Besides, you're forgetting that Nightwing was me! I'm just not him yet!"
"Perhaps I should go and ask Cyborg if he could create another portal, it would be most nice to see Nightwing again. He was very nice to me and- oof." Starfire was interrupted mid speech as she was hit in the face by a pillow. When she realised what had happened she looked at Robin who wore an innocent expression on his face, despite the small mischievous smirk. "You have started a war Robin." As she grabbed for the other pillow, Robin expertly flipped over to the opposite side of the bed. A war of feathers and laughter ensued.
