Chapter 4: The Phantom, the Wolf, and the Lost Girl
In the last chapter, Starfire met a mysterious new character, known only as Zephyr. He seemed to want to help her so she let him take her to his 'place'. Meanwhile, the rest of the Titans produced a trail, small, but a miracle to them. Of course, they missed Starfire by only a few minutes. Will they ever catch up with her? Will Starfire regain her memory? Read on.
Beast Boy: We will, I know it!
Raven: Hm. Well then we're hopeless….
Beast Boy: Hey!
Cyborg: You can't hide the truth man, you can't hide the truth.
You must go to the east, go to the west,
The road is rocky and the way is far.
It's a dangerous trail, a difficult quest,
If you want know who you really are...
There are voices all around you,
To comfort and to guide you.
Fathers and teachers,
Powerful creatures.
And a voice that sings inside you.
Or you can turn back around,
Run along home.
Back to the place where your friends are.
Perhaps that is best,
You need the rest.
Who wants to go on a ridiculous quest?
Unless you want to know,
You truly want to know,
Unless you want to know...
Who you really are.
Who are you?
-Who You Really Are
The Phantom, the Wolf, and the Lost Girl
"Welcome to my humble abode."
Starfire and Zephyr were standing in the hallway, on the third floor of a small apartment building. While Zephyr fished in his pocket for the keys, Starfire took in the surroundings. In truth, the building was truly a dump. It reminded Starfire of-well, she didn't quite know. The wallpaper was peeling off of the walls, you could no longer tell what colour it was….ugly brown perhaps? The door wasn't much better, matching the colour of the walls. There was a number on the door, one screw missing. It was a 9, no wait-maybe it was a 6?
"Erm…." Starfire scratched her head, trying to come up with something that wouldn't be insulting.
"Well I didn't say it would be a palace." Zephyr pushed the door open after hearing the small –click!-of the lock. "Sam should be the only one here," He walked inside, holding the door open for Starfire.
The place looked the same as the hallway, brown, brow, and more brown. There was a small table, for eating it looked like. There was a hallway leading to four other rooms, most likely bedrooms. The only thing that looked close to being new was the furniture, and the T.V.
Starfire stepped through the doorway, not meeting Zephyr's eyes. "Sam is…one of your friends?"
"You could call me that," someone called from inside the kitchen.
Starfire looked up, having not expected an answer from anyone other than Zephyr.
Zephyr smiled shaking his head, "Come on Sammy, no need to hide."
"Please don't call me that." Sam came into view, rolling her strangely yellow eyes. She had a wild look about her, for some reason. She looked no older than Starfire herself, but she seemed more….mature. She was also noticeably taller. She wore baggy blue cargos, and a loose shirt of the same colour. Her hair was messy, and short, barely going past her ears. "Who's this?" Sam walked over to Starfire, looking as though she was examining her. She smirked, closing the door, seeing that no one else had.
"Sam, this is Starfire. Starfire, this is Sam." Zephyr nodded to each of them.
Starfire flinched both times her name was mentioned, she gripped the door handle, ready to faint.
"Something wrong?" Sam poked Starfire, noticing her sudden discomfort.
"My-my name….Starfire." She flinched again, rubbing her temples with her free hand.
"What about it?" Sam said slowly, A small look of concern played on her face.
"It hurts, when it's mentioned." Starfire let go of the door handle and let Sam guide her to a nearby chair.
"You need to rest, you can use my room, alright?" Sam kneeled before Starfire, making sure she had heard what she had said.
Starfire narrowed her eyes, wondering why Sam was being so kind.
Zephyr spoke up for the first time since introducing the two. "Don't worry, Sam won't bite…well you anyway. You can trust her." He smiled at Sam.
Starfire became puzzled about what Zephyr had said about Sam not 'biting her'. She looked into Sam's golden-yellow eyes, looking for an answer.
"No need to scare her Zee," Starfire could have sworn that she had heard Sam growl under her breath. "C'mon, let's get you to my room." Sam lifted Starfire off of the chair, slowly, and guided her towards the room at the end of the hallway. One thing was decorating the door, if you could call it that. A deep set of claw marks were etched into it.
"Is this your room?"
"No, we're just admiring the woodwork." Sam pushed the door open, revealing a small room.
It wasn't all that neat, there were various things littering the floor. Clothes, books, take-out food boxes, among other things. There was a desk in the far corner, covered with paper, lots of paper. The bed was beside it, a light blue blanket and pillow the only things on it. The walls were like the rest of the building, peeling brown. It looked as though Sam had made an effort to make them look better, there were white blotches here and there, the brown still showed though.
"Sorry about the mess, wasn't expecting any company." Sam kicked some stuff out of the way, making a clear path to the surprisingly clean bed. "If you need anything else, just let me know." She led Starfire to the bed and turned to leave. She had taken only a few steps when Starfire grabbed her arm.
"Can you stay for awhile? I don't feel all that bad anymore…"Starfire let go of Sam's arm, looking lost.
"I guess so…" Sam sat on the floor, beside the bed, leaning on it.
"I have a question."
"Well let's hear it then," Sam yawned, then trained her eyes on Starfire, giving her full attention.
"What-what were those marks on your door?" Starfire tensed, thinking that Sam might not like the question.
"Hm. Well…you see…how do I explain?" Sam thought for a moment, "Okay, see my eyes?"
Starfire didn't need to answer, she knew that Sam's eyes had been strange the moment she saw them. They were yellow, bright, Sunflower yellow. "They're yellow."
"Yep. I'm a wolf."
*****
"Nothing. It stops here man."
"Are you sure Beast Boy? Maybe you should try again."
"Forget it Robin, he's tried at least 10 times." Cyborg showed Robin all eight of his fingers and both of his thumbs.
"But how does a trail just….stop?" Robin leaned against the roof wall, totally stumped.
"They teleported."
"What'd you say Raven?"
Raven rolled her eyes as she watched Beast Boy twist his finger in his ear, as though he was trying to make his hearing better. "I said, they teleported."
"How do you know?" Beast Boy felt that his tracking was better then Raven's.
"It seems to be the only possibility."
"But-Tamaranians can't teleport….can they?" Robin was almost positive that he had never seen Starfire teleport.
"No, I don't believe that they can."
"Well then it wasn't another Tamaranian she was with right?" Cyborg put in.
"How did they have the same power as her then?" Beast Boy challenged.
"I don't know."
"It's getting dark, we should be getting back…I guess. We'll come back here tomorrow." Robin opened the door to the stairwell, waiting for the others to follow.
"Tomorrow." Raven looked blankly at the scorch mark on the ground before heading down the stairs with the others,
*****
"A-a wolf?"
"Or a werewolf, whatever you prefer." Sam smiled slightly.
"What do you mean?" Starfire was confused now, a wolf? She didn't look like one…
"Exactly what I said. I'm a wolf."
"I don't get it."
"Well I would say that I'm half wolf, half human, but I'm not. I'm a wolf, and I'm human. It's hard to explain. It's hard to understand also, as you now know."
"How?"
"I don't know. I just-am. I haven't always been like this though, it started a few years ago. I really have no idea why, or how, that's just the way it turned out." Sam stood up, feeling that Starfire was starting to get really confused.
"So…what happens? You change into a wolf?"
"Yeah, or the other way around. I'm not always like this, and I'm not always a wolf. Sometimes, I-I don't remember who I am…and I lose control." Sam started towards the door, "Good night."
"Night." Starfire started to pull the blanket over her head, "Sam, where are you going to sleep?"
"Don't worry about me, you just get some sleep." Sam smiled one more time before leaving the room and closing the door.
Starfire sat there, her green eyes glowing in the dark. She wasn't sure whether it would be wise to sleep or not, as nice as Sam had been.
THE NEXT DAY
"Doesn't it seem weird that nothing has stopped us from trying to find Starfire? No crime, no Slade. What's going on?"
"Hey Robin, don't get me wrong, but isn't that a good thing?" Beast Boy walked into the kitchen, scratching his head.
"Well yeah, but….it's strange y'know?"
"Yeah, I know."
Robin took a cereal box down from the cupboard. "I was thinking we could stay here today, take a break, study the clues."
"Sounds good, me and Cy have some plans of our own." Beast Boy glanced at the T.V., smiling evilly.
"Okay I'll rephrase that, we'll stay here today, you'll all take a break, and I'll study the clues." He poured the dry cereal into a bowl and handed it to Beast Boy.
"We're counting on you man." Beast Boy left the cereal on the counter and ran up the stairs to wake up Cyborg.
"Yeah, I guess you are." Robin stored the cereal back into the cupboard.
"I'll help."
"Raven?"
"Yeah, what?" Raven appeared beside Robin, drinking herbal tea.
"I didn't see you come in…"
"I can tell. Do you want my help or not?" Raven took another sip of her tea.
"Of course! Thanks Raven." Robin smiled gratefully at Raven.
Although it could not be seen, Raven blushed deeply under the cover of her hood. "No thanks needed."
*****
"I don't think she trusts me Zephyr, and I don't blame her either."
"Just give her time Sam, the same thing happened when you met us."
"Yeah, I know, but I don't want to scare her. I shouldn't have told her"
"Sam, she would have found out some time."
"I would have what?" Starfire walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes.
Sam sighed, closing her eyes momentarily. "Morning."
"Good morning. What were you talking about?" Starfire sat down on the chair closest to her.
"Nothing really, you feeling better?" Zephyr slumped down into the couch, stretching.
"Much," Starfire replied.
"You just missed Dev and Owen, they left for work."
"You two don't work?"
Zephyr shook his head, "Sam's too young to get a decent job and I-am about to leave." He hugged the couch before getting up and heading towards the door. "That ought to give you girls some alone time." He looked at Sam, his brow raised before closing the door behind him.
"You hungry?"
"No, thanks for offering."
"Thirsty?"
"Nope."
"Want some er-new clothes?"
Starfire looked down at her current clothes. At that moment, she found that she didn't like them much. "What do you have?"
Sam grinned, "Follow me."
Starfire followed Sam to her room, the one she had slept in the night before. She once again, saw the deep claw marks on the door, "Thanks for lending me your room, by the way."
"No probs er….what can I call you?" Sam kneeled by a basket, stuffed with clothes. "Any preferences?"
"Well I was thinking you could help me come up with a name…" Starfire kneeled down beside Sam. "No, no preference."
"An entirely new name huh? That's going to be hard." Sam tossed a baggy pair of black pants to Starfire. "What kind of name are you looking for?" She continued to rummage through the basket, looking for a shirt.
Starfire caught the pants, slinging them over her shoulder. "I don't know, anything."
Sam took a black shirt with a dragon pictured on it and tossed it to Starfire. "Well…that makes it hard. Gotta give some thought to that." She stood up, brushing off her pants.
"Thanks." Starfire went into the washroom, leaving Sam alone in her room.
"Hmm. A name for Starfire…." Sam walked over to her desk, shuffling a few papers.
Starfire came back in, the clothes looking a few sizes too big. "Well it isn't a perfect fit, but I like them."
"I'm glad." Sam continued to look through her papers, trying to organize them. "Have you got any ideas on a name?"
"Not really." Starfire joined Sam at her desk, watching her.
"Hm." Sam took a pile of the paper and stuffed it into one of the drawers. One stray piece fell to the ground. Sam leaned over to pick it up, stopping halfway. "I know this is going to sound stupid, but how about this?" She picked up the paper and gave it to Starfire.
"It's an owl." Starfire examined it, looking for what Sam wanted to show her.
"It's a Tawny owl."
"Okay, so?"
"How about Tawny? It's different, yeah, but it's a cool name, I think." Sam took back the paper, storing it in the drawer.
"Well we'll see…" Starfire, helped Sam clean the remaining paper off her desk.
Sam closed the drawers, "You remember when I told you that sometimes I'm…"
"Not yourself?"
"Yeah…Well, it's only happened twice. I know that I made you a little nervous…" Sam gnawed on her lip, feeling awkward.
"Well, it did-but…I trust you, really."
"Thanks…"
RING! RING, RING!
"Phone." Sam ran out of the room to get the phone.
Starfire followed Sam out of the room, "There's a phone?"
*****
The Titans (all but Starfire) had spent the entire day in the tower, talking a break…well sort of. Beast Boy and Cyborg played their video games, while Robin and Starfire acted as the team's sleuths, trying to make sense out of all of the things they had found that were connected with Starfire's disappearance.
"You cheated!"
"Aw, quit being a sore loser Cy."
"You're only sayin' that 'cause you won!"
"So what if I am?"
"Um…you cheated!"
"……"
"Are you two done?"
Both Beast Boy and Cyborg turned, brows raised, identical to each others.
"Okay…well I thought you'd like to know that Robin and I have come to a conclusion." Raven waited, making sure Beast Boy and Cyborg were listening. "The scorch mark that was on the rooftop was not that of a Tamaranian. Starfire and Blackfire are the only two that have the ability to fire starbolts. You following this?"
Beast Boy and Cyborg nodded slowly.
"That means, that either Blackfire is back, or someone with the power to teleport and fire starbolts or something like them is with Starfire."
"But why didn't Starfire come back?"
"We don't know Beast Boy, it could be that she is being held against her will, or she might have amnesia."
"What if she's dead?"
"I don't think she is Cyborg, I would've sensed it."
Beast Boy looked behind Raven, "Where's Robin?"
"He went to see Batman."
"What for?" Beast Boy couldn't remember the last time Robin had gone to see his mentor.
"To ask him if he knows of anyone with the powers I described to you."
"I'm glad that he's the one going…"
*****
"Lunch? Well I'm not making it….No, there's nothing left in the fridge…just get it yourself Dev! What?…Oh, yeah we'd love some….Yes 'we'!….You'll see when you get here…okay, okay, bye."
CLICK!
"Who was that?"
"Devlin."
"One of your friends?"
"Yes, unfortunately…"
"He can't be that bad Sam…"
"Well you learn to love him." Sam smirked, throwing the phone onto the couch. "He's coming home for lunch, and bringing it."
"It seems that he listens to you…"
"Well I'm the youngest and I WAS the only girl, it has its advantages."
"So, what are we having?" Starfire smiled giddily, a short image of the old Starfire showing on her face.
"Chinese. Hope you're not allergic to anything…"
"We'll have to see, won't we?"
Sam grinned, sitting down on the couch. "What do you like to watch?" She turned on the T.V.
"I don't know…whatever's on."
An image of a man sitting behind a desk appeared, he adjusted his tie before he started to speak.
"These past few days have proved to quite regular with no crime going on, no accidents, and the best weather we've had in a while. What could be the cause of such a gift?" The man tossed the paper behind him, looking to the next page. "There seems to be only one thing happening. A member of the Teen Titans is missing, and has been ever for at least three days now. The name of our Titan MIA is-"
"Hm, news…been boring these past few days," Sam commented as she changed the channel.
"Teen Titans? Who are they?" Starfire began to feel strange, as if something was missing.
"I don't know, I've only heard of them. You don't hear much around here. They're some sort of team of heroes…it's a shame one of 'em's missing." Sam changed the channel again, annoyed at the little cartoon dog.
"Yeah…they must be worried about her…"
"Her? How do you know it's a girl?" Sam looked at Starfire quizzically.
"I don't know…it just came out of my mouth…"
"Chinese all 'round!"
Starfire jumped off of the couch, her eyes briefly glowing green. Sam grabbed her before she could do any damage. As she calmed down, she got a good look at the guy that she guessed was Devlin. He had short, unkempt blond hair, which was covering his eyes at the moment. He was probably only a couple years older than Sam. He wore a white t-shirt and black jeans.
"Dev, you really need to quit doing that. You're going to give somebody a heart attack." Sam gave him a mischievous look with her golden eyes.
"Sorry, couldn' help m'self." Devlin blew some of his tousled hair out of his eyes.
Sam rolled her eyes, "Well, this is Devlin. And uh…Devlin this is…."
"Taile, you can call me Taile."
"'Lo Taile, pleasure to meet you." He bowed to Taile/Starfire, causing Sam to roll her eyes again.
"Nobody here knows how to use chopsticks, right?"
"Right," both Taile and Devlin answered.
Sam disappeared into the kitchen, taking the food with her.
"So, Taile, where'd you come from?" Devlin sat himself at the table, "The stars?"
"No…I don't think so." Taile blushed, looking at the door. "Wait a second-how'd you get inside? The door is chained, it can't be opened unless you're inside."
"Hm? Ah, you don't know…" Devlin jumped out of his seat and stood beside Taile. "Watch." He walked right up to the door, knocking on it.
"Um, what are you doing?"
"Watch."
"Okay…."
Devlin took a step back from the door, eyeing it. He glanced at Sam as she came out of the kitchen. She rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling. He took a deep breath and jumped at the door.
"You're going to hit the-!" Taile gasped, sure that she would hear a loud thump. She didn't. Devlin had disappeared through the door, or it looked that way. "Door?" Now she was confused. She looked over at Sam who just shrugged.
Taile walked slowly up to the door, resting her palm on it for a few seconds. She was about to ask Sam what was going on when something came through the door. A hand, a transparent one. Before she could react, it grabbed her arm, sending a sharp, cold, pain up her arm and running through her body. It pulled her towards the door, too strong for her to pull away. Where was Sam? She was going to hit the door! She closed her eyes, ready to make contact with it. At the spot where she thought the door would be, she instead felt another cold pain run through her.
"'Lo there!"
"Wha?" Taile opened her eyes slowly, coming face to face with Devlin, his amazingly pale, grey eyes staring into her own. There was something different about him though… "Why are you-?" She trailed off looking down at her arm, still grasped by Devlin's hand. "Why am I transparent?!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. You're lucky you can't activate that power o' yours!" Devlin let go of Taile's hand, heat going through her like a whirlwind. "There-better now?"
Taile stumbled backwards, still getting used to the sudden rush of heat. She took a quick look at her hands, making sure that they were no longer transparent. "What-what did you do?" She suddenly realized that they were outside, in the hall. "And what did you mean when you said I was lucky that I couldn't activate my power?"
"You should know by now what I can do, I'm a living ghost. And it's not the only thing I can do either." Devlin closed his eyes, his transparency becoming a thing of the past. "I made you a ghost Taile, I've found out in past experiences that you can't use powers when you're dead. It makes sense doesn't it?"
"I was DEAD?"
"Well no, not exactly….erm, sorry." Devlin hung his head, giving up on trying to explain.
"Well, what you can do is cool Devlin, but that wasn't exactly they way I would've liked to find out how it worked." Taile smiled slightly, knocking on the door. After the sound of clinking metal, the door opened. Sam looked ready to crack up, seeing that Devlin's little charm tactic didn't work.
"Well the noodles are a little cold but…." Sam handed both of them forks, "You'll deal, right?"
"Of course!" Devlin jumped into his seat, licking his lips.
This time, it was Taile's turn to roll her eyes. "Let's just eat already."
*****
So I made this chapter longer, hopefully it will make everyone a little happier^^ Hope you liked it, and my new charries, Sam and Devlin. Taile, Starfire's new personality has yet to meet Owen. She was sooooo close to seeing the Titans too :P Well, sorry this one took so long, I had a little writer's block. Hopefully I get some more reviews -hint- -hint-
Beast Boy: I want to have a word with this Devlin guy…
Cyborg: You cheated!
Beast Boy: Aw come on, dude. Are you still on that?
Cyborg: Yeah!
Alright, that's enough. Say bye-bye to the nice readers.
Oh yes…I own nothing but my four charries, Zephyr, Sam, Owen, and Devlin. That is all.