This is it everyone! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or Twister. Do I wish I did? Yes. Will I ever? No.
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Chapter 8: Grand Finale
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Ah, this was it.
The big day, the coup de gras, the Flay Mignon! This was once again one of Jump Cities most anticipated concerts of the year. With record- breaking time, the tickets were sold out by the day's end. Only the most devoted slept outside for days while only the luckiest few were able to order theirs online and were actually able to receive the tickets. Already people had lined up in front of the gates and hallways to enter the arena where one of the biggest rock stars was about to sing to them. What could be an even better event this year, no, decade, no, century! They came to hear her sing!
But singing to the tens of thousands of people in Jump City was the least of Blackfire's worries, because she was trying to find her other boot.
Amidst the chaos that was her room, Komand'r was almost literally ripping apart the bed sheets, carpet, and wallpaper even though it was a good chance that the missing footwear wasn't going to be found in those areas. It never hurt to look though. She was bent down on hands and knees, scouring the floor inch by inch. Her boot was no wherenowhere to be seen. Blackfire growled in annoyance and gave up; she'll just have to borrow a pair from her dear sweet sister.
The elder Tamaran walked down the hallway in a hurry. If she didn't find a replacement, she would be late. And that was when something peculiar had caught her eye. It was her boot. And it was...moving? It shuffled forward at a slow pace, like some invisible string was pulling it. Blackfire slowly crept up and took a closer look. Yup, it was moving all right with no strings attached, no pun intended. She quickly grabbed the shoe and lifted it up. A crab dangled off the edge of the boot, staring back at her in bewilderment.
"What the..."
It suddenly swung forward and latched one of its claws onto her nose. "Dahmit!" She cursed and dropped the clothing with the animal. A small red line formed on the sides of where it had pinched her. "I don't know how the hell you got here, but prepare...to...be..." If there ever was news about aliens finding a place on earth, it would have to wait. Blackfire was having a heart attack because right before her eyes, the crab started to grow into immense proportions. Its body shifted and swayed, sprouting hair and large canine teeth. It took only a blink of an eye to witness the transformation, but for a person who had just seen it the first time, it was an eternity.
Komand'r stared scared stiff at the lion before her. It growled softly, bared its teeth, and stalked foreword. The boot was hanging off to the side of the mouth, covered in saliva and holes from the teeth. "Nice kitty, good kitty." Blackfire slowly walked backwards. "I-I don't want t-to hurt you! Just g-getting some shoes from my s-sister." Somehow, her last sentence triggered a reaction from the beast as it roared an almighty roar and lunged at the Tamaran. She screamed and dove to the ground, covering her eyes and waited for the razor sharp nails to pierce her skin.
Instead, she felt the poundings of footfalls fade away from her down the rest of the corridor. Komand'r looked up to see the lion gone with shoe and all. Did she just hallucinate that? Was it some type of warning that X'hal had given her today? If so, one question plagued her mind...
Since when were lions green?
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Keith walked down his old hallway. It felt great to be back into his small house again. Even though he ran a successful franchise, the vendor liked to keep things simple for money's worth. The one story house was small with three bedrooms and a comfortably sized bathroom. It had a cozy feel to it. A doorbell echoed through his small house and Keith shifted course from his original destination to take care of the sudden matter at hand. It was his surprise to see a soggy teen at his doorstep.
"Beast Boy? What are you doing? Get in here quick."
The Titan couldn't agree more. He scampered inside from the pouring rain and drooped a tattered something near the door. Beast Boy sat huddled near the fireplace, dripping wet. "So lad, how was it?" The teen shivered. "If you didn't account almost being stepped on, having foul material in your mouth and drowning in the rain...yeah, it was fun." He gave a half grin before sneezing and putting his hands up to the flame for extra warmth. A sort of clunking sound appeared in the hallway as Raven and Cyborg appeared together. "Ready?" Keith asked. They nodded in response. "Better be careful, its a little slippery out there." Cyborg looked out the window and grinned. As the person who was going to be the passenger of the car, Raven didn't like his smile.
"C'mon Raven! Times a wastin'."
Raven groaned.
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Blackfire stomped down the steps to the garage below. Corvettes, BMW's, and, old James Dean look-alikes were parked neatly in the allotted spaces and shining. Everyday a specific caretaker would come down and polish or tune what was needed to be repaired. The cars never left the lot though. Some of the people who worked in the mansion believed that the automobiles didn't even have an engine to them. The only working car that they know of was the limo that Blackfire took to basically everywhere. Even down to the post office, but even that was rare since she would just have a worker do it.
The limousine driver stood tall and broad shoulder as he opened the back door for her. A cap hide his face, and it seemed he rarely spoke. Like Blackfire would care anyways. He shut the door after her and seated himself in the driver's seat. The garage door opened and, slowly, the car left its premises. Only then did a shadow emerge itself from between a mini cooper and a Kawasaki motorcycle. Reaching out its hand, the figure remembered what the chauffer had told her, and mumbled three words under their breath. A metal noise was heard along the driveway as a limo dyed on the spot.
The driver quickly put on the emergency brake. He looked in his rear view mirror to see a panicked Blackfire fleeing from the car and down the street. Chuckling the driver stepped out and looked under the hood. A gush of steam billowed and encompassed his face. He choked and fanned it by as he eyed the damage. He grinned and whistled. The figure from the garage appeared by his side and looked into the front of the car as well. She gave a wisp of a smile and uttered, "Oops."
The driver pulled his cap off and wiped his brow. "So...what's next?"
"Taxi?"
"Hehehehe!"
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It wasn't until a good hour later when the renowned 'singer' made it to the security checkpoint. She was a mess too. A windy day this day turned out to be since a slow storm rolled it blankets of clouds over the sky. Didn't do too much good for her hair either. Blackfire trooped backstage but was stopped before she could reach her dressing room much less the bathroom. A security guard had appeared and blocked her entrance with arms outstretched. "What are you doing?" The guard didn't respond but merely glanced her way for a moment. "I said, 'What are you doing!'" This time the man grumbled "No admittance to people without a pass backstage." It seems that many people had tried to sneak in because his voice grew bored from repeating the same lines over and over again.
"But I'm Blackfire!"
The man nodded behind her, "So are they."
She turned and found a half dozen black haired, purple eyed, outfit matching girls sitting on a bench with moping looks on their faces. One of them spotted the real Blackfire and smirked. "Look at what the cat dragged in." The remaining five looked her way and chuckled. Yeah, the wind from the storm didn't help to elevate the 'singer's appearance. She looked worse than the wannabe's. Tamaran blood boiled underneath Blackfire's skin as she roared at the guard, telling him that she was the real deal. He had none of it, and adjusted the headset as he spoke.
A couple of 'uh huh's' and 'right's' passed before he lifted a brow at Blackfire and waved her through. Now she stomped to her room and slammed the door shut. She had limited amount of time to get ready before the announcer came on. Rummaging through her desk, she picked up a mascara bottle and stopped. Right on the tube was a big, green, wolf spider.
"Thanks Sarah."
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By the time the two teens had reached Keith's old home, the rain had started to come as a treacherous down pour.
"...and when you saw the look on her face as she bolted out the door screaming, 'It's gonna blow!', I couldn't stop laughing. Ooo, my stomach muscles still ache too." Cyborg put a hand over his abdomen as the group around the table giggled and laughed. Keith set five mugs of warm drinks in front of his guests as he sat down as well. "Everything is falling into place. This is one nice plan lad." Robin smiled. "She gets what's coming to her. I just can't wait for the fireworks to fly." A series of chuckles escaped before the boy wonder looked around. "Where's Beast Boy?"
"B.B.? Oh, he'll be right back." Cyborg put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair as it groaned in protest. "He had too much fun last time." Raven rolled her eyes and placed the tea to her lips before the door slammed open and a grinning, yet bruised, teen entered. Consequentially the tea poured all over Raven's lap.
"Hee hee hee! You guys missed it! She shrieked from here to the moon and back. It was worth taking a beating too!" He breathed the last of his laughs and pulled up a chair, sitting in it backwards. The group was then silent, contemplating the final league of their journey. Step one was complete. Starfire had given well needed information to tell that her sister liked arriving a little early and hated being late. Thanks to the combined efforts of sabotage from Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg, Blackfire was late. And when you're presumably late, your mind becomes befuddled as your brain races a mile a minute to put things in order. Thus, you tend to become clumsy and forgetful.
"How long do we have till she's ready to come on stage?"
"I'd say another hour."
"Oh."
More silence...and then:
"Who's up for some Twister?"
"Yo! I claim the right side!"
"No way! The right side is always mine dude!"
"I shall take the top!"
"I'll take the spinner."
And so, for another hour, the Titans enjoyed a rousing game of Twister as Keith sat near them. But his attention was not on them. He looked out the water-streaked window as the tiny pellets of rain slid down the glass. The lights of Jump City were astounding at night. You could clearly see the auditorium, waving its search lights for the concert to come. His mind brought him back as he turned towards the teens who were in mixed position on the playing field. A single red haired girl caught his eye as she was smiling and laughing with the rest her age. Then, as if nothing in the world could make him happier then to see her joyous face, Keith uttered a long, relaxing sigh.
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"Five minutes! Five minutes everybody!"
Sarah ran backstage and waved her arms in the directions she wanted certain people to go. A clipboard in one hand and the headset clamped comfortably, she gave one last look around before she had to retrieve Blackfire from her dressing room. Sarah knocked on the door and a stern rude, answer was her reply. The blonde rolled her eyes and knocked again. She had heard repulsive stories from the Titans and Cyborg. The technician smiled when she thought of him. He was kind of handsome.
The door then swung open and out stepped Blackfire, looking a whole lot better then she had before. "Well? I'm ready!" Grimacing, Sarah led the 'singer' down a pathway and steps so that they were positioned underneath the stage. The opening was for Blackfire to be raised on a pillar while an entrance to the stage was to appear above her. Then the flashy fireworks and the whole 'bling-bling' were supposed to introduce the rock star as the crowd roared and cheered and mosh pitted...you know...things like that. The crowd was already yelling incoherent chants from above as Blackfire stepped onto the pillar. Sarah waved to her. "Good luck!"
Blackfire merely looked down at her. "I hate my luck."
The technician smiled and said, "That's the spirit!", and left.
She hurriedly raced up the steps and through the twisted pathways to the sound system booth to find a surprise. Instead of Keith manning the station, Cyborg had the headphones on and was fiddling with the knobs. Sarah then glanced up at the catwalk where a dark, robed female stood along side a green skinned boy. Catching on, she spun around and asked Cyborg, "Where's Robin?" He grinned and pointed in the back where the light operator would be. The African-American teen then looked over her shoulder. "Ya ready Star?" Sarah turned to see the red head smile warmly and nodding.
Sarah put her hands on Starfire's shoulders and wished her the best. Starfire thanked her and entered the sound booth with Cyborg. "You kinda confuse me Star." The taller Titan blurted out. He blushed and looked back towards the board. She cocked her head. "Why?" He saw no way of escaping this conversation so Cyborg scratched his head and crossed his arms. "I can understand you wantin revenge and all, especially after you escapade from before you came Jump City." Cyborg paused. Starfire knew that Robin, Raven, Beast Boy and him had found out some of her past. But she didn't know how much. "It is alright Cyborg. My past is not a joyful memory to recall." Her head drooped a little. "I assume the journal was translated, correct?"
"Yeah, some chick named Terra helped us."
Unaware, Starfire had put a hand on the scar that tainted her skin. "I gave almost my life for my sister back on Tamaran. I was young and naive then,then; she saw my pain as an excuse for herself. Koman...er...Blackfire had made me feel guilty for her. I do not know if you believe me, but I still love my sister greatly. Much more then a Gorgapleck loves her little ones." Cyborg was at a complete lost as to what a Gorgapleck was but respectfully listened rather than interrupt his friend. "I felt horrible and wished that anything that I could do, would do for her so that she was to be happy again. So my road of troubles began when I willingly...'signed' a contract with her. Though it is not...how is it?" She frowned in thought. "...'Set in granite.' I believe the saying goes, I had to sing for her as long as she was a national phenomenon." Starfire looked up and through a nook in the curtains where her sister would be arriving in a minute or so.
"She is so 'hip' and 'cool'. It makes her happy to be on stage. So happy..."
Even though she was not turned to him, Cyborg stared with an unemotional face at her. "No one has ever asked you what made you happy." He saw her shoulders drop a little. "That is correct." Starfire then turned to him and smiled. "But right now, since I have met Robin, my life feels like the last piece of the puzzle is complete. He gave me the strength to stand up against my sister, to rebel against her."
"Because you wanted something simpler then the burden of making her happy." Cyborg put in as she giggled and nodded. "I remember when I was at Keith's home when I had first gotten to this wondrous city. So cozy and warm. There could not be one sign of hostility found. I wish to relive these memories." Cyborg grinned as he remembered the same feeling when he first was allowed into Keith's home. Suddenly, the recorded announcer boomed over the speakers and the crowd went into a frenzy. Slowly, Blackfire emerged from underground and stepped onto the stage. Everything was falling into place. The sky cracked with lightning but no one in the auditorium heard it. Everyone was chanting for their favorite 'singer'.
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Robin flicked a couple of switches as the backdrop on the stage came to life with swirling patterns and flashing lights. Bursts of smoke were emitted into the air as he could hear that Cyborg had started to recording of the first song. Blackfire immediately burst into dance on stage in sync with the music. The crowd roared their approval for her. A sudden static sound was made over his headset.
"Yo! Everyone ready?"
"Dude, I was born ready!"
"Ready..."
"Ready Cyborg, let it rip!"
Robin quickly adjusted a knob that positioned the camera backstage. He stopped for one second to see the emerald-eyed Tamaran nervously place a set of headphones over her ears. The video screen flickered once or twice as thunder rolled over the sky. Starfire fidgeted when lightning struck the heavens. Then, as if she knew he was looking at her, the true singer gazed up at the camera and waved. The masked teen smiled and waved back. Suddenly, a high wail reverberated across the walls of the auditorium as multiple people covered their ears. Robin took this cue and pushed a black button to his right. Across the way, the background blinked out and then turned to static. Blackfire stopped as, she too, put her hands over her head to protect her eardrums from bursting.
Droplets of rain began to drizzle on the audience as the screeching stopped. All that was left was the noise from the static onscreen in front of them. But soon, that died out too as all that was left was a confused Blackfire and a surprised mob of people. It grew deathly silent. Then...perfection slowly rose out from the speakers and into the night sky. Blackfire shot her head up and looked behind her. She had never heard this song before! What the hell was she supposed to do! It was too late though, as more and more people noticed that their idol only had her mouth open in astonishment. Murmurs and growls were floating up to her. Could Blackfire really have been a scam all along? If it wasn't her that was singing...who was? Robin grinned and pressed his finger on a red button to his left.
The screen blinked out once more but was quickly replaced by a picture of a girl. A red headed female with clear, amazing green eyes. It was silent once more as the song went on. It was a ballad of sorts and it soon entranced the crowd as small droplets of rain pelted their bodies. Raven eyed Beast Boy from across the catwalk and he gave a thumbs up. She reached up and grabbed a lever, pulling it with all her might. It swung down along with Beast Boy's and the backdrop rippled, falling from its holdings. Racing to another spot above, they then turned spotlights upon the singing beauty. For another minute, she sang and entertained the crowd with her words...her lyrics.
The music even seemed to calm the storm above. Thunder slowly, lightly and methodically rolled over once more. It was the crescendo of the song tosong to be distinct. The voice slowly faded off into the distance and soon the music was finished. The score of people stood, stunned for what had happened. Blackfire, the person they had enjoyed and ogled over, spent tens of dollars for her CD's and merchandise and voted for her on the radio networks, was just a flake, a fraud, a floozy! And here, now, was this person who shared her talent to the world but hide amongst the shadows. All at once, the mob threw their hands in the air and cheered.
Starfire walked out onto the stage as a hysterical Blackfire was being hauled away. She shielded her eyes from the spot lightsspotlights as the mass of people whooped and hollered out for her. After all this time, the true singer was out on stage where she should be. The Tamaran picked up a microphone off that floor. There was only one way to calm her audience.
And so, with a solid, refreshing breath, she started to sing once more.
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Epilogue: Angel Of Music
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Nobody remembers what ever happened to the mansion on top of the hill that over looked Jump City. It was left alone, abandon by the people for pest infestation and bug habitat. Right after the famed rock star had fled the abode, it had become a source of 'bad luck' to those who tried to live in it. Not even demolition companies dared to near it. The house had no neighbors,neighbors; the backyard wilted and grew brown underneath the seasonsseason's beatings. Paint peeled off the wooden frame as some ceiling bits and pieces were scattered across the dull wooden floor. Vegetation overgrew the cameras that spotted the mansion as weeds and tendrils of plant branches covered the thick wall that surrounded the lone building. Night after night, day after day, the mansion sat still and silent with its dark and foreboding look.
Robin was jutted out of his trance from looking out the window when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Yo, man. You okay?" The masked teen sighed and turned around. He had been in this house before. With it's cozy feel and warm atmosphere. Keith was certainly nice to have let him spend so much time at his house. "Yeah I'm okay Cy. Just thinking." The taller teen chuckled. "Well if you're thinking about something to eat, forget it. Beast Boy is making his special 'Veggie Burgers' tonight." Cyborg walked over to the front door and lifted his jacket from the hanger. "As for myself. Sarah and I have a little...date tonight." With a small wave and smile, the Titan was gone.
Robin sighed. He did realize that he was a bit famished, but taking B.B.'s meal in wouldn't do so well for his digestive track. Instead, he headed outside towards the garage and placed a ladder against the house. As his head poked over the side, he could see a lone figure sitting solemnly, staring peacefully at the stars. The masked teens boots gave away his position as the person's head tilted to his spot. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" He sat down next to them and watched in silence for a moment or two. Suddenly, they spoke. "My sister, she is to be transported back to Tamaran for punishment from my mother and father. I feel happy, yet, sad that she had to endure humiliation. Here, someone might say that Revenge tastes sweet, but all I can sense is bitterness."
She curled up and placed her head on her knees. Robin softly gazed at her. He was one lucky man.
"Starfire," She looked up at him. The boy wonder smiled. "I love you." Starfire smiled back and answered, "I love you too." She leaned her head onto his shoulder as he placed a strong yet warm arm around her waist.
"Starfire."
"Hmm?"
"Can you sing for me?"
"Of course...my muse."
Together, they watched the moon rise in the sky as her song rose to the heavens above, carrying their sorrows away.
Forever.
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End! I hope you guys liked it. I enjoyed it myself as well! Thank you lots also.
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For the Reviewers:
Many, MANY, thanks to Eventidespirit for giving me the chance to write this piece of fanfiction. If aNY of you have the chance, I STRONGLY suggest that you read The Misfits. Very, VERY good story!
And I Thank:
Ansatsu – Possesed Angel – RobinRox13 – Jeanniestorm – Specter Von Baren – Crimson Kaoru – bunny133 – MoonLightWolf – 'Thomas' – MysticalQHBarrel – aquatmarine – Eyes Of Nevermore – Orion Hime – Star 1993 – AerinSoul – Superviolist – Raven-4ever – lulugir715 – DragonBlond – Seventy-5ive – Kado Shujin Sara – 'Fiona' – lizzy0888 – Writer Of Love 17 – Estelar – 'Starfire' – 'Rugsrat' – Jadefire – ArimantianStar – TerraNova.
I thank you all for raising my spirits when I was a bit down and always having enjoyable reviews to read! Thank you all again!
-- ZodiacFire