Author's Notes: Fair warning again...the subject of abortion is breached briefly in this chapter. Also, I did some asthetic changes to a few of the earlier chapters...mostly spelling and grammar cleanup, but there was a small matter that I fixed in the hospital scene; originally the other Titans came in to visit immediately after Star gave birth, which just doesn't happen; so that's been changed, they now wait to visit until she gets moved to her own room. Also added a little more detail to chapter 4, "Recovery" in Robin's conversations with Raven and Starfire in the second half.
To respond to a couple of reviewers:
titanfan: Analyst is not an existing TT villain, just a creation of mine.
mollykat and Paper Bear: I never read the comics, and my knowledge of them is extremely limited; all I know is a little about the TT's origins and a bit about the comic version of the Terra arc; so I have no knowledge of Nightfire or Rose.
And to everyone who commented of my cliffhangers: Hee hee! Well, what's a good drama without good cliffhangers to tease ya with? And while we're on the subject...as you'll come to see with this chapter, what's a good drama without...a surprise twist? Read on...
Innocence Lost by CidGregor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
Chapter 9
Analyst stepped into the light, smirking. "Glad you remember me, Robin…of course, you are the one who oh-so-charitably sent me to prison nine months ago, so I daresay it'd be hard for you to forget."
Robin glared at the villain. "You did it," Robin realized. "You and your machine cancelled out Star's powers and shielded your hideout from Raven's telepathy."
"Took you long enough to realize it!" Analyst laughed. "As my employer was just saying, I expected you to catch on much sooner than this."
"So you're working for Slade now?" Robin asked.
"Dear Robin," Slade spoke up, "Analyst has always been working for me. It was under my orders that he first attacked you that pivotal night. And I must say, he played his part beautifully."
A sudden rush of memories came to Starfire at the mention of the night they fought Analyst, threatening to drag her down into depression. No matter how much she moved on, that day still brought her nightmares. She shivered suddenly, remembering how cold the invading hands had been…
"Star, are you okay?" Robin asked. Starfire nodded, rather unconvincingly. Robin frowned a bit, still worried about her, but let it go and returned his attention to the two villains. "You still haven't told me what we're doing here, Slade!"
"Oh, but I did," Slade countered. "As I said, I simply wished to give you the chance to say your goodbyes to Altair."
"Who the hell is Altair and why should I give a damn?" Robin demanded.
"Temper, temper, Robin. You shouldn't speak that way of your daughter."
Robin's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Still slow on the uptake, I see…" Slade laughed. "Shall I spell it out for you, Boy Wonder?"
"Enough playing around, Slade! Let Star and Rosefire go!"
Slade laughed again. "I'm sorry, Robin, but there is no 'Rosefire' here." He strode slowly over to the case where the child was held. "There is only 'Altair.'"
And then Robin got it. His hands clenched into fists. "What do you want with our daughter?"
"Honestly, Robin, must I explain everything to you?" Slade said, shaking his head. He walked back toward Robin and Starfire's cage, eyeing both of them. "I want just what I've always wanted. An apprentice."
Robin's eyes flared. "Rosefire…NO! YOU WON'T TAKE MY DAUGHTER!"
"Now now, my boy, I think we both know that is not truly your child."
Robin opened his mouth to snap back at his adversary, but froze halfway there as he realized what Slade had said.
Starfire, too, had a look of shock in her eyes. "How…how did you…"
Slade turned his eye on Starfire, and Robin could swear he was smirking behind that mask. "Since you asked so nicely…"
Slade turned his back on the two, and there was a moment of silence before Slade began to speak.
"It was perhaps a year ago that I realized something significant. After my failed attempts with you, Robin, and your old comrade Terra, I understood that that my search for an apprentice was proving fruitless. Teenagers have such a problem with authority, it seems. I needed an apprentice that I could mold from infanthood, from the beginning, one that I could raise in my image, teach to be entirely loyal, and train to one day rid this world of the Teen Titans. But I couldn't take just any child, no. If I wanted an apprentice that could stand up to the Titans, I needed a very special child. A child of the Titans themselves."
Robin was gripping the bars of the cage so hard it was bruising his hands, but he said nothing. Starfire stood next to him, listening to Slade's story with almost rapt attention.
"A child of Raven would yield an immensely powerful telepath, one that could dominate the minds and bodies of anyone I wished. I could easily dominate the souls of this city and make them my slaves. And dear Starfire…an alien warrior princess…with a child of hers, I would have at my command the most powerful warrior to walk the face of the Earth, one that, with the right training, I daresay might even stand shoulder to shoulder with Superman. The problem, of course, was that neither of you had children, and likely were not planning to for some time. And I wasn't going to wait around. I wanted my apprentice quickly. And that was where Analyst came in."
Robin's stare flew toward Analyst momentarily, before returning his attention to Slade. "What does he have to do with it?"
"Everything, Robin. You see…I knew that the odds of you and your little girlfriend producing a child on your own anytime soon were quite small. You were still stumbling around awkward greetings and sheltered feelings. And Raven...I wondered whether she would ever have children. If I wanted my apprentice…I would have to resort to less conventional methods."
Robin glared furiously. He didn't like where this was going at all…if his suspicions were right…he glanced over at Starfire, who was still listening to Slade's story. It didn't look as though the same thought had occurred to her yet…but if Robin was right…
"When I first encountered Analyst about ten months ago, he was well into the process of building a most wonderful machine, one that could cancel out the abilities of the Titans; save for you, of course, Robin. But Analyst was missing some vital components to his machine. And that was where I came in. I saw possibilities with his work…I knew I could use it to obtain my apprentice. So I offered Analyst the components he needed to finish, in exchange for his services, and he agreed quite readily. Now all that remained was to decide who would be the one to bear me an apprentice…the demonic telepath, or the alien warrior? Needless to say, I chose you, dear Starfire. You proved to be so much easier to manipulate."
Slade looked straight at Starfire, and Robin saw a slow, dawning comprehension on her face. She was starting to connect the dots…and it tore at Robin's heart. No…this can't be the truth, it can't… Robin pleaded to no one.
"I sent Analyst and his machine to face off with the Titans, though I did not really expect him to defeat you, Robin. No matter how much time he spent studying your abilities I knew you would have the upper hand."
Robin's glare flicked over to Analyst again, and caught a bit of wounded pride on the villain's face.
"However, I knew that you, Robin, would refuse to allow your weakened friends to stay. I knew you would send them out of the immediate danger. But more importantly, I knew that your girlfriend would not want to leave your side so easily. She hung back, letting herself get separated ever so slightly from the other Titans as they made their escape. And that was where Analyst's second device came in handy."
Slade held up a small, crystalline cube the size of a die. "A holographic generator. Compact, reliable, and highly convincing. Once you fell behind your comrades it was all too easy to throw a hologram of an empty city street between you and them. You couldn't have been more than twenty feet apart, and yet they were invisible to your eyes, and you to theirs. Then all that remained…were my final two…hired hands."
Starfire let out a strangled cry at Slade's words. The two men…they were…
"It's terrible, the sort of things that can happen to a defenseless young girl when she's all alone on a dark city street…wouldn't you agree, Starfire?"
Starfire fell to her knees, shaking. She wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing her eyes tight as the tears fell. Her whole body felt numb, and yet she was trembling uncontrollably. The memories of the rape infested her mind more deeply than ever, and now she could feel the icy cold hands once more. It was stronger than memory; it was as though she were living it all over again; she was helpless, paralyzed with fear, trembling as they pinned her to the wall…groping her, violating her…
"You…you evil…heartless…" Robin said, himself shaking with fury, and entirely unaware of what was happening to the girl next to him. "How dare you…how could you do this to her, just to get your damn apprentice! SHE'S DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE THIS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!"
"Before you get too much into your little 'hero' speech, Robin," Slade said smoothly, "you might want to check on your girlfriend there…it seems I've…shaken her up a bit."
Robin whirled around and finally caught sight of Starfire, her whole body convulsing and her eyes flooded with tears. Robin knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, but she immediately let out an earsplitting shriek and shoved his hand away, shaking worse than ever.
"Starfire, it's Robin!" he whispered. "It's okay, Star, I'm here…you have to calm down, or you're going to give yourself a seizure…just try to focus…I'm here for you…"
Robin tentatively placed his hand on her shoulder again; she flinched slightly, but did not scream or push him away. Taking that as a good sign, he brought up his other hand and began wiping away her tears. "Star, look at me…I'm here for you…everything's going to be all right, okay?"
Starfire opened her eyes, and the dark streets and cold, invading hands were gone. She only saw Robin looking back at her, concern etched into every line of his face. She blinked back the tears and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly to her, which wasn't all that tight without her alien strength. But Robin didn't care; he returned the embrace, fighting desperately to hold back his own tears.
"How touching…and utterly pathetic…" Slade interrupted the moment.
The words brought Robin jolting harshly back to reality. He spun his head toward Slade, though still holding Starfire. "Why, Slade? Why Starfire?"
"I told you, Robin…I found that Starfire would be so much easier to manipulate. You know as well as I do that she has a certain…naïveté about her that Raven lacks. It made her easy to exploit. In all honesty Robin, I was not at all sure that I could make it work, had I chosen Raven. Even if I did manage to set her up as I did Starfire here…what guarantee would I have that she would keep the child?"
"What…what are you talking about?" Robin said.
"Raven is quite difficult to read, my boy, as I'm sure you know. If she were the one to be cornered in a dark alley…well…there was doubt in my mind as to whether she would want to give birth to a child that was conceived against her will. She said so herself just today, as you might remember, dear Starfire."
Starfire did indeed remember…Raven had told her that, if it had been her, and not Starfire, that became pregnant because of rape, she wasn't sure if she would keep the child. Slade, of course, must have been watching them the entire time.
"The odds were too stacked against me to choose Raven," Slade said. "But you, Starfire…you were so much simpler. I knew, with your love of life, your insufferably kind heart, that you wouldn't even dream of giving up a child, no matter how it came about. You were the obvious choice, Starfire…every little thing you did that night I predicted perfectly. You were your own downfall."
"Stop it!" Robin demanded, releasing Starfire and standing up straight. "That's enough!"
Slade sneered. "Does the truth hurt, Robin? Get used to it. It always does." The villan slowly turned away and walked over to stand beside Analyst. "And now, it is time for me to take my leave. Oh…and don't worry about Altair…I assure you I will take good care of her."
Slade made his way toward the case in which the child was held, but he was stopped halfway there by a furious voice.
"Her name…is not…Altair…"
Slade looked around to the voice; it was Starfire. She had climbed to her feet, and was still shaking…no longer with fear and terror, but, like Robin, with powerful, righteous fury…far more than she would feel to use her star-bolts.
It was all Slade's doing… Starfire's furious thoughts said. He was the one who caused this pain…he wants to take my child from me…but he shall not have her!
The righteous fury suddenly seemed to take on form and shape within the alien girl. It flowed through her whole body, and amazingly, impossibly, her hands slowly began to glow green.
"What? Impossible!" Analyst gasped. "My machine…!"
"Increase the power!" Slade ordered.
"I can't! It already takes full power to cancel out their abilities! How is she doing this?"
The glow of Starfire's hands grew, bigger and brighter than they'd ever been before. Her eyes were blazing green as well, as bright as floodlights.
"HER…NAME…"
She raised her hands, pointing them directly at Slade and Analyst.
"IS…"
And suddenly the whole room was flooded with green.
"ROSEFIRE!"
