CHAPTER 4: "A new friendship and more"
We're back in the miserable streets of Tamaran, were the people was going from one place to another between all the stands, buying different kinds of stuff, from jewels to food, the most common being food. On the top of an awning were Robin and Cyborg, and it seemed that they were trying to catch their breaths.
"That's the last time you convince me of disguising as a ballerina!" Said Cyborg at the end, sounding pissed.
"But… that's the first time you disguised yourself as a ballerina! And it was your idea!" Replied the Boy wonder.
"Well, it won't happen again, man!"
"Oh, shut up! At least we got the food, didn't we?" Said Robin, taking out a couple of the red melon-like fruit and hanging one to Cyborg.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the alley, a tall yet slim figure covered in a blue cloak had appeared, and was now walking between the stands, while the owners offered her the products:
"Pretty lady, buy a jar!" Said one of them, showing Starfire (it's her, in case you haven't figured out) a silver jar with green gems incrusted on its surface. "You will not find a finer jar in the whole kingdom! And it makes some great glorg! And I promise you, lady, that it won't- it broke…"
"Would the lady like a necklace?" Said another one, showing her a golden necklace with red stones. "A pretty necklace for a pretty lady!"
"Fruit! I've got the best fruit of the city!"
"Sputflinks! I've got the biggest, freshest sputflinks!"
"Diarrhea! I've got diarrhea!" Yelled another man, but he didn't look as if he was selling something.
Then, a man pulling a big car full of dead bodies appeared. "Dead collector!" Shouted the man, while playing a bell. "Bring out your dead!"
"I'm not dead!" Said one of the 'dead bodies'. The man then whacked the body in the head with his bell, making him unconscious again.
Starfire then turned, only to find a dead squid just an inch away from her face.
"DEAD FISH!" Yelled a voice from behind the squid. It was the old fish lady from chapter two (the one carrying the water tank as a backpack). "DEAD FISH! I COMMAND YOU TO BUY THE DEAD FISH! I CATCH IT, YOU PAY FOR IT!"
"Uh… no, thank you." Said Starfire, starting to walk away.
"THE FISH! THE FISH!" Was still screaming the old woman, which made Starfire not realize where she was going. This made her bump into something.
"GRROARRRR!"
Starfire turned to see to what had she bumped, encountering face to face to a beast very similar to the one of 'The Beast Within', hence the fact that its fur was brownish-fuchsia. It was wearing a purplish-blue and golden fez with a matching vest, had roller skates, and was carrying a tray with glasses full with different drinks, different kinds of cigarettes, and snacks. The beast roared again, pushing the tray towards Starfire, trying to show it to her.
"No, thank you." Repeated the princess, smiling while leaving. The beast then growled again, but this time there was sadness in its face.
The beast's roars called Robin's attention. He turned around and found his sight caught by the mysterious hooded girl. He continued looking while the girl pulled her hood down, revealing her face.
"Wow…" Said Robin, completely stunned by the princess' beauty. Cyborg, who had already finished eating, looked at Robin, who was now in a catatonic state, just staring at Starfire, and tried to call his attention by waving a hand in front of his eyes. When he failed, he grabbed Robin's fruit and started eating it also.
Starfire, not aware of the fact that she was being observed, kept walking, and was now getting closer to the spot where the waffle cart was, in front of which Mas y Menos were standing, drooling and staring at the waffles. The owner of the cart failed to notice them, for he was talking to someone else. This someone else was, in fact, the goth boy (who appeared first in 'Sisters' and then in so many other episodes).
"You must hate waffles…" The goth boy was saying, in a monotonic and lazy tone. "'Cuz, you know… you're always making 'em and selling 'em… Unless you really love 'em… and that's why you sell 'em… you know…"
"Look, are you gonna buy a waffle or not!" Said the cart owner, already losing his patience.
"Uh… no." Finally said the goth boy, starting to walk away.
Meanwhile, Starfire had already arrived to where Mas y Menos were standing. "Oh, poor little kids! Are you hungry, little ones?" She said, looking at them. The twins turned to see who was talking to them, and, as soon as they saw Starfire, they both began to stare at her. Then, Starfire grabbed a couple of waffles from the cart and handed them to the kids. "Here you have, you must now go and fill your stomachs with this food, my little ones!" She said. The twins grabbed the waffles, but they didn't eat them; instead, they continue to stare at Starfire.
"Hey, you!" Shouted the cart owner, finally looking at Starfire and the kids. "You better have some money to pay those!"
"Ex-excuse me?" Said the naive Starfire, not knowing what he meant. "Money? Please… what is this money?"
"Oh!" Said Robin, suddenly waking up from his trance. "I smell trouble! Cyborg, let's go!"
"Please, good man…" Said Starfire, remembering the promise she had made to Raven, and recognizing that she was in trouble. "I-I promise to you, that if you can take me to the Palace, the King shall pay you this 'money'…"
"I don't buy that!" Yelled the angry man, grabbing Starfire by the wrist and taking out something that looked like a corkscrew.
"Please, what are you going to do with that, sir?"
"Didn't you hear the song in chapter 1? I'm gonna take your eyes out!"
"No, please, sir…" Said Starfire, looking the man's hand approach her face. Suddenly, her eyes turned a glowing green. She didn't want to use her powers, but she would if she had to.
"Ah, no, I don't think that would be necessary, man."
Starfire's eyes turned back to normal as the man's arm stopped in midair. Between the cart owner and the disguised princess was now standing Cyborg, grabbing the man's arm, and oddly wearing a white doctor coat.
"Ah! There you are! We've been looking for you the whole morning!" Said a voice behind Starfire. She turned around to discover Robin, wearing a white coat like Cyborg.
"What are you doing?" Whispered Starfire.
"I'm saving your life, just play along." Robin whispered back.
"You know this girl?" Said the cart owner to Cyborg.
"Sadly, yes. She escaped from the medical institution were we work, man."
"But she said she knows the king!"
"Well, yeah. She… uh… she thinks the kid's the king!" Said Robin, pointing to Mas, who was still in a shock state, watching Starfire with his jaw dropped.
Starfire, hearing what Robin had said, suddenly kneeled in front of Mas, saying: "Oh, your Majesty, my purpose in the life is to serve you."
Mas, looking at this, woke up from his shock and smiled widely. Then he started to yell at the people from the street: "¡Oíd, oíd, que les habla su rey, inútiles!Quiero que se bajen los pantalones y hagan como gallinas!"
"Tragic, isn't it?" Said Cyborg to the man. He then took the waffles that Mas y Menos were still holding, ignoring the kids' protests, and giving them to the man. "But, no harm done. C'mon, Robin, lets go!"
"Yeah, lets go, miss." Said Robin to Starfire. "Time to see doctor Arkham…"
"Oh, hello, doctor!" Said Starfire as they passed again in front of the fuchsia-furred beast carrying the tray.
"GRRROARRRRR!"
"No, not that doctor…" Said Robin. Then, the three teenagers just started to walk away slowly, not saying a word. They were really making it! Starfire couldn't help but feel gratitude towards the two boys, and then…
"STOP, THIEVES!"
"Huh?" The three of them turned around at the same time, and the only thing they saw was a white blur passing next to them, and they heard two voices coming out of the blur, saying the same thing:
"¡CORRANCOMOALMAQUELLEVAELDIABLO!"
Then they looked back, and this time they saw the cart owner, with the corkscrew-like thing out, running towards them, really angry.
"What must we do now?" Asked Starfire, a worried look on her face.
"Run. RUN!" Commanded Robin, and soon enough, the three of them were running away between the staring people.
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We're now inside a dark, Frankenstein-like lab. The walls are covered by blue lightings, coming and going everywhere. In the center of the room, Wintergreen the vulture is ridding something that looks like an exercising bike, making it go as fast as his tiny legs allow him.
"With all the due wethpect… my lowd…" He said, panting. "Couldn't we jutht wait fow a weal stowm?"
"NO! AND MAKE IT GO FASTER!" Shouted Brother Blood. He was wearing black oilskin gloves and black goggles were covering his eyes, and he had replaced his red robe by a white laboratory coat.
"Oh, OK." Said the exhausted bird.
"AND YOU!" Shouted Brother Blood again, this time to three figures lurking in the shadows. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE DOING NOTHING! WE GOTTA KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE ELECTRIFIED!"
"Yes, sir!" Said the figures, starting to move levers. Even with their faces hidden in the darkness, they were un-disguisable: They were Gizmo, Jinx and Mammoth.
Blood walked to a table where the golden chest from before was. He pulled out the key that Galfore gave to him, and opened the chest. "Finally, the Jewel of Charta will tell me who is the one that needs to be found!" He said as he revealed the chest's content to be a shining red gem. He then put the gem in a mechanical claw hanging from above, and, using a lever, started to move the claw towards a pair of crystal balls, that were full of electricity, and a stream of blue energy ran from one ball to the other in midair. With caution, Blood started to make the claw go down in the middle of the balls, and as soon as the gem was touched by the stream of electricity, the room was filled by a blinding white light.
A second later, the blinding light was gone, but the room was now illuminated by the lightings, that had changed from blue to red, and were moving towards a giant TV screen in one of the walls. When the electricity hit the screen, it turned on, showing no other than Robin, running in the streets of Tamaran, with other two figures of unknown identity.
"Yes… there he is…" Said Blood, looking at Robin.
"THAT'TH HIM!" Yelled an angry Wintergreen, still making the bicycle work. "THAT'TH THE GWEAT DIAMOND IN THE WOUGH!" Suddenly, one of the red lightings hit the vulture, making him scream in pain, while smoke and a strange smell started to come out of him.
"Hey, wait a minute…" Said Gizmo, walking forward the screen. "I know that guy, he's the-" He was suddenly interrupted by Mammoth, who had jumped towards the screen and was now attacking it furiously.
"HA! I killed him!" He said when he finished.
"You killed who, exactly?" Asked Jinx.
"The street rat! He was right here and now he's gone! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"YOU IDIOT!" Yelled Brother Blood. "YOU DESTROYED MY BRAND NEW, 75 INCHES, WIDE SCREEN TV!"
"Huh?" Said a confused Mammoth, looking at the destroyed screen. "But… I thought it was a window!"
"ARGH!" Shouted Brother Blood, completely pissed, ignoring Wintergreen, who passed flying at a great speed, still screaming in pain, with all his feathers gone and covered in flames. Then, Blood calmed down a bit and spoke to Gizmo: "General! I want you to find this boy, and bring him to me!"
"Yes, sir!" Said Gizmo. Then he, Jinx and a still confused Mammoth left the room. When they did, Blood looked at something lying on the floor, and then yelled:
"HEY, YOU, COME BACK HERE! SOMEONE LEFT A FRICKIN' FRIED CHICKEN HERE AGAIN!"
"It'th me, my lowd."
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We're now on top of a building, where Robin, Cyborg and Starfire are standing, trying to catch their breaths.
"I think… I think we lost them…" Said an exhausted Robin, looking down to the street.
"I am most thankful towards you, for you helped me even when we were total strangers to each other." Said Starfire, looking at Robin and smiling.
"Hey, it's nothing. If the people from the streets don't help each other, then who would?" Said Robin, returning the smile. He kept staring at Starfire until Cyborg hit him in the head. Waking up, he said: "Uh… do you have somewhere to go?"
Starfire taught in the possibility of returning to the palace and her old life. "No, I do not." She finally said, with sadness in her voice.
"Uh… would you… say… like to stay with us tonight?"
"WHAT!" Shouted Cyborg.
"Oh, I would most certainly wish to, if it is not a problem."
"Nah, not a problem at all, right Cy?" Said Robin, looking at Cyborg. The half-metallic man just looked back at him with a severe expression.
"Robin, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Uh, sure." Said Robin, and looking briefly again at Starfire, walked away from her to where Cyborg was. "What's wrong, Cy?"
"'What's wrong?'! YOU tell ME! What's wrong with you, man! You know she can't stay with us!"
"Says who?"
"Says I!" Replied Cyborg, lowering his tone so Starfire couldn't hear him. "You know that our house is a secret place! If someone finds out where we live, soon more people will find out, and one day, the troopers will be knocking the door ready to take us to the can!"
"Ah, c'mon, Cy, I'm pretty sure she will keep the secret if we ask her to. Besides, it will only be one night."
Cyborg looked at Starfire, then back at Robin. "Ah, OK, man!" He finally said. "But just one night and it's over! Ya hear me? Just one night, and then your lil' girlfriend leaves!"
"So… we should hurry, this place is dangerous at night." Said Robin to Starfire, trying to ignore the word 'girlfriend'.
"That means I am allowed to go with you?" Asked Starfire, a gleam of hope in her eyes.
"Of course you can! I told you there was no problem at all!"
"Oh, thank you!" Said Starfire, suddenly hugging Robin. Then, as if she was just realizing what she was doing, she broke the hug and looked down.
"Uh… I think we should keep going." Said Robin, blushing as much as Starfire. They began walking, with Cyborg humming angrily behind them.
"The things he makes me do…" He was saying, to no-one in particular. "Share our home to strangers… dress as a ballerina…"
They soon reached the end of the building's rooftop, and just then Robin realized that the next building was too far away to just hop to its roof. He then noticed some wood boards on the other rooftop, which gave him an idea: he pulled out his bo-staff and started walking back in the opposite direction. "Hang on here." He said to Starfire.
"But I can just-"
"No, no. I got it. I just need to…" Without adding another word, Robin turned back and started running towards the end of the roof. When he was about to reach it, he hit the ground with his bo-staff and used it to support his weight and launch himself to the other building. He landed successfully on the next roof, and grabbed one of the boards to use it as a bridge for Starfire, when, amazingly, the girl passed next to him, flying.
"Robin, I was just trying to tell you… I can fly." She said, landing next to him.
"SHE CAN FLY!" Shouted Cyborg from the other roof. "How is it that we can't fly!"
"Uh… 'cause she's a girl and we're boys? Just guessing…" Said Robin, distracted. He then started to walk again, along with Starfire.
"HEY, WAIT!" Shouted Cyborg again. "How am I supposed to get there? ROBIN! COME BACK HERE!" Too late, the other two were pretty far away already, and they weren't able to hear him. Cyborg frowned, and started to walk in the opposite direction like Robin had done. Then he stopped, and started to breath slowly, with his eyes closed, and said: "Clear your mind…" Then he turned, he opened his eyes and started running towards the end of the building, like Robin. When he reached it, he jumped at an amazing high. "BOO-YA!" Yelled Cyborg in midair. He did it. He was able to land on the top of the other building. Unfortunately for him, the old roof cracked under his weight, sending him to a four-store fall. Apart from the endless pain from the landing, he got a slap on the face from a woman that was taking a bath when Cyborg entered through the roof, not mentioning that he landed on top of a cat. The poor little guy didn't make it.
Finally Cyborg caught with the other two, who were already in front of Cyborg and Robin's house: an old, abandoned building shaped like a 'T' (he, what can I say? The Tamarean architecture is weird).
"I know is not much, but…" Said Robin as they were entering the odd building.
"Oh, but I think it is most fascinating!" Said Starfire, and she meant it. She had never been inside of a building as old as this one. Actually, she had never been inside any kind of building, lesser inside one with the shape of a letter.
Cyborg was about to close the door, when suddenly it opened with a great force, allowing a white blur to enter, bringing what seemed to be a tornado. Then the blur started to spin around Starfire, and then it disappeared, leaving in its place Mas y Menos, who were just standing there, smiling like idiots to Starfire, and holding several waffles each one of them.
"Hey, kids! What ya doing here?" Said Cyborg, finally being able to close the door. Then he noticed the waffles, and realization hit him. "WAIT A SEC! You were the ones who got us in so many troubles! You stole those waffles to the man that was chasing us to get our eyes out until he tripped and accidentally took out his own eye!"
"People gotta understand that running around with sharp things is dangerous!" Said Robin, shaking his head. Then he said to the kids: "But what are you doing here?"
"¡LE TRAJIMOS COMIDA A LA PRINCESA!" The twins said in unison, showing the waffles to Starfire.
"Oh!" Said simply Starfire, taking the waffles. "Oh, I thank you for these unusual gifts, my little ones, but I assure you that I am no princess." She then started to laugh nervously.
"Well, kids, you did what you came to do…" Said Cyborg, opening the door again. "NOW GET OUTTA HERE!"
The kids looked at the street outside the door. It was already night. "Pero…"
"YA HEARD ME! OUT!"
"Pe-pe-pero…" The kids then looked at Starfire, and Starfire looked at them. There was so much sadness in their eyes that they looked like a pair of Chihuahuas.
"Oh, Robin…" Said Starfire. "Cannot they stay here for the night also? Please?"
"Uh… I don't know…" Said Robin, looking at Cyborg angrily shake his head.
"Please, Robin! They are as sad as two dogs from the Chihuahua!"
"¡CHIHUAHUA¡CHIHUAHUA!" Cried the twins, grabbing Robin by the shirt.
"OH, alright! I don't think two more people would make such a big difference."
"¡GRACIASGRACIASGRACIASGRACIAS!" The little boys screamed, starting to run inside the building.
"OH, MAN!" Shouted Cyborg angrily. "MY LITTLE QUIET HOME IS GETTING CROWDED! THAT'S IT! IF I GOTTA SHARE MY HOUSE, THEN YOU GOTTA SHARE THOSE WAFFLES, YOUNG LADY!" He then took one of the waffles and stormed away.
Starfire and Robin were now alone, and they were just there, completely in silence and not looking at each other. After a while, Robin spoke: "So, I should show you where you're sleeping, I guess…" Then he started to walk towards the stairs.
"I should apologize for causing so much trouble to you, and making you allow those kids to stay here." Said Starfire, following Robin.
"Nah, it's OK." Said Robin. They finally reached the fifth floor and Robin started to walk down a hallway. "Here we are." He said, opening a door.
The room was pretty messy; in fact, it looked like a tornado had passed over there recently, and the bed, which was undone, smelt funny, and the springs were visible in several places. However, Starfire was fascinated with her new room.
"It is wonderful!" She said.
"Then wait 'till you see this…" Said Robin, walking towards a window. It had no glass, but was covered with a ragged red curtain. Robin pulled the curtain, revealing a great view of the palace. Starfire, who had never seen the palace from outside, thought that it looked wonderful. But then she remembered when Galfore had spoke to her while looking out of the window in the Throne Room, and the view suddenly wasn't so great.
"The palace looks pretty amazing, huh?" Said Robin, not noticing the frown on Star's face. "I wonder what would it be like to live there, surrounded by people who are there just to serve you…"
"I do not think it would be such a great experience." Said Starfire sadly.
"So, where are you from?" Said Robin, looking away from the palace. "What's your story?"
"I… I ran away from my home." Said Star. "And I'm not coming back."
"Really? Why?"
"My father wanted to force me to marry a stranger."
"Oh." Said Robin, taking one step closer to Starfire. "That's terrible."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah. That's unfair for you, and…" He then took Star's hands shyly. "I wish there was some way to help you…"
They started to lean closer. Their faces were mere inches apart. They closed their eyes, and then…
"¡NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
They both opened their eyes in surprise. Mas had appeared out of nowhere, and was now standing right in the middle of them, with anger in his face. Then, Robin felt something pulling his cape, and he turned around to discover it was Menos.
"¡ALTO AHÍ, MALDITO ADOLESCENTE CACHONDO¡TE ATRAPAMOS CON LAS MANOS EN LA MASA¡PERO YA VERÁS, YA VERÁS!" He yelled.
"¿QUIERES PELEAR!" Yelled Mas, waving his fists angrily. "¿QUIERES PELEAR¡AQUÍ TE ESPERO¡NO TE TENGO MIEDO¡VIEJA EL ÚLTIMO!"
Suddenly, Menos jumped on Mas' shoulders, and Mas started to walk slowly towards Robin, while Menos stretched his arms to the front, which made the twins look like a zombie. Robin just backed away.
"What's wrong with you, kids? Have you gone completely insane?" He said.
"¡NO LE SAQUES, NO LE SAQUES!" Yelled Mas.
"¡AAAAANDALE¿NO QUE NO¡VÉNGASE, CHIQUITO, CÓMO NO!" Yelled Menos.
"Please, friends! There is no reason to fight!" Said Starfire.
"YES, THERE IS!" Said a voice from the door. Everyone turned and discovered Cyborg, leaned on the closed door, like if trying to stop something to get in.
"Cy? What's wrong?" Said Robin.
"THE TROOPERS, MAN! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG! THEY'RE BEHIND THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Then, the door was hit with a great strength from the outside.
"WHAT!"
"Oh, no! My father must have sent them!" Said Starfire, not realizing that she was saying it out loud, and putting up her hood.
"We need to get outta here, now! Over here!" Said Robin, and, grabbing Star's hand, he started to run towards a staircase that leaded to the rooftop. The others followed, and as soon as Cyborg got away from the door, it was knocked down, allowing Mammoth, Gizmo, Aqualad and Speedy to enter.
Robin and the others soon reached the rooftop, and then Robin realized the flaw in his plan-there was nowhere to go now.
"HA! We got 'em!" Yelled Mammoth from behind them. Soon the troopers had surrounded our lads.
"Star…" Whispered Robin, while the troopers laughed and started passing around them. "You can fly away from here, they want us, so they won't follow you."
"But… I can also carry you, so that we all can scape."
"No. You wouldn't fly as fast. Besides, we've took down this jesters before, it's piece of cake."
"And you." Said Cyborg to Mas y Menos. "You can run through them and they won't catch you. Go back inside the building and get down the street."
"Pero…"
"ATTACK!" Commanded Gizmo.
"JUST GO!" Yelled Robin, as he and Cyborg jumped forward to fight the troopers. Starfire started to fly away, and the twins ran, forming a white blur. Speedy went to stop them, but the kids were too fast for him, and they passed him with no problem.
"Oh, no you don't!" Speedy said, and he launched one of his explosive arrows at the twins, but he missed by mere inches. However, the nearby explosion and the high speed at which they were going, made the twins fly away and disappear in the night, while yelling in surprise.
"NO!" Shouted Starfire, who hadn't flew away after all, and was now desperately looking for the kids, flying from here to there. She finally gave up, and flew back to the rooftop, where Cyborg and Robin were having trouble fighting the troopers.
"Please, stop!" She said, grabbing Gizmo by the arm, trying to call his attention.
"Argh! Don't touch me, you vermin's crap!" Said the short General, pushing Starfire with one of his metallic spider legs. The girl fell and hit hard the rooftop, hurting herself. Then, suddenly, her eyes turned green, and from her hands blasted green energy, which hit Gizmo in the chest, sending him up, up and away.
"OH MY GOD! She killed the General!" Screamed Aqualad. Then he saw the general's hat, which had fell from Gizmo's head, and he picked it up, putting it in its own head. "HA! Now I'm the General!"
"Uh… I don't think that's how it works…" Said Speedy.
"SHUT UP! I am your General now! And I command you to-"
"NO! I command you to stop!" Said Starfire, lowering her hood. "For I am the Princess."
The three troopers gasped. "Princess Starfire!" They said, kneeling in front of her and lowering their heads.
"PRINCESS!" Said Robin and Cyborg in unison, but Mammoth, who had them grabbed by the neck, made them kneel and lower their heads as well.
"Now release my friends. Let them go!" Starfire said, in a commanding tone that was extremely unnatural from her.
Then, Speedy standed up. "Uh… Gee, we would love to, Princess, but, we have orders from Brother Blood, and you would need to talk with him about this, I guess." He then turned to his mates. "OK, we better keep moving, lets go!"
"But… You can't give orders! I am the General!"
"Oh, shut up, you putz!"
The troopers then went away with their prisioners, who were too shocked to try to run away. And Starfire was left alone in the rooftop. She then started to fly to the Palace.
"If I need to talk to him…" She said, with disgust in her voice. "Then, I will talk to him."
YES! This chapter is finally done! At the end it was quite a headache, I tell you. And romance starts to blossom-YUCK! But, oh, well, the story needed it, so…yeah. Whoa! I see so many hidden references in here! Much more than I really meant to. So, I'm gonna start a little game. You review my story (XP), and in your review you write down all the hidden references you can find. Whoever gets 'em all right will get a… uh… an Official Marvel Non-Award! Yeah, that's the ticket! So review!