So... This is the most forced pile of crap I have ever written. I had serious writers block on this chapter. I wrote a few OTHER chapters while trying to complete this one. I figured I would cut this one off early so it doesn't become the train wreck it was turning into. Trust me, you won't be disappointed with the next set of chapters... At least I don't THINK you will.

Once again, I don't own this stuff.

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-Ground Control to Major Tom
-Commencing countdown, engines on
-Check ignition and may God's love be with you
-Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five,
-Four, Three, Two, One, Liftoff

-This is Ground Control to Major Tom
-You've really made the grade
-And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
-Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

-This is Major Tom to Ground Control
-I'm stepping through the door
-And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
-And the stars look very different today

-For here
-Am I sitting in a tin can
-Far above the world
-Planet Earth is blue
-And there's nothing I can do

--David Bowie--

Chapter 3 "Space Oddity"

The view changed from light blue to light grey and then finally black. The Titan's rocket peeled away from the grip of Earth's gravity and into the vacuum of space. The rocket continued to fire it's main engines and started releasing small blasts of vapor from the forward thrusters. Beast-Boy watched in awe as his view changed and he was rewarded with the entire western hemisphere. "No matter how many times we do this, I swear I get goose bumps." He said as he changed into a goose and honked into his microphone. Starfire giggled over the speaker and Cyborg and Robin both laughed too. Raven mearly rolled her eyes and continued to watch the planet drop away from under the T-Sub.

The hot plasma that erupted from the main engines since liftoff finally ceased to function. The interior of the T-Sub became quiet save the hum and occasional beep from the computers. Cyborg punched a few keys on the panel next to his seat and spoke into his microphone "Ladies and gentleman, this is you Captain speaking. We have reached our cruising altitude of 35,000 kilometers..." He paused as he looked over to see Beast-Boy collecting floating Skittles that had escaped from one of his pockets. "And as you can see, our stewardess has begun serving our in-flight meal." This caused laughter from the other passengers and a slight smile from Raven. "Hey! Thats not funny! I'd be a steward... Right?" Said Beast-Boy as he gathered up the last of the candy that flew around his seat. Cyborg continued to laugh as the rocket stopped rolling over and came to rest on it's belly.

Cyborg hit a few more keys and there was a dull thud and hiss that came from the bottom of the T-Sub. He eased the stick back and the craft slowly lifted away from the massive rocket that carried them into orbit. "Don't worry Bertha, we'll pick you up on the way home." He said as he waved at the new satellite that sat silently awaiting their return. "Whoops, almost forgot." He said as he pushed a key on the same panel. The booster rocket's navigation lights began to blink warning others of it's position. "We can't have the shuttle running into you now, can we?" He laughed as he nudged the throttle forward and began the change to the Watchtower's orbit.

The T-Sub continued it's trek till it passed over into the darkness of Earth's night side. Robin watched as the cities of western Europe glittered along the Meditation Sea and the Rhine River. He was reminded of the fact that Starfire had asked him to show her the city of Paris and it's "Frightful Tower". A smirk traveled from one side of his face to the other as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He was going to take her to France, Germany, maybe even Spain... But something always came up. Just like now, something had come up. Robin frowned and squirmed in his seat while he though about the previous attempts to get closer to Starfire and how they always failed before they even happened. Was this a sign that they should never be together? It was now the entire universe that conspired to keep them apart, and it was wining.

Robin opened his eyes and looked over at Starfire. She had her hand on the glass of her canopy and was watching as the Earth became smaller with the increasing altitude of the T-Sub. Robin tapped the button for the private intercom "Hey, everything all right over there Star?"

"Yes..."

"You don't sound to confident about that."

"I do, but I'm afraid of returning to my planet..."

"Why is that? Come to think of it, I don't know why you left it."

"I had... Problems. I'm afraid if I go there I will never return to Earth."

"You don't want to go back to your home?" Robin was puzzled by the direction of this conversation.

"Tamaran is not my home. Earth is my home now. I don't want to leave it... There is so much I still have to learn and lots I have yet to see." She sighed before continuing "I fear if I do not come home, I will not be with..." She stopped. "With you" is what she wanted to say, but she couldn't say that. She tried several times in the past to have Robin go on a date with her, but they never went. Perhaps Cyborg was right... He needed his "personal space". But it was so hard to leave him alone. They had been through too much together for her to keep a distance from the one person she felt a connection with. From the first day she met him he was always kind to her. He never laughed at her alien ways and actually helped her learn the customs of the people of Earth. Even when he was working for Slade he only attacked the team to protect them.

"What's the matter?" asked Robin as he watched a tear roll down Starfire's cheek. She closed her eyes and wiped her face with her arm and refused to speak. Robin placed his hand on the glass of his own canopy and spoke very seriously "Starfire, listen to me... I promise to get you back to Earth, to your home." Starfire blinked her eyes at him and inquired in a shaky voice "You promise?" Robin smiled and tapped his hand on the glass "I promise."

"So what do you think there talking about?" Asked Beast-Boy to nobody in particular. "None of you business I'm sure" Replied Raven as she glared at him through the two layers of glass that separated them. "Sheish! Why does everybody give me a hard time when I ask about them? It's not like they won't get together... Right?" Asked Beast-Boy. Raven and Cyborg sat silently continued to watch their friends talk to each other over the private intercom. Cyborg was the first to break the silence "I used to think the same way you do, but that was over a year ago. Things have been really quiet in Jump City lately, actually they have been the whole world over. Think about it... When was the last time we fought a villain? I mean a real villain. Not those purse snatchers and bank robbers we have been nabbing. I'm talking about the real baddies that we used to fight. I'm talking about-"

"Slade." Said Raven as she cut off Cyborg's speech. "The fact is Robin has been retreating into himself for the past few months. You've seen Starfire pine after him, but have you seen his reaction? He always has an excuse, or there is always something that gets in the way. Now this whole Tamaran thing is happening... I'm afraid that if he doesn't make his emotions clear to her soon, she may become unreachable." Raven looked away from her friends and stared off into the cold emptiness of space.

Cyborg sighed and continued to watch his friends chatter privately with each other. "Yeah, it's a shame. I mean Robin cares about her, but he just treats her like a naive little sister. He teaches her stuff and helps her out constantly, but..." Cyborgs voice trailed off as he lost himself in thought. Raven listened to Cyborg's voice for a minute then decided to give a little hope to her friends "You know... Last night was the first time I saw Robin caring for her. He was, different in his caring. You could see it in the way he held her, the way he protected her from the cold. He has deep feelings for her... Very deep. The only problem he has is showing those feelings. I'm sure he has a reason not to share his thoughts with us, a reason to protect himself." Beast-Boy shrugged his shoulders and continued to ponder what his friends were talking about.

The Watchtower began to loom in the distance as the T-Sub finally leveled off about a thousand meters away from it. None of the members of the team had been to the station, save Robin, and it showed. There were lots of "ooo's" and "ahhh's" from everyone as the main hangar doors opened. The radio came to life as a voice welcomed them to the Watchtower and directed them to land in a particular place. Robin recognized the voice as J'onn, the resident Martin. J'onn never seemed to leave the station much. For the brief time that Robin had spent on the station, J'onn seemed to be as common as the titanium that was used to build the station itself. Robin had become good friends with him over the course of time he stayed there. J'onn would spend his waking hours at the watch station, monitoring video feeds from Earth that would give news of a disaster or evil deed. Robin felt sorry for him, he always seemed lonely and distant. J'onn explained why he felt so alone one day while they were eating in the mess hall. He was the last of his kind, "the end of the line" so to speak. After that conversation Robin would spend a few hours a day chatting with him as he performed his watch duty. He would even get him to smile once in a while with a joke at Batman's expense. It had been a long time since he saw him, or even sent him an email. It was going to be good to see an old friend again.