Hello all. This is my fifth chapter, (sixth if you go by the chapter counting thing at the top and bottom right side of the page), and I would like to dedicate it to Tink33. She is my beta reader, and I want everyone to know that she is amazing. Sometimes it is the little mistakes that can really take away from the story. Let me just say, she caught almost all of those silly little mistakes I made. So, take into consideration while reading this story, that I had help. And lots of it.
THANK YOU TINK33. You are my hero.
Part A
Kori had guessed that Raven's past was troubled. It was the way she held herself at a distance from others, the way she was always watching everybody, not trusting someone until that person proved to be trustworthy.
"My name is Koriand'r, and I am from a far off land called Tamaran."
"That's the name of your company. I did some research. Tamaran was attacked, but I thought there were no survivors." Raven thought the name Koriand'r sounded familiar.
"History is always written by the victors. However, what they did not want everyone to know was that they invaded without any notice or provocation. They attacked and killed woman and children; sleeping. The palace was the last thing they hit." Her voice was impassioned, until she said the last sentence.
"You're one of the princesses. You're princess Koriand'r."
"Yes, I am. Richard does not know, neither do Logan or Victor. I do not want them to know either."
"Why not?"
"Because that is a part of my past that I would like to forget. I am no longer Koriand'r, but I am Kori Anders. I am a new person with a new life. All reports said the princesses died, and for all intents and purposes, they did." The note of finality in Kori's voice did the most to convince Raven of her feelings on the subject.
"Is your sister alive?"
"She too survived the attack on our home. However, I no longer know if she lives. There is a whole different story behind that, and it will be saved for a separate time.
"My sister and I were able to survive the initial attack on our home, but we were separated. When I thought it was safe, I went back and everyone was dead. I found my brother's body, a hole in his stomach, his insides spilling out. I found my mother and father next to each other. My father was tied up, half of his head blown away. I saw my mother, naked and spread eagle on the bed. She was shot in the chest after being forced to suffer such a humiliation. A proud and wonderful people were decimated that day.
"I was captured and enslaved for a short time before I was sold to the Psions. I do not believe the Psions knew they captured not one, but two princesses. My sister was enslaved as well, and then sold to the Psions. I am not sure if they would have been harsher or gentler had they known."
Raven noticed that Kori's voice was low, almost so that Raven couldn't hear it. Kori was reliving it in her mind, but her voice held no emotion. It was like she was just reading the instructions to a recipe.
"It was not so very bad. We were fed, while not gourmet food, eatable food. We were trained, sort of like the ancient gladiators, although it was mainly the men. The females usually watched and learned that way. Females were a different sort of slave."
Immediately Raven's spine straightened. The thought of Kori being put through that, being used like that; like nothing more than a back alley whore, it angered her.
"Were you…?" She trailed off, not even able to put it in to words.
"No, I was deemed too young. The Psions may have been barbarians and savages, but they did have their own system of honor. No one could rape a slave of any age or sex. A slave could not be unjustly beaten or treated poorly. They must always have clean clothes, two meals a day, and a dry place to sleep. The quality of each depended on each slave's behavior, like a rewards system."
"Thank goodness for small favors."
"Very small favors. My sister and I were deemed suitable for experimentation. We were stuck with needles, poked, prodded, probed. It was humiliating and painful. We were starved, we were deprived of sleep, of heat; we were beaten, all for the purpose of determining how much we could endure."
Neither woman said anything for a short while, until Raven voiced a question.
"How long were you there?"
"I think four years. That's as close as I've come, give or take. After a while, it wasn't measured in time. The days blended together. There was no concept of weeks or months or years. It was only surviving from one sun-up to the next."
"How did you escape?" Raven noticed Kori had put almost the entire bottle of mustard onto her food. She slathered it on her burger and drowned her fries.
"I am unable to remember. I believe my sister devised the plan. All I know is I am grateful we were able to escape. After that, Robin, Richard I mean, found us in an alley. He brought us back to the school with him. That is where I became known as Starfire and my sister became Blackfire."
"Your sister was Blackfire?" Raven had heard of Blackfire, she was a ruthless killer. She took joy in killing and stealing
"Yes." There was nothing in Kori's voice to indicate any emotion.
"My father was Trigon." Kori's eyes widened. In Raven's story, she hadn't said her father's name, but Kori had heard of him. He was a ruthless killer; he made the members of the mob seem like school kids. He was a loan shark that no one crossed.
After Kori's short history was told, nothing more was said about either of the girl's pasts. They finished their shopping and had help carrying the bags to the car. Raven was slightly amused that all Kori had to do was bat her eyes at some unsuspecting man and she'd have a willing slave.
Part B
Robin waited as the headmaster tested Kori and her sister. He knew the tests differed for each person, but they were all basically the same. There would be endurance tests, strength tests, and academic tests. He just hoped Kori would be able to pull through them. She didn't seem all that strong, and her lack of understanding of this language would most likely hinder her. He was worried because whatever happened to the kids that weren't able to pass the tests was a mystery.
Every time he passed the testing room, Robin had to mentally restrain himself from pressing his ear against the door to hear what was happening. Finally, after six days of waiting, the tests were finished. In a big ceremony in front of everyone in the school, the headmaster announced the induction of Blackfire and her little sister Starfire.
She didn't look any worse, in fact, Starfire looked better now than she had since Robin had first met her. She seemed to glow and she held herself tall and regally, proudly. He didn't know how she got the name Starfire, but it fit her. Robin wouldn't ask; the tests were private, like a rite of passage. However, she was free to confide in him if she wanted.
Starfire caught sight of Robin and smiled brighter, if that was even possible.
"Starfire will go into our health program, learning that arts of healing, and Blackfire will go into the athletic program, learning martial arts. Welcome them."
After the announcement was over, Starfire ran over to Robin and engulfed him in a hug, which he tentatively returned. He was the only person she felt comfortable with yet, so he was the one with whom she stayed close.
"Happy." Starfire's English was choppy and Robin wasn't sure if she was asking a question or making a statement, so he didn't say anything.
A small group of people gathered around Starfire and Robin, patting her on the back and congratulating her. She didn't let go of Robin, but loosened her hold to smile shyly at the others. Blackfire looked on, her arms crossed and a frown on her face, but no one noticed, except Starfire.
Richard was stayed at Victor's place while the two girls were shopping for new clothes and any other girly things they thought they needed. He was thinking, something he did a lot, contrary to what the public thought. Being the ward of a billionaire was hard, but a lot of it was about image and Richard played up his image perfectly.
His had a devil may care attitude. He was smart, brilliant actually, and very handsome. He finished college early and at the top of his class, with a degree in business. He had a job at Wayne enterprises, but he couldn't be accused of nepotism because he had started at the bottom of the corporate ladder.
He was mysterious, with seemingly no past before Bruce Wayne took him in. His constant penchant for wearing dark glasses to hide his eyes only added to his enigmatic image. He was a flirt, a charmer, and had the makings of a playboy extraordinaire.
His thoughts were currently on Barbara's questions from that morning. At one time, Kori was his best friend, but that was when she was Starfire and he was Robin. Things, however, had changed. He left. Now he didn't know what Kori was to him. Some of the old relationship was there, the banter and teasing. It was different though. Where before Starfire had trusted Robin implicitly, Kori didn't trust Richard.
Which brought Richard to Barbara's other question. Did he love Kori? Well, a person couldn't love without trust. Or so all the chick magazines in the doctor's waiting room said. At one time he would have said he was in love with Starfire, but he was young and didn't really know what love was.
If he let himself, Richard knew he could easily fall in love with Kori. She was so much…more than before. What first attracted Robin to Starfire, besides the eyes, was her vulnerability; her apparent need for protection. She had depended on Richard. No. Starfire had depended on Robin, to teach her English, to help her understand the ways at the school, to protect her from others.
But this Kori, this older version, was more potent. She was even more beautiful; she was smarter and wiser. However, what really stunned him was Kori's obvious ability to take care of herself. She was no longer vulnerable; she didn't need protection, and she most definitely understood English. This Kori had a heady effect on Richard, most notably his libido. She wasn't just beautiful now, she was sexy too; a word he wouldn't ascribe to Starfire. She appealed to all the senses, and covered all factors.
Richard couldn't let himself fall in love with Kori. Not now, not with unfinished business, unanswered questions, old hurts still in the way. Not with death and Terra in the way.
Terra, Richard should be thinking of Terra and Slade and how to stop them once and for all. Richard got up and went looking for Victor and Logan. He found them both in the garage, tinkering with Victor's car, killing time.
"Tell me about Terra. I don't know much about her, other than she's one hell of a fighter, and has a penchant for pyrotechnics. I left shortly after she appeared."
Logan looked troubled, but answered anyway.
"Her real name in Tara Markov. Not a lot about her past is known. You know how it is, no past at the school. But what I know, from what she told me in private that is, she was the illegitimate child of a king in a small, little known country. When she learned she wasn't going to be recognized as a member of the royal family, she left. Terra roamed around the world before she showed up at the school. As you know, things were great. In fact, I thought…well, it doesn't matter what I thought, I was wrong. Terra kind of lost it when Star was made favorite. When Slade chose Starfire over Terra, she lost it, when completely mental. She-"
"What?" Part of Logan's explanation caught Richard's attention. "Slade chose Kori, I mean Starfire, as his favorite. And she agreed?" Richard's voice was incredulous. Logan knew instantly what he'd done when Victor hit him upside his head. Richard got up and was about to leave and sort out his feelings and thoughts, when he heard a car pull up. He didn't stop though, he walked out of the garage, through the house and past the two girls, not even stopping to help or talk. He just jumped on his motorcycle.
"Richar-" Kori was cut off when he gunned the engine. Richard sped off, not giving a backwards glance. Kori was puzzled about what could have angered him. The two girls walked into the house with Raven's things and set them in the living room.
"Victor, Logan? What is troubling Richard? He left quite angrily."
Victor walked in, looking utterly angry himself.
"Logan opened his big mouth, as usual."
"What about?" Raven asked the question, a bad feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Richard seemed like the dangerous and unpredictable type when he got angry. She was hardly wrong in her observations of people. And if whatever Logan said had anything to do with…
"Kori. He blabbed about how she was Slade's chosen."
"Oh, dear. This is very bad." Kori crossed one arm over her middle and grabbed the opposite elbow. It was a sure sign that she was troubled.
"I'm really sorry, Kori. He asked about Terra, and somehow, it just slipped out. I didn't mean to…"
"I do not blame you, Logan. Terra is a difficult subject to speak of for everyone. She tricked us all, but you were betrayed far worse. However, I would have liked it if Richard did not know, or at the very least, found out from me."
Kori looked lost for a moment before she re-collected herself. Right now was not the time to worry about Richard's hurt feelings. He would just have to get over it, and soon, before Terra and Slade made their move.
"I am going back to Wayne Manor. I have much thinking to do." First she had a little stop to make. And so, Kori left the three to their own devises. Victor was the one to speak first.
"So, did you two have fun?"
"Surprisingly, yes." Raven's voice was thoughtful.
"What did you two do?"
"We bet on horses. What do you think we did? We went shopping for new things to replace our old and burnt things."
"Well, duh. But did you guys talk, get to know and understand each other? What did you talk about?"
"Boys." Then Raven walked of to change out of her borrowed clothes into her new ones.
Part C
Richard was at his apartment, brooding. He needed time to think, alone. So when he heard the knock at his door, his already dark mood only darkened. And when it was revealed that Kori was his visitor, his world exploded in rage.
"How did you find me?" His voice was deadly calm and quiet, a sure sign of his anger.
"You are not the only one with the ability to pluck information from seemingly nowhere. May I come in?"
"No."
"Richard." Kori sounded annoyed and exasperated with him. Why was she the one sounding annoyed? Richard was the one who just found out some disturbing news. He knew what it meant to be Slade's chosen.
"If this is about what Logan said-"
"OF COURSE THIS IS ABOUT WHAT LOGAN SAID!" Richard lost it totally when the subject was mentioned.
"Do you think this is the best place to talk?"
"I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. TALK!" Richard said every word succinctly and from between clenched teeth. He was livid.
"No, you would rather wallow in your solitude, imagining all the ways this was unfair to you. Never mind that I was the one who lived it." Kori looked around her and noticed some very nosey neighbors with their heads leaning out of their doors, listening and watching what was happening.
"Richard, this is not the best place to do this. If you would please let me in-" Kori was cut off when Richard started talking over her, the coldness was back. Heated anger Kori could deal with, but she did not know how to handle this iciness from him. It only served as a reminder of what they no longer had with each other.
"You know what Kori, this is not the best place to have this conversation." then he shut the door in her face.
"You are taking the coward's way out Richard, by refusing to talk to me! Besides, I do not have to explain myself to you. YOU LEFT ME, REMEMBER!" Kori left. She was frustrated and angry and irate and incensed and anything else that meant the same thing as mad. How dare Richard act all offended. He wasn't there; he left her, ALONE. And without leaving a note, or a sign, hell even a smoke signal would have been nice. But no, he just up and left.
Kori had really worked herself up. Things were going from bad to worse quickly. She sat at the gate to Wayne Manor and took a few deep breaths to clam herself as she waited for the gate to open.
So Richard was mad, so what? He was probably sitting up there in his hermetically sealed apartment, away from the world, thinking about how what happened to Starfire in the past, effects him in the present. That egocentric, self-absorbed, insensitive, misogynistic, glem-pork, JERK!!
Kori walked into the house. Barbara was in the living room watching television. However, she decided not to say a word when Kori stormed through. Barbara could swear Kori's green eyes were shooting sparks. Dick. Only he could elicit such a response from a woman.
"Does this house have a workout room?" Kori's voice was overly sweet, like she was making an effort to be nice. Otherwise, there was no emotion in her voice. For the first time, Barbara realized Kori might actually be dangerous. Last night, when she threw the glass, it was heated, right now, Kori was pissed, but it was ice. Barbara was sure if she were to touch Kori, her hand would freeze off. In fact, Kori's eyes were as cold and flat as a shark's. The only other person Barbara knew who could look so deadly calm and cold was Richard. So, self-preservation coming into play, Barbara pointed in the direction.
"That way, next floor up, at the end of the hall." Then she went to find Bruce and Alfred and warn them of one very angry redhead.
Kori walked into Richard's room and riffled through his clothes. She had taken a cab from Victor's to Richard's apartment, then from the apartment to Wayne Manor. So all her clothes were still at Victor's; not a bright move on her part. She found, stuffed in the way back of one of the bottom drawers, an old pair of workout sweat pants, female ones at that. Too angry to question of care, she just put them on.
On her way to the workout room, she met Alfred. He too noticed her anger, even without Barbara's warning.
"If you should like, Master Bruce had sparing robots." Alfred wasn't sure that the punching bags would survive her anger right now.
"Thank-you Alfred." Kori softened marginally towards Alfred, but only a little because he helped Richard when he left. He was guilty by association.
Kori found the room and was glad that it was large and spacious. Even in her anger, she was lucid enough to know she had to warm up and stretch.
Bruce was standing at the door, watching. Yup, that girl was pissed. Her movements were angry, but still graceful and fluid. She was focused even in her anger. He watched as she stretched, and then did a few kicks and punches on the bag. She looked towards the robots. Kori cocked her head to the side and Bruce was about to show her how to use it, but it wasn't needed. Kori proved her acumen and figured out how to turn it on.
The robot asked what level she wanted to spar at: beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert. These robots were at a higher level, so its advanced would be someone else's intermediate. Bruce was surprised when she said advanced. It wasn't the hardest, but she didn't seem like someone who would be able to fight that well. He was surprised again when the robot asked what fighting style and she said freestyle. That meant anything and everything would be covered. They went to the mat, and the fight began.
Bruce had misjudged Kori, both her ability to fight and her anger. When Alfred and Barbara came to tell him of Kori's anger, he laughed. Last night notwithstanding, she didn't seem like the type to get wrathful, but watching her fighting, he found their observation to be an understatement.
Bruce recognized the techniques Kori used as she jabbed, punched, kicked and blocked the robots. She was good: agile, fast, and able to think on her feet. A lot like Dick; in fact, that's where some of the techniques he recognized came from. The fight was heating up, with the two combatants going faster. Kori was more than holding her own, and she didn't seem all that winded. Finally, she kicked the robot square in the chest, then grabbed it by the shoulders and rolled onto her back, bringing it with her and flipping it over. The robot landed on its back and Kori flipped on top of it. She rained punches down on it until the robot stopped moving.
"You know, I don't really think those sparing 'bots were made for a 'till the death' fight."
Kori looked up and saw Bruce Wayne standing in the doorway, watching her kill his robot. She then looked down at the robot and was mortified. If that had been a real person…she wasn't paying attention, just hitting and punching. She got up and faced Bruce.
"I am sorry. I seem to be breaking a lot of your possessions. I did not mean to get so carried away."
"Don't worry about it. I'll overlook it for now. You're pretty good. Mind if I ask where you learned to fight? Some of those techniques seemed familiar."
"I spent five years watching Richard fight. It was impossible for me not to learn something during that time."
"I got that part, I'd know Richard's technique anywhere. But what about the others, they were familiar, I just can't place them."
"I was a resident of Tamaran."
"I've heard. Does everyone on Tamaran fight similarly to you?"
"No." Kori did not like this line of questioning; it seemed Bruce Wayne was fishing for information. Why did he not come right out and ask?
"Tell me, is Kori short for another name?"
"Koriand'r."
He nodded his head as if some question had just been answered. "Does Richard know you're a princess?"
"No. And I do not wish for Dick to know." Bruce found it amusing that when Kori was angry with Richard, she used the nickname Dick. He also realized what-or rather whom-Kori was angry with.
"What had Dick done now?"
Kori turned to Bruce Wayne and really looked at him. He seemed sincere and he was familiar with Dick. But Bruce let Richard stay with him, leaving Kori alone with Slade in the process.
"What hasn't he done? He's sarcastic, self-absorbed; he's cocky and he makes a person trust him, then leaves."
As Kori was saying this, she got angry all over again, and emphasized each point by punching and kicking the punching bag. Bruce stood behind it and held if for her; surprised when the force of the hits jarred him and the bag.
"He knows nothing about what I went through, he never asked. He doesn't know what it is like to have your home invaded, to lose a kingdom. Oh, to give him his due I am certain his past is troubled, but he left me. He left and I do not know why. Then he learned I was picked as Slade's favorite, his Chosen." Her punches and kicks were getting faster and harder. Kori's voice became more and more impassioned as she spoke.
"He acts like it was my fault I was picked. But I had no choice. Besides, he should not be so quick to judge, especially after my sister told me about Rob-" Kori cut herself off in mid-word, shocked she'd almost let that bit of information slip out. Her eyes widened and she stopped hitting the bag and walked over towards the window, hugging herself.
"He hurt me. I do not know this Richard. He is different from my Robin. I am uncertain of what to do in correlation with him. I do not trust him, that much I know. But we have a history together. Still there is much unsettled between us." She even sounded uncertain trying to describe these feelings.
"Have you and Richard tried talking?" Really stupid question.
Kori slanted Bruce a sardonic look with a humorless smile. "Richard talk? I tried that before I came here, but he slammed the door in my face. So I called him a coward."
Kori sounded pleased at that. It certainly ensured that she had the last word. Suddenly she felt better. She had stood up to Richard. It was something she should have done before; when he had started to draw away from her in those weeks preceding his departure. She told him off, calling him a name that was sure to shoot Richard's already volatile temper into orbit. Immediately she started laughing, honestly and truly laughing.
In her mind's eye, Kori had an image of herself lighting a fuse attached to a Richard Rocket. Then him turning red all over and blasting off and exploding like a fire works display, and her watching, eating cotton candy.
Kori was laughing hard, the tension, the guilt, the grief, the hurt, the anger; all of it was seeping out. So she didn't notice the presence at the door. Bruce, however, did. He turned around and saw Richard leaning serenely against the doorframe, his hands in his pants pockets, watching Kori laugh. Bruce also noticed the tension in the set of Richard's shoulders, and the anger buried deep in his eyes. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed, but Richard was Bruce's son, or as close to one as Bruce ever had. He knew Richard as well as he knew himself. So he also noticed the nostalgic little smile lifting the corners of Richard's lips as he watched Kori laugh.
"Hey Richard? You're little friends are here. They have Kori's clothes with them. What do you want me to do with them? Your friends not the clothes."
Kori's laughing stopped when she heard Barbara. She turned and saw Richard standing in the doorway. However, she did not notice the small smile because it had vanished when Barbara spoke. Instead, his face was a mask, and his eyes, his crystal ice blue eyes, were as hard as granite. Kori hardly noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses.
Richard paid no attention to Victor, Logan, Raven and Barbara walking towards him. He didn't hear the exclamation of awe and wonderment at being in Bruce Wayne's house. He didn't notice Bruce standing in the room, arms crossed and one eyebrow lifted, slightly amused. All he saw was Kori, standing by the window. The sun was shining on her, coating her in a heavenly glow, causing her skin to glisten by reflecting the perspiration from her workout.
"Did you really thing you could call me a coward and honestly get away with it?"
In the next chapter the big confrontation between Kori and Richard takes place. I can't wait. I hope you all enjoyed it so far. I know I am having fun. A few notes.
Laurelinorian-thank you for your comments. I always welcome constructive criticism. On using contractions, I try. The only person I try and intentionally make use the entire words is Starfire's character. I try and keep to the personalities a close as I can. Other than that, if I don't use them and I should, I shall endeavor to work on that. Hopefully I succeed. I am glad you like my story.
Tink33-thank you. I shall work diligently on the next chapter and send it to you A.S.A.P.
luvlifecharm-Thank you. I try. I do it all for the fans. (wipes tear from eye.)
Jaina12-I love writing long chapters. I just comes naturally when I am writing something I am really into. I too hope the chapters are just as long. Thank you for the reviews.
HYPER CHICK-Robin and Starfire relationship is my favorite. I am sure I am totally missing some really well written stories just because I refuse to read them because the pairings are something like Robin and Raven. I tried it once, but really, it did not work out. That pairing is unnatural, and I know in the world of fan fiction anything is possible. But no, that is not right. ROBINANDSTARFOREVER!!!
DarkWarlord-I always look forward to your reviews. And I am unbelievably happy that you enjoy my stories. I "patiently" await more of yours.
solodancer789-Thank you, thank you, thank you. I like to update as often as possible, but sometimes that pesky little think called life gets in the way. I can only hope that the new chapters are worth the wait.
Thank you all for the reviews, and Keep them rolling in.
Jemi.