"I had hoped for a chance to meet you all under better circumstances, but fate forced my hand into calling you tonight. I was caught off guard by the Zornians. It won't happen again," she added darkly, though the anger seemed to be directed more at the aliens than the gathered heroes, for which they were all supremely grateful. Raven shivered their skin, and she seemed to be on -their- side.
"So you were the telepath. The one who called to me," said Robin, fingering his utility belt where he'd placed the device Cyborg had given him. "You knew I'd call in Cyborg and Beastboy for back-up."
"Of course I knew," she replied. "I was observing your activities earlier in the evening with the fire… you are great heroes," she said, glancing at the three of them.
"I think she likes us," said Beastboy in an undertone, nudging Cyborg. He smirked, nodding his head.
"I was also able to contact the Tamaranian here as well. That was a stroke of pure luck. Apparently Tamaranian minds work on a more advanced level than humans. They are easier to contact," Raven said.
"We owe you a lot," said Robin to the redheaded alien girl. His words still weren't understood but judging from the way she nodded her head and smiled she understood his meaning, at least.
"Kleblak Norvit," she replied.
"So what the heck were those things?" asked Cyborg. "And why did they want you, for that matter?"
"That is the reason I am here," replied Raven. "They're called Zornians. The Tamaranian here might recognize that name, it's a planet from a system near Vega, where she lives. As you can see, they're not a very bright species, but they've managed to pirate and plunder themselves decent transportation through space."
"But why come here? Why come after you?"
"These Zornians worship a being of great power and great evil," hissed Raven quietly. "A very dangerous demon from another dimension parallel to ours. This demon seeks to conquer Earth, enslave its population, and from here launch an invasion of the rest of this universe. If it is not stopped before it enters Earth, it may very well succeed. It is very powerful."
"It?" asked Robin. He'd carefully noted a lack of name throughout the conversation.
She shot him a dark glare. "We do not speak his name," she replied, her voice dripping with venom. Robin wisely backed off, but he was going to get more information out Raven sooner or later. "The Zornians are here because this demon cannot work here on Earth, he needs to work through intermediaries. The Zornians are trying to destroy the seals that were placed her centuries ago to prevent his coming."
Raven stretched out a hand, drawing a line in the air. A black blade of energy launched itself from her finger, following it, and sliced a symbol into the ground as she traced her finger through the air. When she was finished, the blade dissipated, leaving only the symbol. An intersection of lines that, though not recognized by any of the gathered heroes, none-the-less brought a sense of peace and protection.
"There were originally five stones, scattered around the Earth," continued Raven. "The High Priestess of my world visited this one centuries ago and saw to their construction. They were set to keep away our foe from this world. But now the Zornians have destroyed four of them already. They are moving very quickly to destroy the remaining one. However, even one such remaining stone will be enough to keep the threat at bay."
"Where is it?" asked Robin.
"It was held in an ancient ruin until recently," she replied. "It was recently moved to the museum right here in Jump City. It is heavily guarded because of its rarity, twice now thieves have tried to take it."
"So we're trying to stop aliens who want to destroy a stone that if destroyed will let loose a mega powerful demon that'll conquer the universe and you're from another universe and you want to stop this demon and not let this stone be destroyed?" summarized Beastboy. Then, clutching the side of his head, he muttered, "My head hurts."
Raven nodded in response to Beastboy's… crude, overly simplified… but none-the-less accurate view of what she'd just said. "I need help with this. My enemy is powerful, the Zornians are the least of his minions, and I suspect more will become involved before I can find the stone and secure a safe location for it. You have the choice. I will not force any of you to assist me," she added, glancing over at Robin. "And no, I do not have the power to do so even if I wanted. I can read and influence minds, not control them."
"Sorry," he replied, though it was clear he didn't mean it in the least. She'd been the one rummaging through his brain, after all.
"I'll help!" said Beastboy, waving his arm animatedly.
"Sure, why not?" asked Cyborg. "Always wanted to kick some bad guy alien butt."
"Crebnak kelfilkor Zookra!" shouted the Tamaranian, punching a fist up into the air. Raven had been supplying her mind with a faithful translation of the conversation, and she seemed as delighted as they were to join in the battle against nasty mean aliens.
Robin glanced at her with some reluctance. "Bringing her along might not be such a good idea. She can't even understand us."
"Her powers could be useful," replied Raven, turning to face Robin. The two began to argue in earnest.
"So that's all you care about? Just using her powers?" asked Robin.
"No of course not but there isn't time for comforts like teaching her the English language," replied Raven.
"I won't use her as a pawn! We can take her to my place, she'll be safe there until we're sure what to-"
"There isn't time!"
The two bird-heroes argued in earnest, the red-headed Tamaranian glancing back and forth with the vacant expression of one who has utterly no idea of what is going on. And growing increasingly frustrated by that lack of knowledge. Raven had ceased bothering to translate for her, and she could only conclude they were talking about her. It was starting to irritate her.
Finally, frustrated beyond all belief the Tamaranian gently tapped Robin on the shoulder, getting his attention. As he turned to face her she took his hand in his, slipping off his bright green glove and exposing the hand beneath. Very, very tenderly, she placed her hand in his, interlacing their fingers. Robin blushed faintly, unused to such gentle treatment. What she said next however, shocked him.
Mostly because it was in English.
"Hello friend Robin," said the pretty Tamaranian girl. "I am Koriand'r."
"Dude! She talks?!" said Beastboy in astonishment.
"Physical contact, Beastboy," she replied softly, speaking to him, though her eyes were still on Robin. "I simply absorbed your language."
"Of course," said Raven, giving herself a mental smack upside the head. She felt like a novice. "I had forgotten about that Tamaranian ability."
"Y-you had to touch me to do that?" asked Robin, barely managing to stutter the words out. Well… hadn't been all that un-enjoyable, her touch. Kinda pleasant, really. Then he realized he was blushing -and- grinning like an idiot, totally destroying his image, and tried to compose himself as best he could. Which was more difficult than facing a legion of Zornians. Gently he removed his hand from hers, placing it back inside of his glove and flexing his fingers to make sure it gave him a sure grip.
"I believe this destroys any further arguments you may have had, Robin," said Raven, cutting through the awkward silence that followed. "We should move quickly to obtain the stone."
"Right," said Robin. He pushed his personal feelings aside for now and took charge of the situation, as he'd been taught to do. "Okay I know where the museum in question is. Everyone follow me," he said, making a run down an adjacent alleyway. It would take them almost directly there without hitting the streets. A good thing, considering that at least half their party would draw attention to themselves if noticed.
The heroes found themselves outside the museum in question, peering at it from the safety of a nearby shadowy alley. The only light came from Cyborg's glowing red eye, and even that was muted since it was turned towards the building.
"Wait here," intoned Raven. "I want a closer look to make sure this is the correct place."
"I'll go with you," offered Cyborg. Then, upon seeing Raven about to refuse, added quickly "My cybernetic eye can scan at multiple frequencies, I might notice something you don't."
"Fine, just don't make any noise," she grumbled, as the two of them slipped off into the shadows to encircle around the building, leaving the Boy Wonder, the Tamaranian, and the Changeling behind. Silence reigned after that as they tensely waited for their departed comrades to return.
"So Kori… Korid'r.. kor… arrgh… your name is impossible to pronounce," said Beastboy, trying to strike up a conversation with the alien girl. "Is there something easier we can call you?"
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell them she was a Princess, but instinctively she shied away from that. She felt now was perhaps not the best of times. She did know so little of her newfound allies, after all. Even if they did fight against the meanie bug men they might still not be trustworthy.
"I, uhm… am not sure," she replied hesitantly. "Why do they call you Beastboy? Is that your name?"
"No that's my codename. My superhero name," he replied proudly, puffing out his chest a little. Thanks to his metamorphic abilities it did actually swell a little, though it was obviously all show. Still, she giggled softly. "I know! We'll make you a codename too! Uhm, hmmm… let's see… alien-girl… uhm… uhm… hey what do you call those green energy blast things that come out your hands?" he asked, peering down at them.
Koriand'r held up her hands, examining them as well. "Starbolts," she replied softly.
"Hmmm… Starbolt… nah, that doesn't fit… hmmm… starfighter… starfox…"
"Starfire," cut in Robin, speaking for the first time in a few moments.
"Starfire," repeated Koriand'r. Hesitantly, testing the word on her lips. She found she liked it. "I am Starfire," she said triumphantly.
"Alright! Now that's a name I can live with!" said Beastboy excitedly.
"Provided you manage to stay alive," remarked a cool voice that startled Beastboy, forcing him to morph into a kangaroo and bound up and over Starfire to cower behind her legs.
Raven emerged from the darkness, Cyborg following behind her. "You make enough racket to wake the dead," she remarked quietly.
"You scare me like that again and I might become the dead!" he shouted back as he reverted to his humanoid form, clutching his chest dramatically. His heart rate was up, however.
Raven shrugged, uninterested, and beckoned the others.
"The stone is inside. Its heavily guarded inside a steel… box…" she said, uncertain of the proper word. They did not have such devices in Azerath.
"A vault," surmised Robin. "That must be what they needed the explosives for. They plan to blow it open and steal the stone."
"If they don't want to bother just breaking it as soon as they find it," added Cyborg.
"We must stop them then!" said Starfire emphatically.
Robin shook his head. "Our first priority is that stone," said Robin. "We need to make sure that stays safe. Otherwise we've got game over and no reset."
"Reset?" asked Starfire, tilting her head in confusion.
"Er, we'll all be dead," he explained, then immediately winced. He wished he hadn't been so blunt with her.
But she merely nodded in understanding. "Ah, okay." The gathered heroes glanced between one another in confusion, then shrugged off the encounter, not wishing to dwell on it any longer than necessary. Robin outlined their plan.
"Okay, we'll sneak inside. Cyborg, I need you to deactivate the security system and make sure we don't wake anyone up. This may be for the good of the world but the law will think its stealing and I, for one, have no desire to rot in jail."
"Got it," said Cyborg.
"Beastboy and Starfire, head up to the roof and keep a watch out for the Zornians. Instant you spot any, make a light we can all see. Something bright, alright?"
"I am understanding," said Starfire.
"Alright," said Beastboy.
"Raven, you're our magic expert. You're with me. We'll go get the stone. Once we have it, we clear out then figure out our next move."
"Understood," said Raven.
"Any questions?"
There was none.
"Go!"
Cyborg stood alongside the museum now in the adjacent alleyway. Taking careful aim (and locking on with his cybernetic, bull's eye precise vision) he launched his left arm up into the air like a grapple, hauling himself up the side of the building. Coming to an access point, an old ventilation shaft, he pried it open and peered inside. It was way too small for someone of his bulk to fit inside, but he'd come prepared for just such a situation.
He held out his other arm, his right, and detached it from his body. He felt no pain, the arm was purely cybernetic, as was about 85 of his body. He could take them off with no pain, only a little discomfort from a mind long accustomed to feeling an arm below his shoulder. It was psychological, however, and he shrugged it off. He had a lot of functions like that. He'd had to figure out a lot of them, but thankfully his cybernetic brain allowed for a complete manual on how to operate his new body and every single tweak and function he was capable of. Dad really knew what he was doing when he made me, he thought bitterly. A number of functions had surprised him, until Cyborg had learned the original intent of the suit had been for military purposes.
Still, he did give up his life's work to save his son, he thought.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts… his human thoughts at least, he turned back to work.
"Okay little buddy, go have fun," he said, activating the remote.
Left Arm. Remote Active.
Head straight, he -thought- at it, his mind giving instructions to the remote in the mechanical part of his mind, which in turn guided his arm. The fingers twitched, crawling along the ventilation shaft forward.
Straight. Obstacle ahead. T Intersection
Left.
Left.
Forward.
Forward
In a matter of moments Cyborg had navigated the complex maze of ventilation shafts and dropped down into the control room. He could still see it all going on through the remote eye of his right arm assistant, the middle finger having activated its eye attachment already. What luck, he thought. Guard was still asleep.
His right arm dropped onto the ground, crawling across the guard and very quietly started to tap in commands into the system. Not surprisingly, there was a password interface regarding the security system.
Equally unsurprisingly… they had nothing on Cyborg.
"Booyah," he whispered from far outside, remotely shutting down the security grid.
High up in the air by a nearby skyscraper, Beastboy and Starfire were keeping watch for signs of the Zornians, though truthfully neither was fully aware of what to expect. They were, however, keeping an eye on the streets for the approach of any suspicious characters in trenchcoats and hats. Robin's description of their common disguise told them that much. Raven had been more mysterious when she'd said they should keep an eye out for "others." Neither of them was quite sure what to make of that.
But they worried about it plenty.
Beastboy clung to the weathervain of a nearby building in the form of a serpent, glancing back and forth for their foes while Starfire hovered in the air beside him.
Finally, unable to bear the silence and continue to worry, Starfire spoke up.
"So, Beastboy, tell me more of your friends," she said.
"Dunno what to say," he replied, morphing back into his humanoid form, one hand still clinging to the weathervain to hold himself upright. "What would you like to know? Cyborg's the quiet type, I dunno much about him, other than he's the sort of guy you want to have your back in a fight. Robin I just met the other day."
"Have your back? But do not you have your own back?" asked Starfire, tilting her head to the side as she gazed at him quizzically.
"It's an expression," he replied. "Uh, it means that when I'm fighting, he watches my back and makes sure no one sneaks up behind me while I'm not looking."
"Oh I see… you are… combat partners?"
"Yeah kinda."
"I see then," said Starfire, processing this new information. This world wasn't entirely different from Tamaran, she realized. Just little things. Languages, customs, clothing, and the like. People were the same at least.
Largely ignoring her and keeping an eye out for giant bug-men, Beastboy hopped down onto the roof, and gracefully leaping onto the edge of the rooftop, peering out over the side like a little green gargoyle. However, Starfire's next question caught him completely off-guard.
"So is Robin a prince?" she asked innocently.
Beastboy nearly toppled clear over the side of the building, regaining his balance in the nick of time, and glanced at her in shock to make sure he'd heard the question correctly. He had. "Uhm, not that I know of," he replied. "Why do you ask?"
"He just seems very… princely to me, I was uncertain. He is so brave and intelligent and…" she realized she was babbling and quickly shut her mouth, a blush coming to her cheeks. She had been about to add 'handsome' but decided against it.
"Nah he ain't a Prince. He's a hero," said Beastboy. "Just like me and Cyborg. And now you and Raven, I guess."
"A hero… what is that?" she asked.
"Uhm, hmmm, lemme see…" he said, transforming briefly into a monkey to scratch his head in thought, then back again. "You have bad people on your planet right? Mean people?"
"Oh yes, some mean people," she replied, nodding her head enthusiastically.
"Well who goes out and stops them?"
"The guards… oh, so Robin is like a guard?" she said, hopeful she'd guessed correctly.
"Kinda. But he doesn't answer to anyone. He just goes out and guards, well… the whole city, just like Cy and me," he said, waving his hand at the surrounding cityscape. Starfire followed his view, seeing the sun just starting to peek out over the horizon on the edge of the city, shrouded in twilight. It -was- very beautiful.
"I see. Thank you, friend Beastboy."
So the two of them sat (and floated) together, watching for signs of the Zornians, and waited for the call to action
Author's Notes:
Tamaranian Easy-to-Master-Foreign-Languages superpower. That was definitely from the comics, taken almost word for word, slightly altered due to the circumstances (in the comics Starfire kissed Robin, not just touched his hand) and the actual Titans present (lacking among other things a Kid Flash). Blame DragonBlond, I learned it from the true master of Robin/Starfire fandom. The Zornians may seem completely made up but they're referred to briefly in 'Divide and Conquer' ("I feel like the underside of a Zornian Muck-Beetle"). Honestly I don't know how Starfire came by her codename but this seemed as good an explanation as any. Cyborg's detachable arm is of course seen in 'Final Exam.'. Next chapter, battle in the museum. Time to go save the world.
Todd fan: Well more or less, but like the JL episode of the same name, they may be working together but they're not a team… not just yet.
Gijinka Renamon: Fast as I can, I promise.
Koriand'r Star: Comic Raven was telepathic and a little bit of a precog as well (saw the future) but yes the animated Raven is much different. All shall be explained later, promise. And also yes Starfire is "empowered" by yellow sunlight but I think it works on the Lantern ring principle. She can store it up and use it elsewhere if she decides to, but it has finite amounts (it would make sense to me, since she seems to be growing in power as the series goes on).
Aninnymous: Robin/Starfire definitely, it'll be less distinct with the remaining three Titans, since I support Cyborg/Raven but I recognize the obvious connection between Beastboy/Raven. For now, however, they all just stay friends. Relationships do take time, you know.
Destruction: Well thank you. And that's a very nice, if foreboding, name you have.
ViciousAssassin: Actually I can come up with several. One, Robin is being outmatched and fought dirty by the Zornians, same as the others (dogpile on Beastboy) plus Starfire is hotheaded and impulsive. Two, as you saw, Tamaran and Zornan (the Zornians homeworld) are aware of one another, so Star may recognize the creatures. Three, Raven called her, so hopefully she'd be able to identify who was the bad guy before letting her indiscriminately loose starbolts. What was your theory, out of curiousity? As for the yellow sunlight, see above under Koriand'r Star. Don't worry I'm steering clear of obvious romance, just friendships for now. Humor I'll try but it's not my forte. One reason I avoided this genre until now.
Spazzfire: That's exactly what I was hoping my audience's reaction would be. Hehe. Glad to know you're getting immersed in the story.
Soraoathkeeper: To the couples, yes. To BB and Cy knowing one another, well, admittedly I have no idea how they met. I more or less just assumed they had a working relationship much like Green Lantern and Hawkgirl when they showed up in Justice League.
Elrohirthewriter: What, only three? And don't forget about the coconut oil. Hehehe. Yeah I suppose that's true. And I did notice a similarity between Todd/Wanda and Beastboy/Raven, I used to work in subtle elements of that into my XME stories. Now perhaps I can try the reverse.
Ash's Scizor: Of course I knew, though as I said above I needed to change it given the nature of the animated Titans. I think animated Starfire would be much to shy to kiss someone. At least, at the moment. Give her and Robin a few more years…
Kat097: Well thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying my work and my writing style. Hope you stay on as a frequent reviewer, I do so love fans.
RavenDragon: You're right, though I had previously been unaware of your story. I just read it, and its rather good stuff. Another interesting take on the Titan's origins. I hope you like mine as much as I liked yours.
The Anime Kid: She did say that, I think it was mostly to show just how really annoying Beastboy can be to live with. Sorry but its true, I wouldn't be able to stand him for more than a week before I'd chuck him bodily out of the topmost floor of the Tower.
Chaos Girl: Apart from the introduction of Starfire's "nanny" they all then immediately started speaking perfect English. I saw no translating devices, but that is the only explanation I could come up with. Maybe the Titans were kind enough to install them in our TV's so we could understand them.