Chapter 8
Saturday came around faster than Starfire expected. She got more nervous as the days passed, but also excited at the prospect of finally getting rid of the scar that Slade had bestowed upon her. It all depended on how this initial meeting with the plastic surgeon went. Hopefully, the removal was all she needed to regain the flight that she missed so dearly. It was nice, she thought, that she might be able to fly again, and just as she and Robin had been getting along better. They had spent every night since their pillow fight sleeping in her bed, sharing a few more kisses here and there. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. Starfire had lashed out at him on a couple of occasions, but he was more than happy to take it. He knew she was upset about everything Slade had done, hopefully all that would change in a few hours.
It was nearing noon, and Starfire was meditating in front of the bay windows of the ops room, a mug of tea on the floor below where she was floating. Raven was sat opposite her, intently watching as Starfire's starbolts glowed in her hands. Robin was at the table, a newspaper folded in front of him. If he was honest, he was nervous. Not that he thought anything bad could happen while Starfire was in Gotham, she would be with the man who trained him after all, but he didn't want to see her disappointed. What if there was nothing they could do for her? What if her alien physiology made things too complicated? What if she couldn't get rid of the scar and then never be able to fly again, and then she couldn't rejoin the Titans on their missions and...
"Robin". He jumped as a soft hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to see Starfire standing just behind him. "Apologies, you did not answer, what were you thinking of?"
He smiled at her and patted her hand. "You know me Star, I was thinking about everything." She smiled in understanding. He had used that expression before. It meant he was overanalysing everything, even if it meant nothing specific.
"It is time I depart, I will see you most probably this evening." She pulled him to his feet and dragged him into a hug.
"This evening?" He turned his head on her shoulder to show he didn't understand. "Why will it take that long? I thought you were only going for a consultation."
"I am." She pulled from him and held his hands. "But you are well aware of how paranoid Bruce is. He said that we need to find a way to get me to the facility without being seen. He will not be wearing his uniform and so cannot be seen with me in public. I am not sure what he plans on doing but I trust him."
"Yeah, I know all about Bruce and his secrets. He doesn't trust anyone. It will probably take you twice as long to get to where you're going than it normally would and you'll take the strangest route possible."
"Do not fret Robin, I will be back soon". She kissed him lightly before moving over to where Raven stood. "I am ready."
Raven's eyes turned white. "Call me when you want to come home Star, from where I dropped you off".
"Thank you, Raven." And then she was gone. Raven looked at Robin who sighed a little.
"How was her meditation going?"
"Really well actually, I know you didn't think it was a good idea but that energy expulsion she performed has worked wonders. Her starbolts are only marginally more powerful than they were before Slade. It's not enough to be a danger though. I think if she gets her flight back, she'll be ready to fight again." Raven picked up her book from the table.
"That's good! Hopefully everything will go back to normal soon." Robin smiled gently at her.
"Robin," she moved closer to him, that air of suspicion in her eyes. "Is Bruce really that concerned about the possibility of being seen with Star?"
Robin almost laughed at her. "Yes he really is. Between you and me, Bruce let's Clark wear the Batsuit occasionally so that Batman and Bruce can be seen out at the same time. For no other reason than he didn't want anyone to make any connections to Bruce missing whilst Batman was fighting. Of course Bruce would never let Clark do anything in the suit. Just needed to be seen a few times roaming the streets. I've always thought it far fetched but Bruce is adamant he needs to do it." He shrugged. "It's how he's always been since I've known him."
Raven looked a bit shocked but the expression left her face fairly fast. "Wow, I never knew. At least we know she's in good hands. Other than her appointment, I reckon she'll have a fairly boring day."
Starfire was feeling a little more optimistic about the enjoyment of her day than Raven was. Of course she was still nervous about the appointment, but that was only a consultation. In truth, Bruce had said the appointment should take no longer than an hour.
"Hello Starfire." Bruce didn't turn to look at her, he was sat observing his monitor. She walked up next to him, trying to figure out what he was watching. Camera's as usual, but clearer than the CCTV camera's she usually watched. "Did he buy it."
"Did who buy... oh... yes. Robin did buy it. He believes your paranoia to be the reason for my lengthy absence."
"And how do you feel?" He turned slightly to look at her.
"Truthfully I feel like I am betraying him. Only this week did we converse about trusting each other, and yet I have lied to him every day." She looked down at her feet as she felt shame wash over her. "However, I stand by my belief in what you told me. Robin is unable to be swayed when it comes to Slade. Therefor I believe we must do this without him." She stood straight and then turned to look at Bruce. "What have you discovered?"
Bruce just turned back to the screen and brought up a new camera feed. The same one Starfire had hacked into just days before. Slade's prison cell. "This is the live feed from Slade's cell. I couldn't get authorised clearance to go in myself, as it would get back to the League that I was trying, which meant our whole operation would be blown. I've mapped a way in and out, but I need your eyes on the cameras to make sure the guards don't see. I will also need you to access a few doors for me. It makes it easier if I don't have to waste time unlocking them manually. This," he brought up another window that had blue prints on it, "is the floor that Slade's cell is on. Which is here." He pointed to a small square on the screen. "Any door you can see that is red, needs remotely opening when I say so. But only when I say so. Hopefully, I'll be in and out in no longer than fifteen minutes. If that's not Slade, I'll make sure the guards find out, and then they can alert the League who will let Robin know."
He turned to her and smiled. She was staring at the screen with her own smile. She turned and met his gaze. "And no one will have to know that either of us were involved. It should work, however how do you plan on not being seen? If we are to do this before five PM, surely it will still be light enough to see you?"
"Let me worry about the details. I planned it during daylight hours so that no one would suspect me. You and I have each other as our alibis. If I've planned it right, and I think I have, this should work out absolutely fine." He closed all the windows on his computer and then stood for, his chair. "But first, let's get you to your appointment."
Starfire grinned at him, and they left to go up the stairs to the warmth of Wayne Manor. They entered the familiar sitting room and then made their way to the kitchen where Alfred was pouring fresh cups of coffee.
"Good afternoon, Miss Starfire. Would you like anything to drink." She had only met Alfred once the week before, but she was enamoured with him. He reminded her of Galfore, but with less bulk.
"No, thank you Alfred. I trust you are well?" She sat at the table next to Bruce who was sipping his coffee.
"Plodding along as usual." He noticed that Starfire shot him a funny look, having never heard the expression before, but she didn't question him about it so he went about cleaning the coffee maker.
"So, Starfire," Bruce brought her attention to him. "Today what's going to happen is, I've organised this appointment to take place at my Wayne Enterprises office building. It means it won't be suspicious that I'm going in there, or that Lucius will be there with a consultant. People come and go from that building all the time, so it won't be flagged by anyone. The problem lies in getting you in there without you being recognised." He pulled out what looked like an ordinary pair of reading glasses. "These are made from similar technology to Cyborg's holographic rings. With the exception of a camera and microphone that will allow the recording of anything you see. We won't need to record anything today so those features are switched off, but they will disguise you."
She took the glasses from him and examined them. "So, it will not look like me?"
"Precisely. I'm going to have one of our other drivers drop me off at my building, and then Alfred will drop you off a few moments later. You'll go to the front desk, and state that you are Miss K Anders, and that you have an appointment with me at one PM." He handed her a drivers license that had a girl she didn't recognise on it, but the name he had just said.
"Who is this?" She looked at him and he smiled gently at her before getting up out if his chair and taking the glasses out of her hand.
"That," he placed the glasses on her face and pressed a small button on the inside before stepping back. "Is you."
Starfire looked at her hands, and they were pale. Paler than she had ever been. About the same skin tone as Robin, she would have said. She looked up and Bruce and grinned before moving into the hallway and finding the mirror that hung on the wall. She looked... human. Her hair was brown, her eyes were brown, and her skin was pale. It was strange, she thought, she had spent a lot of time wishing she could be more human so that she might fit in better on Earth, but truly she did not find this look particularly appealing.
"If you head up stairs to the first bedroom on the left, there is a change of clothing for you in there. You can't very well be seen out in public in your armour. Don't worry, I made sure to get you a long sleeved jacket. Also, it's smart clothing, as you'll be meeting with me in my business I couldn't just get you a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to wear, but I hope you like them."
"Thank you. I shall go change." She bowed to him in her overly polite manner.
"I will be leaving now, but as soon as you're changed come down and Alfred will drop you off. Please don't be late, the faster we get this appointment done the faster we can work on some finer details of our operation." And he walked off. She supposed that was just his way, ever one to exchange too many pleasantries, as Robin had told her before. Starfire admired her odd reflection once more before heading up the stairs to the room Bruce had directed her too. He wasn't wrong when he said the clothing was smart. A very plain navy blue dress, and blazer, with a pair of flat pumps. It wasn't going to make any kind of statement but then that was the point. To make her as ordinary as possible.
She changed quickly and met Alfred by the front door. "Master Bruce asked me to remind you that you must keep those glasses on your face at all times until you return to the manor."
"Of course, thank you Alfred."
The journey to Wayne Enterprises was uneventful, Alfred just reminding Starfire about what she had to do. When the arrived, she thanked him and stepped through the door into what she perceived as the busiest place she'd ever seen, and considering she spent her childhood in a palace, it was impressive to say the least. Swallowing her nerves, she wandered through the mass of people and located the reception desk.
"Excuse me."
The woman behind the desk smiled at her, which was a good sign she supposed. "Hello, and welcome to Wayne Enterprises, how can I help?"
"My name is Miss Anders, I have an appointment with Mr Wayne at 1pm." Starfire watched as the woman scoured the screen in front of her.
"Ah, yes. I have it here. If you would take the elevator up to the seventh floor, Mr Wayne should be there to meet you." The woman smiled again, and Starfire was finally relaxing. This disguise was working and nobody recognised her. With a smile and a 'thank you' Starfire did as she was instructed and found herself stepping out onto the seventh floor some minutes later. As promised, Bruce was there to meet her.
"Ah, Miss Anders, please come with me." She followed him down the corridor and into a small office, where two people were sitting. Bruce shut the door behind her, and locked it. "Okay so, Starfire, this is the man you spoke to last week, Mr Lucius Fox, and this is Doctor Leslie Thompkins. They will be helping you today, and don't worry, they know everything."
"It is a pleasure to meet you both." Starfire smiled at them, excitement creeping in that this could be the end her flight problems.
Lucius stood from his seat and buttoned his jacket. "Let's take a look, and see what we can do." He motioned for Starfire to sit in the chair he had just vacated. "Now Bruce has told me about the psychological problems you've been having because of this scar you have, so we're going to do everything we can to get you back to how you were before this happened. Isn't that right doctor?"
"Of course. Now my dear," Leslie gently placed her hand on Starfire's arm from her seat, "first, do you know how you received this scar? Lucius and I have seen photos of it, but we need to know exactly how it was given to you."
Starfire looked a bit worried as she couldn't actually remember how she had gotten it, but knew there was a recording of it that the Justice League had found when they raided Slade's hideouts. "I am unsure. There is not much I remember from when I was with Slade." She glanced over to Bruce who was sending her a sympathetic look. "From what I have been told, I believe it was created by the ancient branding method, similar to what used to be used to identify herds of cattle."
Bruce chimed in at this point. "Slade had recorded it, he used a branding iron with his symbol on it. It was a typical iron, and heated how you would normally heat one, but she's not human. Tamaranian's heal faster than we do, so it scarred worse than it would have done on a human."
Leslie took in all the information that Bruce had given her and smiled at Starfire. "Well dear, if you wouldn't mind taking your jacket off, we'll examine this scar and see if there's anything we can do."
Reluctantly, Starfire stood and removed her jacket. She hated revealing her scar, it was a reminder of all the bad things she had done, and that she had let Slade get to her.
"You'll have to remove those glasses as well." She looked at Bruce in shock. She hadn't realise when she changed that the hologram covered her scar. She has gotten so used to making sure she didn't look at it that she hadn't even noticed. So, taking off her glasses, and revealing her true self, she cringed as the scarred skin on her arm came into view. Leslie gently grabbed her arm and closely examined the puckered skin.
"Do you mind if I touch this?" Leslie held her fingers just above the scar, waiting for permission. Starfire just gently shook her head and looked away as she felt the contact. It was strange, like she couldn't feel it properly but knew she was being touched. After a few moments, Leslie moved away. "Well, it's certainly nasty, but we should be able to do something with this." A confident smile crossed her face.
Starfire gaped at her. "You are certain?"
"It might take a few attempts, but we should be able to remove the damaged tissue and replace it with a graft from another part of your body. It's a fairly popular procedure actually. The only thing I would say is, don't expect it to be perfect. We could probably get rid of the symbol, but there will most likely be some minor scarring around the edges."
Starfire grinned widely. Excitement bubbling within her. "Oh I thank you. Truly. How could I ever repay you?"
Leslie and Lucius shared a knowing smile. "You don't need to repay us, Starfire. You save lives everyday. This is the least we could do."
Small tears of gratitude sprung into her eyes, and she blinked them away. Finally there was a light at the end of the tunnel. She would be rid of her scar and she could join her friends again. She would be a Titan once more!
Bruce shook hands with Leslie and Lucius, and after another round of thank you's, they left. As he shut the door behind them, he looked at his watch and smiled.
"All in good time. Now, let's go find Slade."
—-—
okay so. 100 percent sorry guys. I just completely let these stories go. I recently re-read them and feel compelled to at least complete them for you. Also this chapter is very much filler that will lead to what happens next. Again... sorry :(
