Thank you again for reviewing, not as many this time so, how about some popcorn and m&m's (an AWESOME combination) for you all: Cherry Jade, and Savvy (love you chica!), and again, to Darien Ravier!
Scott Okragleski: Thanks for your support. And "pleather" is a plastic leather. I bet if you can envision 'Elektra' and her outfit you'll understand.
cyberclock: I didn't know Star Trek did an "alternate selves" alternate universe (cause I just haven't watched the show), but that's cool though! Awesome that you found a comparison. I really only have BB and Cy in an "alternate selves" universe in this one however. I figured I could get three different takes if I left the others alone (wink wink).
Evilevergreen: I always love to see your reviews. Thank you for the support as well. This chapter doesn't really answer any questions I left in the LAST chapter(those won't even come until the chapter after next…hehehe, yes, I'm evil too), but it should be entertaining nonetheless.
For those of you wondering "Whatever happened to Star?" this chapter should be most informative!
Read on and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own TT, never will…but I can dream can't I! I mean, don't crush my dream! It's mine! And I'm keeping it tucked under my pillow. :)
Tag, You're It!
Starfire flew through the tower searching every corner just in case the other Titans were there. Just in case this was some cruel trick. Just in case this was a dream. Just in case…
This was her third go round. She checked once every two hours. She could not shake the idea that maybe they were still there. She'd already searched every square inch of the cliff on which the incident had happened. She had even thrown things randomly into the black orbs to see if they would somehow fly out the other side. She figured that maybe if she could track where they went, she could find her friends. But she had no luck and as it turned out she had even thrown her communicator in by accident and so could not be contacted by her friends anyway unless she was in the tower so that is where she remained for the time being.
On her fourth go round she noticed that it was midnight. She wasn't very tired, but realized that she would require some sleep in order to continue her search for her friends the next day. So she changed into her pj's and crawled into her bed. She had turned out all of the lights except for her "my little pony nightlight" which for some inexplicable reason Star loved. Robin had bought it for her from a place that sold such trinkets, because Star had lit up when she'd seen it and he found that it was very hard to say no to that cute expectant face.
Starfire had never found it hard to sleep before. She always felt comfortable and secure in the fact that her friends –especially Robin– were there to keep her safe. Her secure feeling had faded quickly after she realized that even she could no longer keep her friends safe. Her thoughts raced through hundreds of different scenarios in which they could be. She tried to shove the bad ones from her head, but only succeeded in attracting more. On top of that, every creak of the tower and every howl of the wind was magnified to its highest degree. Star didn't even remember ever hearing any of those noises before at all, much less this loudly.
She pulled the covers up over her nose and curled into a ball. Hearing another loud creak made Starfire squeeze her eyes closed and huddle further under the covers. She trembled in wait for the next creak or wail and finally let herself relax a bit when it didn't come. She even allowed herself to drift into a shallow sleep, when bang! a window slammed shut, making her eyes pop open. "That is enough! I cannot take this. I was not made to be alone," she declared rising from her bed.
She floated down to the main computer and searched around for the "on" button, 'I should have asked Robin to teach me how to use this electronic device. Now I must remember my observations.' She finally found the button that made the machine whir with life and celebrated by clapping her hands twice before stopping herself. 'I should not be celebrating while my friends may still be in danger.'
She searched the desktop and found what she needed. She clicked and hoped. A ring sounded, then another, and another. 'Oh, I should not have thought to disturb them. It is very late. They are most likely all asleep. I should not allow any more botherance on their part!'
She was about to click the symbol again to hang up when the monitor flicked to life. A very sleepy Speedy was on the other side yawning openly and scratching his head through his mussed up hair. He yawned once more and said, "Titans. This is Speedy. What's up?" before even looking at the screen. "Oh, Starfire!" his eyes got wide as he finally noticed her. He began to fix his hair as he spoke again, "Far be it from me to question a call from a beautiful girl, but…Why are you calling right now? It's the middle of the night."
Starfire couldn't contain her emotions. She started wailing and everything shot out at once, "My friends! My friends have been sucked into a vortex of blackness and I cannot find them. I am afraid they are dead and there is nothing that I can do and I am all alone. I cannot be alone. I do not know what to do. I am very afraid. Please! I need your help."
Speedy's eyes popped open further and he started to wave his hands, crossing them back and forth, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a minute! Slow down! What happened to the other Titans?"
Starfire started again, but this time she took a deep breath before she spoke, "My friends disappeared into modified black holes. I am the only one who was saved because of my ability to fly and the great strength that I possess. I would have gladly given up these gifts if I could bring them back, but I cannot find them," She placed her head in her hands, "and now I am alone."
Speedy let out a heavy breath, "Uhhmm, well…I guess you could come stay here," he thought about that a bit more, "No. You'd want to keep looking for the others and you couldn't leave the city alone…" Starfire nodded at him, "So, I guess we could come there."
Starfire shook her head no, "I cannot allow you to leave your city in peril either."
"But we can't just leave you alone! I know! One of us will come stay with you and help you out. That way neither of us will be left without fighters," Speedy concluded.
Starfire raised her head and clapped her hands together once more, "I am most overjoyed by that plan! But whom will you send to stay with me?" At this utterance Starfire saw two little round roly-poly boys dressed in white, pop onto the screen.
"¡Iremos y permaneceremos con el Starfire encantador!" Mas y Menos jumped up and down waving their hands in the air, "¡La protegeremos con nuestras vidas!" they finished, saluting.
Starfire giggled, but Speedy shook his head, "We can't spare both of you. Even though I do believe that you would protect her with your lives."
Mas y Menos both dropped their heads in despair, "Oh, ahora nunca cortejaremos a muchacha bonita." They plodded back to their rooms dragging their feet every step of the way.
"Maybe someday guys," Speedy shrugged. Then he became pensive once more, "Hmm…Bumble Bee needs to stay here too -she is our leader after all, and Aqualad is off visiting his 'fishy friends', so that just leaves…ME!" His eyes became very wide at this realization and he looked to either side of himself just to make sure he really was the only one left. 'Man, what the heck am I gonna do being around her? –Wait what am I talking about. I'll just be a nice guy and help her out. Say yes. Say yes. It's your duty anyway! Say YES!' "Well, I need to ask Bee first, just in case, but I wouldn't mind staying with you," he tried to justify this by saying, "especially since you really do need the help."
"Thank you mister Speedy. I will be very grateful for any help that you can provide," Starfire replied hopefully.
"No problem. I'll be right back, and Star? Drop the 'mister' okay?" After she nodded, he left to wake up Bumble Bee and check everything through with her before heading out to Jump City.
He boarded their T-ship, the one that Cyborg had made for them when he was their "leader". Speedy still remembered back when Cyborg had first come to their tower and how good it had felt to finally have everyone working together as a team. He had wished back then that Cyborg would continue to stay with them, but deep down he knew that Cyborg's heart belonged with the other Titans. He also knew that Bumble Bee would take his place as their new leader. What was weird was that even though he and Robin were alike and he had contemplated leading, he knew that he wouldn't do as good a job as leader that Bee would, besides, he didn't want the pressure so it was easy for him to step aside and listen to her commands.
Now, her command was that he should go and stay with Starfire until her whole mess was sorted out. They needed the other Titans, to " keep the balance of power" as it were. Besides, Titans East wouldn't even be a team without them so he figured he owed it to them.
Starfire turned off the computer and flew to the garage waiting anxiously for Speedy to appear. Even though he had told her he was taking their T-ship and that he would be there in a matter of minutes, the minutes seemed like hours. When he finally arrived, Starfire assisted him in parking the ship and as soon as that was settled, he jumped out of the cockpit. "Hello, friend!" she greeted warmly throwing out her arms for a hug.
Once she finally let go, Speedy stepped back, gasped for air, and stuck out his hand, "Hi. It occurred to me on the way over here that we have never officially met. I'm Speedy."
"Oh! I am Starfire of Tamaran," she bowed, "and of course I know who you are. We have greeted each other before."
"Yes, but now we can get to know each other better," Speedy said, finally recovering from the rib-crushing hug, "From what you've explained, I'm gonna be here awhile. It's late and I think we both should get some sleep." He grabbed his duffle-bag from the ship and looked around, "So uh, I'm guessing I'm not gonna sleep here…so where should I bunk?"
Starfire considered his query, 'He will need somewhere to stay. That is true. He could stay in one of the extra rooms, but none of them are furnished at the moment, nor do they have any bedding ready for him. I am not happy about it, but I am guessing he must stay in one of my friends' rooms.'
She took so long in her figuring that Speedy chimed in once more, "Well, I could stay here…I guess. Or I could just take the couch."
"No! You are a guest. And you are my friend also. You will have a room to yourself." 'But which room?' She thought. 'Friend Raven's room is too scary, Beast Boy's room too cluttered, and Cyborg's room is not outfitted to service a full human, so he must stay…' She motioned to him, "Please mister Speedy follow me."
Speedy nodded in a sort of laughing disbelief, "Sure, but remember what I said about that 'mister' stuff? It just makes me feel old and decrepit."
"Sorry, …Speedy," she voiced as she turned the corner. She directed him to a room in the middle of the fourth floor just two doors down from her own, "You shall stay in Robin's room."
For those of you who didn't quite get the gist of what Mas y Menos were saying in this chapter, I shall explain…They said something along the lines of: "We shall go and stay with the beautiful Starfire!" –"We will protect her with our lives!" –and—"OH! Now we will never be able to court the pretty girl…"
(Hope that helps)
So…anyway, Review Please! I know you can. See that little button down there? Click on it…no no, not that one…the other one. Nope, not that one either…oh fripple! I give up on you all! (...hehehe)