Magic in the Blood (working title)

CH. THREE

The Zodiac night club was situated unobtrusively in the warehouse district of Jump City, between an International House of Pancakes and a gun shop. Its entrance was decorated with intense eccentricity and eclecticness. There were a couple of pillars that looked suspiciously like they'd been swiped from an ancient Greek temple, along with several radiant pink flamingos tacked to the roof, glow in the dark stars on everything, benchs resembling the bits and pieces of Stonehenge, and white calla lilies exploding brilliantly under the strange light.

Starfire fell head over heels in love with the place immediately. "It is so bright!"

Raven, however, tried not to touch anything. "It's so... bright." She pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up over her face. It had nearly killed her to abandon her uniform, but she did keep a pair of dark jeans and a hoodie for such occasions. Starfire had insisted on several plastic bracelets, so her sleeves were shoved up so the black and purple rings of jellied plastic showed. She glanced over at the other girl. "Are you ready?"

"I am ready!" Starfire had taken to the task of dressing for 'clubbing' with inherent glee. The majority of the bracelets were on her own bare arms, and she'd pulled on a short plaid skirt and a tight white sleeveless shirt with a star on it. Without her trademark boots, she wobbled a bit as she walked, apparently never having worn a pair of sneakers before. She strode forward boldly, and upon hearing a low whistle from a nearby group of young men, grabbed Raven's hand, and pulled her along as well.

The inside of the club was far simpler in concept than the outside. It was space, and even though Raven had seen it before, she let out a soft gasp with Starfire's. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, all of it was a deep celestial indigo smattered with flecks of starlight. All the constellations were correct as well, something that escaped neither Titan. People filled the club, dancing to the throb of the music, lounging on benches and chairs, sitting at the bar with glasses of liquor that really should only have been found on other planets. "Normal human activities," muttered Raven to her companion. "But definitely not normal humans." At least half the crowd was visibly of another race, with dwarves and aliens and witches all in attendance.

"Where are the faeries?" whispered Starfire back to her. "Should they not be winged?"

"They might have wings, and they might not." Raven pointed discreetly to a young blond man with a pair of blue wings. "Those aren't real. Most of the wings you'll see here aren't. People wear them for fun. The only time a real faery would reveal theirs in public is a place like this, where they can be mistaken as a human playing dress-up." She led Starfire through the crowd, nodding sullen hellos to the few who recognized her. "Just don't stare too much."

Settling in a couple of large chairs in the back, the girls eyed the crowd. Raven muttered quietly to herself as the patrons moved before her. "No... no... maybe... definitely not..." After several minutes, she collapsed backwards, wrapping her arms around herself. "This is hopeless."

Starfire was clearly less intimidated, ordering a large pink drink with an umbrella and sipping from it as she smiled brightly at anyone who would make eye contact with her. "Raven, why do we not come here more often? We have not been recognized here, and it is most enjoyable to do the girl drinking and watching of people."

"Because these people are weird. And when I can say that, they're weird." Raven sighed, shoving her hands into the front pocket of her sweatshirt. "We're just here to try and get a lock on a faery. Any faery. If they can figure out what's wrong with Beast Boy, I might be able to fix it myself."

"You are worried about our friend," Starfire observed, poking the umbrella in her drink and then glancing up at Raven.

"Well... yes. Are you really that surprised?"

"I am not surprised," said the Tamaranian. "I am..." She sighed. "Perhaps I am surprised that you are so open about it. You do not always get along with Beast Boy. And though you are our friend, you do not often show your affection as I do."

Raven bit her lip, watching the swirl of pink and orange in the bottom of Starfire's drink. "It's harder for me. You know that, Starfire. I can't... express myself."

"Perhaps not in the same way I do, or Beast Boy does, but is your relentless search for aid not an expression of affection?"

The sorceress colored slightly. "...it is." She tugged idly at the bracelets on her wrist. "He saved my life that time. It would have been... I would not have thought it completely unfair if he had injured me. I am not always kind."

Starfire leaned forward, holding Raven's wrist gently. "That is who Raven is. Raven is not always kind with her words, but her actions speak for themselves."

The color in Raven's cheeks deepened. "I just want to help him," she said very softly.

"I understand. If that were not true, you would not be here in this bright and noisy place, in Earth clothes and enduring the stares of others so that you might gain information from a questionable sources." Starfire squeezed her wrist lightly, reassuring the other girl.

"Thanks, Star," she murmured. "I--" She stopped short. "I see one." Her dark head nodded at a girl with bright pink hair, pinned up messily over similarly colored eyes and doused in glitter. "I'm going to try and get her to step outside with me. Wait there for us, in the alley out back. I don't want to cause any sort of scene." At Starfire's nod, Raven stood and began to slip through the crowd towards her target.

It was darker in the back alley than in front. The alley was wider than Starfire had expected in her experience with Earth alleys, and reminded her more of the streets of Tamaran, dark but for small twinkling lights overhead. She crossed her arms as she stepped out onto the cement, hair sliding forward over her cheeks as she surveyed the area.

Smoke. Starfire wrinkled her nose. It was the smoke of the cigarette, but... no, not quite. It smelled of spice and incense. She turned, quickly locating a dark figure reclining against the brick wall of the gun shop. A small ember glowed at the tip of the cigarette, and grew as the smoker inhaled.

"Hello?" questioned Starfire, stepping forward. It was often difficult for her to remember that she should walk when amongst regular humans, but she was becoming more and more successful.

"Hey." The voice was feminine, and rang to Starfire of the lower tones of the glarenfleck, a flute of her homeworld-- low, pure, dulect tones.

"I did not mean to disturb you. I am to meet a friend here."

There was a silence as the woman inhaled again, and a stream of smoke rose to the sky. "I don't mind."

"...I have heard that cigarettes cause addiction and illness," said Starfire with genuine concern. "This nicotine is an unpleasant substance."

"These are clove cigarettes. Don't worry. I'm not about to die." There was a tone of laughter to the voice.

"Oh. Then I apologize again for disturbing your break for smoking."

The figure pushed away from the wall and moved forward into the light, and Starfire bit down quickly on the tip of her tongue to keep from gasping. It was the young woman she had seen so briefly the night before at the fair. She was as small as Raven, and probably smaller, with vibrantly black hair cut short at her chin, a fringe of bangs almost obscuring her eyes. It was her eyes that Starfire remembered most, a golden amber that glowed against the dark. Other than that, she was pale with delicate features, and dressed in black. She flicked her cigarette to the cement and ground it out with her shoe, skirt ruffling slightly in the breeze.

The young woman raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Have I met you before?" questioned Starfire. "You seem... it seems as if we have met before."

Her face remained impassive. How much like Raven she seemed, thought Starfire. "No. I don't think so. I do know you, but you don't know me."

A thrill raced down Starfire's spine. "You know me?"

"You're Starfire. A Teen Titan." Those golden eyes didn't move from the alien's face. "I respect your work."

"Th-thank you." Starfire finally broke the gaze, looking at the sky. "Are... are you a regular at this venue?" There, she had remember to ask questions. Raven would be pleased after all.

"I come here sometimes."

"Then perhaps you know some of the other people here?"

"I might. Are you looking for someone specific?" The tiniest of smirks quirked the young woman's mouth. "A criminal?"

"No, not a criminal." Starfire felt compelled beyond her normal compulsion to be completely honest. "Our teammate was injured in an attack by a creature named Queen Mab last night. We are looking for information that might help him."

"A creature..." The young woman's smirk deepened. "That's one of the most accurate descriptions of Mab I've heard in years."

"You know her, then?" Starfire felt another thrill.

"For a pretty long time, you might say. I heard she was causing a little trouble. Is your friend hurt very badly?"

"We cannot tell. Raven says that he is under faery magic, and because Raven is from another planet as well, she cannot work her own magic to discover what has been done to him. We are so very worried," Starfire said, the words spilling out in an anxious river.

The young woman let out a long breath, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by footsteps coming into the alley. A high, soprano voice was whining. "I don't even know anything! Like, I'm so not the girl to ask. I stay far away from that stuff!"

Raven appeared with the pink haired faery at her side. "We'd still appreciate your help," she intoned, and then gestured to Starfire. "This is my associate Starfire. Starfire, this is Peaseblossom." She blinked at the sight of the other dark-haired girl. "Starfire, who's your friend?"

"Morgan!" yelped Peaseblossom nervously. "I mean, Mistress Le Fae, I... I didn't say anything to them. She just picked me up and brought me out here. What's going on? Please, I'm sorry, I didn't..."

Morgan went white. "Go home, Peaseblossom. Are your brother and sister here too?"

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Take them and go. Stay out of this."

Meanwhile, Raven and Starfire stared at each other in shock. "Star, you found..."

"I did not know!"

"It's okay. I'm not yelling at you..."

Raven reeled back a bit as Peaseblossom spread her very magenta wings and lifted into the sky, and then turned to Starfire and her new acquaintance. "You're Morgan Le Fae," she said numbly.

"Morgan's fine, if you have to call me something," the faery said, crossing her arms. "You have one minute to explain why you're harrassing children."

"She looks our age," said Starfire anxiously, bouncing on her feet.

"She's only a few years old," snapped Morgan. "It was only with the birth of her and the other two triplets that some of the oldest faeries allowed themselves to enter the Summerland. What do you want?"

Raven stepped forward then, to Starfire's side. "You know what we want. Mab is trouble. She's hurt our friend."

"I'm sorry about that." Morgan flicked her hair back from her face. "There's nothing I can do."

"Can do, or will do?" growled Raven. "We know who you are. We know what you can do."

"Yes," interjected Starfire. "We are aware of your plethora of Beast Boy healing abilities that you are withholding!" She winced as Raven grabbed her arm.

Morgan was less than impressed. "You have no doubt read dozens of stories about Morgan of the Faeries and her terrible powers, but let me make you very aware of the facts. I am Morgan Le Fae. I am the sorceress you're looking for. But I am not helping you."

"I understand that you have a rift with humans," said Raven, in the very slow and careful voice that signalled she was about to lose her temper. "But our friend is not technically a human. He is faery, I believe--"

"--I care for neither race enough to meddle."

"Then he is half faery and half human like yourself. You would condemn someone like yourself?

A faint golden light pooled around Morgan Le Fae's feet, and her face darkened with anger until she was nearly unrecognizable. "If he is like me, then may his death be quick and painless. Goddess knows I can ask for no such thing." She shoved past them back into the club, the door slamming behind her and locking of its own accord.

While Raven stood stunned and fuming, Starfire moved to unhinge the door.

"Stop," said Raven quietly. "We won't catch her. If she wants to disappear from us, she will." She staggered to the wall and sagged against it, putting her face in her hands. "I think we just screwed up our best chance."

Starfire floated back to her. "I am sure that is not the case. There are always ways. We still have Cyborg and Robin to check in with, do we not? Let us go back to the Tower, Raven, and do such a thing."

Raven sighed, and lowered her hands, levitating into the air. "Right. Right, Star. Let's go." Without another word, she began to fly back.

"May X'Hal protect us from the rage of sorceresses on all worlds," murmured Starfire, and with a soft rush of air, ascended to return to the Tower as well.

AN: Disclaimers as usual. Thanks for the lovely reviews, especially to WitchGirl-- yeah, I'm avoiding Wicca here, though I be pagan myself. Probably more likely to find some shades of Marion Zimmer Bradley in my Morgan. This one is a bit shorter, but hey. Still important. Also, smoking is still bad for you, kids!