Chapter Two

Midnight Assasin

"My name is Robin and this is Raven," he said gesturing to her. The girl shot Raven a worried glance as though afraid of her. "What's your name?" She turned back to Robin and opened her mouth but stopped. "You're name, what is it?" After mouthing wordlessly the girl shook her head.

"I-I do not….know." After she said this her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she was again out cold. Robin set her hand down and looked up at Raven. Whoever this was, she was bound to change their lives forever.


THE NEXT MORNING…………………………………………….

Robin stepped out of his room feeling inexplicably refreshed; he in all honesty couldn't remember the last time he had slept so soundly. He made his way to the common room and found his other friends already seated and having breakfast. He trotted over to the table and took a seat next to Cyborg.

"Morning Rob," greeted Cyborg sleepily.

"Morning," replied Robin. Beast Boy handed him a glass of orange juice and Robin took it with a nod of thanks.

"Wonder how she's doing," asked Beast Boy.

"Who, Raven?" Robin said from inside his cup.

"No the one who came along about seven hours ago." Robin spit up his juice slightly and quickly set down his cup. With a nod to his two friends he was out of the room in a flash. "Was it something I cooked?" Cyborg gave him a tired shrug and they went back to their meal. Robin fast walked down the hall towards sickbay. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about her. He rounded the corner and saw Raven standing before the sickbay observation window. She had a clipboard in hand and periodically made some notes. She turned and Robin skidded to a halt.

"Easy killer," said Raven with her hands forward. "Why are you in such a hurry.

"I just wanted to see how she was doing this morning," said Robin ruffling his cape. Raven raised an eyebrow and dismissed Robin's weirdness.

"She's awake, and we're right back where we were last nigh; doesn't know who she is or where she came from, or even what happened to her." Robin nodded and looked in the window. She girl sat on her bed holding her legs to her chest. Every once in a while she would cast a nervous glance around the room. "While she was still sleeping I found this on her." Raven removed a small crystal and handed it to Robin. He looked it over for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Can't be sure, but it could be some kind of storage device." Robin noted the strange crystal and pocketed it.

"Is she in any mood to talk," asked Robin not taking his eyes off her.

"Sure, if you can speak her language." Robin turned to Raven. "She can communicate erratically in English; meaning just like last night she knows some basic words but doesn't speak all of it. Robin, if we're going to help find out what happened then someone's going to have to teach her to speak English fluently." Robin turned back to the window and sighed.

"Alright, I'm going in."

"Careful I think she's a little scared."

"I would be to," said Robin. "Cyborg and Beast Boy have breakfast made, why don't you get some and I'll see what I can do."

"Greeeeat, breakfast in the middle of the battle between the carnivore and the vegetarian," remarked Raven. She handed Robin her clipboard and walked off to the common room. Robin turned back to the window and took a moment to just look at her. She really was in a state of genuine uncertainty; Robin began to hope she would grow to trust him. Taking a deep breath he punched a button the door pad and walked inside. The girl's head spun around in his direction and fixed her eyes on him.

"Hey," he said softly. Se continued to give him an apprehensive look. He set the clipboard down on the counter and slowly walked up to her. "Glad to see you're awake." He went to pat her on the shoulder but she recoiled slightly. Robin put his hand down smiled. "You don't need to be afraid of me, or any of us. We just want to help you." She glanced down at the floor and let legs hang off the side of the bed. Robin stepped forward and sat down beside her.

"Do you remember me?" She looked over at him. "From last night." She thought a moment.

"R-Robin."

"Yes! Great! Um, do you remember my friend?" Again she took a moment to think and nodded.

"Raven."

"Excellent! Now all you have to do is meet the others. Course I can't guarantee that will be a pleasant experience," he added with some laughter. He went on to describe how Cyborg and Beast Boy routinely squabbled over meat and vegetables and their video game tournaments. He got to the part when Beast Boy let out a crazy sound in defeat and immediately after imitating it she let out a sweet giggle. He smiled timidly at her amusement and rubbed the back of his neck. They sat in silence for a moment then Robin remembered the small crystal.

"Hey, do you know what this is?" He removed the crystal and handed it to her. She looked at it with a note of confusion but seemed as though she had a vague memory of it. She shook her head and gave it back to him. "Maybe later."

"I, am sorry," she said softly. Robin put a hand on her shoulder and he felt her relax somewhat.

"Don't worry about it, it will all come back soon." It was then that something hit Robin. "Until you find out who you are, I wonder what we should call you?" She shrugged her shoulders not knowing the answer any more than he did. "Well how about since we found you on a starry night and you're hair kinda looks like a wave of fire; Starfire or Star for short." He put forth his suggestion and she gave it some thought. After a few moments she gave him a small smile and nodded. Robin nodded back and looked over Raven's clipboard for a moment. He hadn't read five lines when he felt her tapping his shoulder. He set the clipboard down and turned back to her.

"Hmm?"

"What, happened?" She asked him with imploring wide eyes.

"Well Star we're not really sure of that either. I…we rescued you from the water last night. You must've fallen in and floated up to the tower." Starfire looked back down at the ground then put a hand to her stomach as it let out a loud growl. "Sounds like you could go for some breakfast," said Robin hopping off the bed. He began walking out of the room. "Come on I've got a great recipe for pancakes"- He stopped when he noticed that she was not only following him by right behind him. He laughed inwardly at how much he already enjoyed her company. They stepped out of sickbay and into the hall. Robin began to lead the way down the corridor but stopped and snapped his fingers.

"Darn it, I forgot something in my room. Tell you what, I'll meet you in the common room and I'll whip some of those pancakes." He turned to leave but felt her grab hold of his arm. He undid her tight grasp and pointed in the opposite direction. "Its alright, the common room is just down the hall and to the left." She tilted her head at him not understanding most of the words he had been using. Robin finally decided it could wait and he should be more courteous. "Alright lets go." He took her hand and led her down the hall.

They walked in and found what would be the usual scene in Titan's Tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were sitting on the couch either playing Game Station or watching TV. Raven would be as separated from the noise as possible by seating herself at the table with a horror novel. The door closed behind Robin and Starfire and the other Titans looked up from their activities. Starfire glanced around at each of them nervously. Robin couldn't help but notice how childlike she was at that point; as if she were a shy new student.

"Guys this is Starfire," said Robin introducing her to them. She gave them all a slight bow of the head.

"Dude you figured out her name," asked Beast Boy enthusiastically.

"Well I actually just made it up, she's still having problems remembering her own name."

"Starfire," repeated Cyborg. "I'm down with that. Hey welcome to Titans Tower Star!" He went to giver her a high five but she took it as an assault and ducked behind Robin.

"Easy guys, she's still confused and a little scared."

"Whoa sorry there Star," said Cyborg putting up his hands up apologetically. She swallowed and slowly reemerged from behind the boy wonder.

"Starfire this is Cyborg, Beast Boy, and you've already met Raven." Robin introduced her to them and she looked at each of them for a moment.

"Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven."

"Great she knows our names," said Beast Boy.

"Now about breakfast," said Robin. They led Starfire over to the kitchen where Robin promptly began making the pancakes. Within twenty minuets he had two plates prepared each with a short stack of three. He drizzled some syrup on her food and set a glass of juice next to it. Cyborg made himself a plate and wasted no time in devouring the flat jacks.

"You're gonna love these Star," he said with his mouth full. "I mean Rob's pancakes…..GULP……..it's practically a food group." He scooped up more and more until he was forced to stop and chew. Starfire observed his savage consumption and assumed they would have a likable flavor. She carved a small piece off and put it in her mouth. She chewed for a moment while Robin eagerly awaited her critique however vague. She chewed a bit more then let out a small gasp and a large smile spread across her face. With that she began to take in the pancakes with a ferocity rivaling Cyborg's.

"Hey Robin, she likes em'," said Raven.

"Glad you like them Star," said Robin as she held out her plate for more. While Starfire consumed her fill Robin thought about how he would go about teaching her to speak proper English. He knew way ahead of time the task was not going to be an easy one but a challenge he was eager to take on none the less.


ELSEWHERE………………..

A man silently made his way along a dark hallway. He wore a black shroud and a hood covered his head. He walked into a large room and stood before a council, who remained in the dark themselves. He knelt down and lowered his hood.

"Kitarou Himora reporting as ordered." One of the council members leaned forward.

"Mr. Himora before embarking we were curious if you fully understood the importance of success?" After standing up Himora gave him a bow of the head.

"I assure you I am well aware of the significance of my mission. You have my assurances you will not be disappointed."

"I am glad to hear that," he sat sitting back in his chair. "Remember if possible the girl is to be retrieved, however your initial objective remains thus; find her and eliminate her and whoever she has taken refuge with."

"I happen to know that after she managed to escape your first attempt," there were some disgruntled whispering at that remark. "She was rescued by a group of adolescent humans."

"Very well, go and do not fail." Himora narrowed his eyes and drew from his shroud a mirror shiny Japanese sword.

"I never miss."


BACK WITH THE TITANS…………………….

Robin then spent the next few days after breakfast teaching Starfire basic grammar, reading and writing, and different pronunciations. Starfire was actually a very fast learner and picked up on Robin's lessons very well. What made it even easier on Robin's part was the fact that Starfire had a somewhat natural 'want' to learn. By now Robin had taken to writing a variety of words on the small chalkboard and having Starfire say them as he pointed to them. He wrote down his next set and pointed to the first word.

"The, rain, in Spain, stays, mainly, in the plain." She read the phrase as he prompted her and he smiled warmly.

"Well done, great job today Star." He began packing up the chalkboard.

"But why?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Why does it stay mainly in Spain's plain?" She had been pondering that question since he had begun his lesson.

"It doesn't really mean anything, its just a teaching method," he said putting the stuff away. Raven then walked over with a large stack of books. She dropped them on the table and whole Tower seemed to shake. Robin read the spines and frowned in confusion for they read; Latin for the novice, A guide to dead languages, Greek and Latin roots, and a Latin/English dictionary. Robin looked up from the books and gave Raven a confused look.

"Raven, what's all this?"

"Almost every language has a Greek and or Latin route. Learning about them will better her understanding of the English language," explained Raven.

"Raven she's still learning English, you can't just expect her to start learning a foreign language. Especially one that's dead." Robin and Raven began bickering back and forth about the importance versus the irrelevance of dead languages. While Starfire watched them uneasily she glanced at the cover of Latin for the novice and curiosity took it from there.

"Fine we'll just ask Star! Starfire do you"- He trailed off as he and Raven finally noticed Starfire quickly flipping through the pages of the book. She stopped at a page where Raven had made some notes and pointed to it.

"Forgive me, but I believe your translation here on this page is incorrect." Starfire pointed it out to Raven who looked it over carefully.

"Uhh, yeah, I did make a mistake." Robin turned to Star in disbelief.

"Starfire, you learned how to speak Latin in two minuets?"

"Well, not in it's entirety." Robin and Raven gave each other stunned looks then shrugged. As long as she was learning they were getting somewhere. They began to head out when the alarm suddenly went off. Red lights flashed everywhere while Starfire looked around franticly.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Robin went up to the screen and switched it off.

"Sorry, that's just the Titan alert." He flicked on the screen and a video feed from a jewelry store came up. It was currently being robbed by a couple of guys in masks. "TITANS GO!" They all began running out of the tower leaving Starfire utterly perplexed. Robin zoomed back in and stopped before her. "Sorry Star, we have to go. Just stay here we'll be back soon." With that Robin was out the door and Starfire was left all alone. She stared after him and wondered just what he meant. She sat down on the couch and picked up the TV remote. Cyborg and Beast Boy had introduced her to the wonderful world of TV the day before and she found some programs to be quite entertaining. As she flipped through the channels she accidentally punched in a number combination on the remote and the large screen went from TV to the Titan's battle scene. Starfire gasped and set the remote down, mesmerized by what her new friends were doing. She saw Raven levitate a long railing and pin two or three robbers against the wall with it. Cyborg's arm transformed into a cannon and shot a tremendous blue blast scattering a small group of the criminals. She saw Beast Boy morph into various earthen creatures and use their natural abilities to his advantage. Then she moved her gaze across the screen and laid eyes on Robin. He removed a long staff and pole vaulted over a wall of bullets they had sent after him. He landed behind them and tripped them all with a quick low swipe. As one came up behind him he reached back and punched him in the face. Starfire sat with her mouth wide open; she had no idea her new friends had such incredible skills. As the battle died down and things went back to normal she clicked off the TV and sighed.

"I wish I had such amazing abilities." She stood up and began walking off to her room. As she did a man watched from the top corner of the large window. She left the common room and he cut a sizable hole in the glass for himself. He jumped down and landed without making a sound. He looked at a small status monitor and read that the Titans had decided to pick up some pizza. He grinned at the news knowing he had a larger amount of time than expected and walked toward the hallway door.


AT THE PIZZA PLACE……………………..

The Titans waited in line to order, as was the case on most Friday nights. You'd think the Titans would get some special pass for being the City's protectors and all. However the Titans felt they should be like everyone else and wait their turn. As they stood in line Robin couldn't shake away the feeling that he should be getting back to the tower. Finally he made up his mind.

"Hey guys you get the pizza, I'm gonna head on back and see how Star's doing."

"Roger Wilco," said Beast Boy. Raven rolled her eyes and Robin gave them a nod of thanks. He fast walked out to his bike and was zooming down the road before they had a chance to look back ad see him leave.

At that very same moment a dark figure walked down the hall towards his target's room. What there existed in the hallway reflected off of his razor sharp Japanese sword. "I never miss."


Will Robin get there in time? Why was the man sent after Star? And why did I come up with such a lame way of coming up with Star's name? If you wanna know then read my next update. LOL. Hope you like it so far. Laters!