Standard disclaimers apply.
PATH TO TAMARAN
Chapter
Twelve: Extremes
There was a brief moment in Starfire's mind that was filled with panic. She felt as if her very soul had stepped out of her body and she saw everyone, even herself, waiting for what would happen next.
On one end of the clearing was Karras, ready and confident. He was a soldier, and as could be ascertained from his rank, experienced. One so young did not gain promotion from sitting safely behind an administrative desk, and while his royalty might have advanced him sooner than he deserved, it was not a possibility worth considering in this case. She had seen him with the rest of the unit. They respected him; looked up to him; liked him. There was history between him and his men; him and his colleagues. Even Taryia, ever reserved, did not think Karras the least bit abhorrent. Raven herself had indicated Taryia and Karras cared for one another in some measure, though it was difficult to actually see it. All in all, Starfire suddenly felt greatly inadequate in the face of this man which, only a few minutes ago, she thought so little of.
And then there were the other members of the unit: Privates and sergeants… they were smiling. Most of them rooting for her; loyalty bets for the princess they had made into a legend. They thought so highly of her, yet how much of it did she deserve? She believed that her absence from Tamaran was justified; she believed in loving her siblings enough to abandon what once was her home; she believed she had done some real good staying on Earth and fighting crime with her dearest friends; she believed she would stay wherever Robin was, wherever fate took them.
They believed she would do the right thing, but what was the right thing? Should she, after all, let a seemingly ridiculous fight like this decide the outcome of her life?
There was Galfore; strong, decisive and full of love. He had agreed to go with this fight, and that had surprised her. Karras said he had spoken to Galfore previously about trying to convince her to go back to Tamaran. It seemed likely that while Galfore may not agree with Karras' methods, he trusted his lieutenant enough to wait and see.
Cyborg and Beast Boy stood beside her hulking k'norfkatheir faces drawn in worry. Did they believe Karras was better than her, thus their anxiety? No, just that they knew enough about battle to realize that in a fight where all things were squared, anything could happen. She knew that in their hearts, they did not want to see her go. She could be assured of their affection for her.
Robin stood to the other side of Galfore. Behind the mask, he showed no emotion. Yet he watched her; ever intense. He knew her better than anyone in the forest did. In a spar, he could predict her movements; use her weaknesses and encourage her strengths. She could imagine him watching this fight, whispering under his breath for what she should do next; what strategy was best. It was all he could do not to jump in and take over for her. She must not let Robin down.
Her focus returned, her pulse settled and she was whole again.
Starfire took a deep breath and slowly let it out through her lips. She crouched into stance, gripping her sword and sheath firmly. She was ready.
It was Karras who shot across the clearing first.
Determined, she pushed her feet forward, matching his stride. She hadn't taken that many steps before they met. She saw the arc of his weapon and she whipped out her blade, catching his strike with the hard wood of her sheathe. There was a crack, her sheathe against his.
He grinned, as if to tell her she wasn't the only one who thought of the tactic.
Gritting her teeth, she tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, her blade point towards her, and swung outward in a reverse slash. He blocked it with his sword and made a fluid counter attack. The clash of steel rang through the forest in three quick successions before they both jumped back to recover their footing.
"Oh my, such improvement, Koriand'r," said Karras. "This is going to be better than I thought!"
Starfire couldn't help feeling slightly elated. She could do this. This hardened soldier could be defeated. But a voice of warning whispered in her mind, pushing her to stay on her guard. This feeling of confidence she had was not much different from what she felt when Robin began a sparring session with her. He always boosted her confidence to loosen her up, make her more pliable for when he pushed her to do the more complicated maneuvers of her training. Only, in this fight with Karras, the warm up was not for her benefit but his. He was the one warming up.
She frowned. "Are you familiar with the expression 'bite me', Karras?"
"I was with a woman once who was into that sort of thing…"
It was infuriating, and she had to summon her will to stay calm. He wanted her furious; so much the easier for him to break her concentration.
She flipped her grip on her sword, spinning for a backhand slash. When he caught her attack with his sword, she made a quick reverse turn to dig the tip of her sheathe into his gut. She caught him and he grunted, stumbling over a small mound of hard earth. He might have fallen ungracefully if he hadn't been quick enough to turn it into a graceful backward flip. He broadened the distance between them.
Starfire bit back a smile. He hadn't expected her to be so fast.
He blinked to recover himself and chuckled. "You have gained speed, brat, but judging by that strike, you aren't quite hitting with everything you have."
"Fool. Do you wish for me to kill you? Of course I hold back!"
"Don't." He rushed her, sword point dragging into the soil.
Starfire watched for the arc of his sword, knowing she would be quick enough to decide on whether she should block, parry, duck or attack. But earth and dust came at her, getting into her eyes. Her instincts were surprisingly quick to adjust. She depended immediately on her hearing and touch, gauging his position and the fall of his sword. She had learned to fight sightless, and it wasn't something one forgot. She was able to block, once, twice, but it was all too much, too quickly. She hadn't practiced her sightless techniques for quite some time. Something crashed into her diaphragm. It felt like a cannon ball. It was strong enough to knock the breath out of her and send her flying back.
It was bad enough that there was all this pain spreading from her gut, but when the bone crunching force came from behind her, like a tree slamming into her back, she wasn't sure what part of her hurt the most.
She crashed face down on the ground, coughing and sputtering. She hissed, forcing herself off the ground. Her head was still spinning and her body was screaming for her to take a moment to recover, but she felt there was hardly any time to delve on how hurt she was.
What in the world had Karras hit her with? She blinked to clear her vision and analyze his stance. It had to be his knee.
Damn be Kalapattian strength. It was almost as formidable as that of the Tamaranians, and all things considered: her being female, she and Karras were probably equal in muscle.
Whatever it was he had used to hit her with, he had gotten his point across clearly enough. He wasn't holding back; why should she?
Everyone else seemed to think it was better that way. At least the ones who had bet on Karras. She heard screams of approval mingled with shouts of outrage. It was hard to tell who was and wasn't happy about it, but she knew for sure the titans wouldn't be the least bit pleased by her present predicament.
She shook her head to steady her sight and almost gasped at Karras' proximity. He was right on top of her and she had to roll on the ground to duck. His sword plowed right through the tree, sending wood chips spraying in all directions. The buzz of his earlier strike still rang in her ears and she knew she needed more time to recover; more time to steady herself. Lying on the ground, she pleaded X'Hal for clarity.
There was Karras' fist, heading down towards her. She whipped to the side, dodging it and flipping herself on one hand to get her back into a crouching stance.
Starfire tried not to think about the crater-like hole Karras' fist had formed on the ground when his punch connected. If her face had been anywhere near it, he might very well have broken bones. She fought the urge to touch her precious nose, scolding herself for her vanity.
But X'Hal curse it, I could not help what I feel! Robin likes the way I look so much—
She hissed. Focus! You have fought poorly! Do not shame your teachers! Remember… flows like water…
Karras came at her so fast that he might have been flying. She angled her sword to meet his, and when their steel clashed, she moved with him. Metal rasped against metal as she glided along with the motion of his strike. She was behind him and she could have pressed her blade to his neck to force his submission, but Karras still had his sheathe. He deflected her blade just as smoothly, but his earlier words and actions had struck her too well.
Don't hold back.
She dropped her sheathe, pressed her hand to his back and released a bolt.
The explosion sent him flying several yards into the air. He crashed to the ground, skidding several feet more on his chest and knees.
Cheering erupted from the audience, punctuated by laughter and an exchange of currency. Surely, there were bets for everything. Who fell first? How many strikes before Karras got his knees soiled? How many moves would it take to fell either one of them?
She used the time Karras took to pick himself up. She still hadn't fully recovered from the knee to tree whammy. The fire in her gut flared still, but at least the stabbing pain had faded.
Karras rose from the ground, sputtering. There was a burn the size of a fist on his back and some of the cloth on the knees of his cassock were torn from the impact of his fall, but Starfire was willing to wager he had carried worse wounds into full battle.
He grinned. "Now we're talking."
He hardly took another second to recover before he attacked like a hurricane.
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His face was wrought with focus, his strikes, slashes and thrusts coming at her with ferocious speed. She barely caught each one with her blocks, so there was absolutely no time to form an attack. His strength and endurance would beat her down if she did not think of a way to break the onslaught.
She caught his sword with hers and heaved him away, making him flip back to set a distance between them, but he didn't waste time trying to find a new opening. With a swift twist of his body, he kicked himself off the ground.
He launched himself into the air and Starfire met him, using muscle instead of flight, for she had promised to abide by gravity. The clash of his sword against hers sent vibrations up her arm, but she rotated her hips and let her shin connect solidly with his side. He grunted from the impact and she saw the pain etch his face for a heartbeat, but amazingly, he took the hit. He took it and grasped her leg firmly with his arm, locking it to his side.
He spun, bringing her with him.
A yelp escaped her throat, his shoulder pressing against hers. The ground impacted like cement. First she was numb then the pain exploded. She gasped for air because her lungs were too stunned to work properly.
The glint of steel at the corner of her eye told her he would have her under submission in the next heartbeat and her instincts screamed.
It won.
The heat from behind her eyes shot out and he caught her bolts right on his chest.
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It was painful to breathe. She could have sworn Karras had broken something. A rib, maybe, and it was probing at her lungs; or something like that. She rasped for air as she struggled to push herself up, trembling. Her eyesight was blurred, but she felt no pain in her head to indicate that she had damaged her eyes. They were whole, and most importantly, they were working.
There was a sound amidst the ringing in her ears. Coughing. It was Karras, groaning several feet away and struggling to get up as well.
Neither of them were ready to admit defeat, but a ceasefire was in order.
She looked up, trying to blink her eyesight back to clarity.
She saw Robin taking two steps towards her, but Galfore held him back. Faintly, she could make out some of Robin's words; something to do with making sure she was alright; or was it "stop the fight"? It was hard to tell.
Starfire turned over on her hands and knees, thinking it would make standing easier, and groaned from the effort. Her joints were wobbly, but she drew strength from the fact that Karras didn't look any better.
"Clever." His voice was raspy.
She wanted to grab something hard and throw it at him. How could he think about talking at a time like this? She refused to respond. She needed to recover as much energy as she could, fast.
He kept talking as they both stumbled to get back up. "I had not expected you to use your eyes at all. I thought they were damaged. Clever of you."
It could be considered a compliment, but she was in no mood for it. She took her sword by its hilt and pierced its blade into the ground, using it to get to her feet. It worked, mostly, and when the feeling in her legs began to return, she was confident she would recover fast enough.
Karras was leaning on his sword too.
Starfire steadied her breathing, orienting herself to the reality of the situation. Karras was good. Karras would have defeated her twice already if it hadn't been for her starbolts. But then he knew that, didn't he? He knew they were equal fighters because of it. He was an excellent sword wielder, she was not, but she could shoot starbolts. The field was even enough; might even be more to her favor, now that the bolts from her eyes were operational, though she could not even stop and be glad about that, relieved as she was that she could use the bolts from her eyes again, because he was right: There was nothing silly about this. At the moment, she understood just how serious he was.
They stood panting for breath and it occurred to Starfire that the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd had died down. There was almost absolute silence, like someone had died.
She looked briefly at the crowd and noticed that the smiles were gone, as well. They were just looking; stunned, no doubt. Whatever Luren told them had faded from their minds at what they saw. This was not a friendly battle between old friends.
Starfire tried not to think about what the soldiers might perceive from the challenge when the whole truth was made known to them. Would the stakes mean as much to them as it did to Galfore? Would they understand why Starfire chose to remain on Earth? They had understood her reasons before, but now, when the power of Tamaran did, in fact, rest in her, would they offer her their understanding a second time?
She turned her gaze at Karras, who was grinning. She frowned. "I will not submit."
He chuckled. "Now I believe you."
"You thought I was joking when I told you I would not go back with you to Tamaran?"
He smiled. "I hardly ever take you seriously, princess. Can you blame me?"
"That, prince, is a stupid question."
Karras laughed. Starfire could not fathom what made him think he could waste energy laughing like so.
It was, however, that very laugh which lifted the tension from the audience. Starfire could have sworn she heard a collective breath of relief and conversation in the crowd began to gain vigor once more.
Karras straightened his posture then went into stance. "Let us settle this, then, before your Robin jumps into the fight to finish me off for you."
Starfire arched an eyebrow, righting herself and hefting her sword. "You acknowledge he is better than you, then?"
"He tamed the shrew, didn't he?"
She snarled at the indirect jibe but let it go without comment. She lifted her weapon above her head, sword-point in Karras' direction and charged a bolt in her other hand. "Prepare yourself, prince."
He grinned. "I am prepared. Are you?"
With both of them at the ready, Starfire let loose a starbolt, enveloping the clearing in a bright blast of green.
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The starbolt exploded at Karras' feet, sending mounds of soil, twigs and leaves spraying around him. Starfire lunged through the flying debris for her attack, closing her eyes to protect it from the dust. Her sightless training kicked in and found that Karras was clumsy without the benefit of his eyes. He flailed out randomly and Starfire struck his blade aside so she could make a proper thrust for his submission, but he was much quicker than she thought. He knew instantly that he was at a disadvantage and he removed himself from beneath the blanket of dust.
Her eyes still shut, she felt him flip above her head into the open air, and calculating his trajectory, she knew she only had one chance, or else he'd have his blade to her throat.
She opened her eyes and unleashed her bolts.
The bolts shot straight towards him and he would have felt the full force of it if he hadn't lifted his sword. Bracing himself, Karras caught the bolt with his blade. The force pushed him back several feet, his feet digging into the soil.
Starfire growled in slight frustration as the air around her cleared. Damn that sword of his with its strange properties!
Karras sprung towards her for an attack, swinging his sword in a downward arc. She caught it overhead, the strength of the hit sending her on one knee while she absorbed the painful ripples of it through her arm. She shoved Karras and his sword to her side as she scampered to regain her footing.
She wasted no time in preparing herself. One thing she noticed about Karras was that his follow ups were not punctuated by unnecessary breaks. He would fall on his side and then get back up without batting an eyelash. This time was no different.
He turned, kicked off and twirled his sword for rapid fire strikes.
It took all of Starfire's focus to meet each hit. She ignored the vibrations his sword wrought upon hers. Never mind that her muscles buzzed into numbness; so long as she met his steel, he could not force her to submit.
His movements were fluid, and he moved with self-assured grace. He would spin his sword in his grasp, made it hum, and swung it for a strike. Starfire found it all quite frustrating. He was showing off, yet she could not find an opportunity to attack.
When Karras slapped her sword away and rotated his hips for a spin, she should have seen it coming, but even then he was too swift. He twisted, throwing his upper body into a flat spin as both his legs lifted for a double round house kick.
She caught one foot on left her jaw and the second on the back of her shoulder.
Starfire could have sworn she felt her skull rattle and her shoulder dislocate.
She fell to the ground. She tasted the coppery salt of blood on her tongue while her vision spotted and her left arm went numb from shoulder to wrist. In the back of her mind, she knew that if she made no move to counter his follow-up, or at least block it, she would be defeated that very second.
Forcing herself to make her attack matter in spite of her blurry vision, she saw the haze that was Karras looming over her.
Using what strength she had on her uninjured arm, she planted it firmly on the ground, flung her hips and swung her legs upward for a roundhouse kick of her own. She connected and heard Karras grunt and stumble back.
She did not land with much grace. It was difficult enough to manage the kick in her condition. Her legs flopped to the side, her knees knocking together rather painfully, but she did not care.
Starfire scrambled to get back on her feet as her vision began to clear. She could make out Karras wiping some blood off his nose. Disregarding the gravity of it with an annoyed expression, he spat to the side, some blood oozing from the side of his mouth.
Feeling was beginning to return to her left arm, but she could barely get the hand attached to it to form a hard fist. She could move it, but it had no strength. She readied herself as best she could for the inevitable onslaught.
Karras' deadly dance began again, but this time, he strained her remaining arm with quick transitions. He followed no pattern or flow. He changed hands with expert ease and she blocked desperately, each parry less fluid than the last. Were it not for her steadfast will to prevail, she might have fallen to his skill long before.
He grinned, seeing the monumental effort she was making. It served to anger her and push her even further, though her muscles screamed for a heartbeat of relief.
Karras shifted to get her at the back but she intercepted his steel with her own. She was safe from submission, but he was unable to resist making a strike, however unnecessary it was: She felt the flat of his blade swat her rear and she yelped, stumbling forward and away from him. It felt like a massive wooden paddle flung hard against her flank. Yet she felt more humiliated than anything. Try as she might, she could not resist rubbing her offended bottom. It stung, though the pain was nothing to the other injuries she'd endured. Likely, she would feel the effects of it more distinctly, come the next morning.
There was a loud shout from the spectators; a mingling of laughter and outrage; hisses and boos punctuated by delighted giggles.
She glared at Karras. "Ha-ha! Very funny!" she hissed as she went into stance.
Karras chuckled. "It was, wasn't it?"
He attacked again, and Starfire had to wonder if she could take anymore punishment, but to her great astonishment, a glimmer of hope appeared.
She found an opening and almost as if her life depended on it, she swung. He jumped to avoid it, but she was determined to take full advantage of the opportunity she had been given. She let loose a strong bolt to catch him in the air.
The bolt caught him in the gut and he grunted as he tumbled back and over on the ground. He slid back, a rolled up heap of man doubling over in pain.
That loud shouts of approval that rose from the spectators floated past her awareness. She was completely focused on her attack.
She leaped to subdue him, grabbing this one chance to tilt the scales in her favor, but he emerged from his stupor unexpectedly, raising his sword. She yelped, striking downward to slap his sword out of the way of her descent. She succeeded in removing the blades, but it was enough for Karras to get back on his feet and swing his sword towards her neck.
She raised her short sword to block it, gasping when the clash of metal against metal rang in her ear. She jumped back to regain her composure.
He had come so close to subduing her and she could tell it affected her by the quick tempo of her heartbeat.
"Almost had you there, princess. Almost…" he whispered in heady anticipation.
But not quite, she told herself. She could not let Karras have the mental edge. If she was going to defeat him; she had to believe she could do it, mind and body. She had a chance to win, still. He had overpowered her in all aspects of the fight, earlier, but in the last ten seconds, she had managed to come back. Her confidence returned.
Starfire charged her eyes for the onslaught and she let loose her bolts in consecutive fire. He rushed forward as she did, seeing him blocking and dodging her firepower. Starfire swung for his jaw, blunt blade-spine towards him in case he was unable to block; so quick was her approach. She would catch him if he did not act fast.
His sword blocked her bolt. It would not be there to catch her steel, but something rammed into her gut, pushing her away and disrupting the flow of her strike as she doubled over from the blow. She fell on one knee.
It was his sheathe. She had forgotten about it, and unless she made a quick counter, he would have his sword poised at her nape.
Ignoring the silver spots blossoming in her vision, she switched the trajectory of her swing.
Upward! Swing up and then thrust!
She could see it happening. She would have him in submission if she could only move fast enough. It would be the perfect finish if she could only move fast enough.
Quick!
But knew she wasn't.
She met his sword and deflected it, but her sword would not be swift enough to switch directions and force his submission.
Almost as if she could see his movements in slow motion, she watched him and knew he would have his blade pressed to her neck. It would be over and she would be defeated.
But he blinked. Perhaps that was his mistake, or maybe it was just dumb luck. It was the precious second she needed to complete her counter strike.
She charged her hand and let loose the bolt. It struck his wrist.
His sword flew out of his grip, flipping into the air as she thrust her sword forward, the point of it stopping just beneath his throat.
Karras froze. Starfire froze.
It was a moment of breathless awe.
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Starfire blinked as she stared up at Karras, the tip of her sword poised to thrust into his windpipe. As stubborn as she was, thinking herself better than Karras in more ways than Karras cared to admit, she had, in the last few minutes of her life, realized that she had practically conceded the fight to Karras. Even now, her sword to his throat, she couldn't quite believe she had succeeded.
He had me, she thought, dazed. He had me, and it was through sheer luck that I won this battle.
There was a loud shout of victory from the crowd and Luren came rushing into the field towards them.
"Princess," said Luren, his face flushed and smiling. "If you would be so kind as to remove your sword from our dear prince's tender throat…"
She did, still gaping.
Luren offered her his hand. She took it and together they hoisted her to her feet.
He raised her arm into the air. "Winner!"
The entire crowd cheered in triumph. Beast Boy and Cyborg cheered with them. Robin just looked relieved. She could not quite make out what Galfore felt about it, though his smile was serene.
The camp rushed them, several members of the unit coming up to pat her in the back and tell her that it had been a most thrilling exhibition. They praised and lauded her, though she was still trying to convince herself that she had gotten past Karras' skill.
"Yo, that was ill, girl!" Cyborg's smiling face overpowered everyone else's.
"Beyond ill!" cried Beast Boy, jumping around excitedly. "That was terminal!"
Starfire yelped as Cyborg picked her up by her waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. She found herself elevated, seeing everyone from her vantage point. She sought Robin and found him looking somewhere else.
Amidst the confusion, Robin set his gaze steadily on Karras. The prince stared back with his usual cocky arrogance, saluting Robin as if he hadn't lost at all. It was only then that Robin turned away from him to catch her gaze.
She smiled and shrugged. He returned her smile with a cocked grin, pushing through the crowd to get to her. When he was standing beside Cyborg, she leaned over to hear what Robin had to say.
"Are you alright?" he yelled above the din.
She rolled her eyes. She should have known it would be the first thing he would say. She nodded. "I am! Though I feel somewhat sore…"
"I bet."
She wished Cyborg would take her away so she could nurse her injuries. She wanted nothing more than to howl and complain like a child when Robin tended her hurts.
She was about to ask just that when Karras was suddenly there, offering his arm up to her. He was going to shake her hand like a properly defeated challenger. She knew he was capable of honor, but she had expected he would take at least another few hours to get over it. He had, after all, stressed the importance of the battle's outcome when he proposed the fight.
Starfire blinked, wondering if he expected her to say something catty. But then she caught Galfore's gaze, and she saw that he was waiting for her response. She would not shame her k'norfka even at the possibility of the prince's ridicule.
She took Karras' arm.
"You fought well, princess," he said, his grip firming as he spoke. His eyes, usually lit up with condescension, were indecipherable now. She could not read what was behind it; whether he meant to be a sport or whether he had malicious undertones to it. Still, the gesture was all that honor required.
"So did you, prince," she replied. She returned the firmness of his grip before they detached and was separated by the milling throng.
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Raven's touch was always gentle, but none more so when she was healing. The peaceful, scenic view of the Jump City horizon from her seat on the couch helped calm her nerves.
Starfire felt the soothing ripples of healing magic course through the muscles of her back and the marrow of her bones. She felt the cold pain being replaced by comfortable warmth and realized that breathing felt normal again.
It felt even better; the touch of Raven's palms against her skin. She could pretend Raven was being affectionate. She smiled contentedly.
"And you all just stood there, watching it all happen," said Raven without pitch or inflection. She wasn't done with the healing, but the pulse of her powers was steady and all she needed to do was hold it that way for several minutes.
She was addressing Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg. She did not sound pleased. Though she hardly ever did, she sounded a tad more displeased than usual.
Robin looked terribly annoyed by this comment. "There was nothing we could do. Galfore said that if we interfered, Starfire's acceptance of the challenge would be forfeited and it would count as a win for Karras. We didn't want to lose her that way."
Starfire noted how Robin had said, "We didn't want to lose her," as opposed to "We didn't want her to lose." It made sense, the context of his words. The desire to keep her on Earth seemed to be foremost in Robin's mind. If it had been an ordinary pride-fight, Robin would not have let her suffer so much injury. He would have jumped into the fray himself and finished Karras off.
Raven arched an eyebrow. "And Karras? Did he at least suffer as much?"
Starfire hesitated in her reply. She probably hadn't hurt Karras as much, though she was certain she had burned him on several places. That was enough to make him uncomfortable for days.
Beast Boy grinned. "Starfire fried his ass! It was a pretty awesome fight."
"Got me a little worried for a while, though," said Cyborg. "Karras is one bad ass fighter, yo! He had flo'!"
"He wasn't that good," Robin muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Starfire wondered if Robin really believed that.
Cyborg chuckled. "Oh, well, Starfire proved she was better, 'ey shorty?"
She realized she was "shorty" and she smiled, shrugging modestly. She felt she didn't have much to brag about, anyway.
Starfire hadn't had the chance to exchange any more words with Karras after they shook hands.
Concerned for her and Karras, Galfore announced that the participants were to take leave of everyone so that they could be treated for their injuries.
The crowd met this announcement with disapproving cries, but they did so in a good-natured manner. They were easy enough to assuage with promises of further interaction as soon as Starfire was better disposed.
When the last of the well-wishers dispersed, Galfore told her to seek relief from Raven.
"Karras will want no one but Taryia to see to him," he said. "So he will be fine here at our sick-bay. But you, my little bumgorf ought to seek treatment from the Lady Raven. I trust her powers could heal you better than we could."
Starfire, however violent her relationship with Karras was, could not help but extend some form of kindness to him. "If Karras feels he needs more treatment… I am sure Raven would be kind enough to offer him relief."
Galfore chuckled. "With the pride that boy has? He would never admit to needing more help. As it is, Taryia would have a difficult time trying to administer to him. Anyway, I will tell him."
That was enough for Starfire. She expressed a hope to see Galfore again soon and her k'norfka promised to go to the tower as soon as he finished his business at camp.
Now Starfire sat within the circle of her dearest friends. She could not help but realize that all the aches and pains she suffered now were well worth being with the Titans. How she loved them too dearly to depart from them. Her will to be by their side helped her succeed. Her will prevailed where her strength had begun to fail her.
She flinched a bit when Raven placed fingers on her cheek. She had almost forgotten that half of her face was slightly swollen.
"He didn't knock out any teeth, did he?" Raven asked.
Starfire smiled at that. "He did not."
"You have to credit the guy for treating you like an equal. You'd think a macho soldier-dude like him would be hung up on gender stereotypes."
Starfire rolled her eyes. "He is a macho soldier-'dude' hung up on stereotypes. He chose this one time to treat me like an equal and yet he still managed to—to humiliate me like a girl!"
"Oh? Like how?" Raven sat back, having done all she could for Starfire's injuries.
Starfire pursed her lips. She refused to repeat it.
Beast Boy laughed and met eyes with Cyborg who laughed just as loudly.
Starfire scowled. "I would rather not go into details. It is embarrassing! Beast Boy, Cyborg, it is not funny! Robin, tell them it is not funny!"
Robin sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's not funny."
The statement only induced more hilarity.
Robin dealt them a fiercer glare and it managed to quiet them down a bit.
Raven arched an eyebrow. "Now it sounds like something I'd like to know."
Cyborg grinned. "Oh, you'll like this one."
Before Cyborg could say anymore, Starfire blurted out that her eye-bolts were operational. The distraction worked.
Raven seemed surprised, but only mildly, as was her wont. "Oh? That's interesting. No side-effects?"
"None that I know of. I suppose I would have to see my doctor for it, but right now, my eyes feel fine."
"I'm surprised you risked using them at all."
"My instinct to survive had more to do with it than my courage to try. It was my only hope of deflecting Karras' strike."
A smile threatened to break out of Raven's lips, though she was able to hold it back. "Well, well. Karras lives up to his reputation: The one person who brings out the worse in you."
Starfire cocked a wry grin. "Yes, everyone but me likes him. I know."
"I don't like him," said Robin.
"Indeed, but you could respect him."
Robin shrugged noncommittally. "We found out a few interesting things from engineering, by the way."
It was just like Robin to move on to the more important things, but Starfire couldn't help but wonder if there was more to his change of subject than he let on.
This got Cyborg and Beast Boy better occupied. They began to rave about the awesome technology; Cyborg excited about the engines and Beast Boy enthusiastic about the transporters.
"It was so Star Trek! If the technician had only been named Scottie…" said Beast Boy.
"That power core was the bomb," said Cyborg. "It could generate enough energy to accelerate the engines to light speed! I thought my batteries were all that until Wyfern explained to me the details of the ship's gestalt. I asked her help to replicate the technology for the T-Ship and Wyfern was really nice about it. She might come over with Galfore later; check the specs of the T-Ship so that we could re-configure—"
Robin cleared his throat.
Cyborg reddened. "Sorry. Got carried away. Anyway… we should get Aqualad on the line. He might be able to fill some gaps in our findings."
Robin nodded. "Raven?"
"I'm on it." She rose from the couch to go to the control panel, contacting Aqualad. A few minutes later, Aqualad's face was up on screen.
"I was just about to call you guys," he said. He took one look at Starfire and he arched an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"
Starfire blushed fiercely. She realized she looked like she had been thrown into a gauntlet but she didn't realize she looked bad enough to get noticed. "You do not want to know."
Aqualad took her word for it. "Ookay. Then what's up? Any interesting developments?"
"You tell us," said Robin. "About Puerto Rico and Miami…"
Aqualad grinned. "Yes?"
"I understand the ocean has currents and… undercurrents…"
"Interesting way of putting it, Robin."
"I try."
Starfire's eyebrow arched and she exchanged questioning glances with Raven. Whatever Robin and Aqualad were talking about, she wasn't the only one confused about it; though she was curious to note that Beast Boy and Cyborg were not meeting gazes with her. Perhaps they knew what was going on.
Aqualad chuckled. "What do you want to know?"
Robin cocked a smile. "I was wondering if there's any way you could… record the patterns of these undercurrents. Within the parameters of the said shoreline, you understand."
"There's a third point of reference…"
"I know."
Aqualad gave it a quick thought. "Sure, I've got some equipment for that."
"Great. If you could, consider the following factors: How the water figures into it any atmospheric interference; how the gravitational fields may vary; that sort of thing, and if you could have these readings on paper—"
"Done. I'll have it for you A.S.A.P."
"Perfect. Now… Cy? BB? You take the floor."
Starfire shot Robin a pointed look but he merely smiled. She hoped that meant he would explain everything later.
Cyborg grinned and draped an arm over Beast Boy. "Today's lesson is about stealth, cloaking and beaming. Beast Boy, tell 'em what we talked about."
Beast Boy cleared his throat. "When it comes to stealth, the object of the game is to remain unseen."
Raven cocked an eyebrow. "Geez, you--?"
Starfire nudged her to keep quiet. Grudgingly, Raven did.
If Beast Boy heard her, he made no indication of it. "In the army, soldiers are dressed in the colors predominant in the environment on which the battle takes place. So if the battle ground is a jungle, soldiers are made to wear varying shades of green. To improve on their camouflage, some soldiers even wear the surrounding shrubbery. In a desert environment, soldiers are made to wear varying shades of sand. And so on and so forth. However, hiding is only one aspect of stealth. To be of any use, a camouflaged soldier must be able to act and proceed with the mission unseen. Next aspect: One must know what affects that environment, because it will ultimately affect the disguise and the one wearing it. It's akin to throwing a pebble in a pond and the ripple of waves it causes on the surface…"
Before Starfire could stop her, Raven spoke. "Thank you, Kung Fu Master, but if you'll allow this grasshopper to speak… what the heck is your point?"
Beast Boy pouted and Starfire, ever a patron of Beast Boy, shot Raven a disapproving look.
Robin, on the other hand, was more often a Raven patron than a Beast Boy one. "Moving along, people."
"Like I was saying," said Beast Boy haughtily. "Even if a pebble were disguised to look like water, if it's tossed into the pond, you know that the pebble's there anyway because it disturbed the surface when it broke through the water. Am I going too fast for you, Sea Kid?"
Aqualad arched an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Great! So how does the pebble break the surface of the water undetected? It considers the other variants of the pond, like flies walking on its surface, or the fish swimming beneath it, or the leaves drifting along whatever tiny current the pond makes."
"That's a smart pebble," said Raven.
Robin shot her a tired glare. If there was anyone who wanted to hurry it along, it was Robin; Raven let him do the talking. "So what BB is saying is that this pebble, if it wants to break the surface undetected, has to create ripples identical to what the fly, the fish or the leaf makes. Did I get that right?"
Beast Boy smiled and nudged Cyborg. "He gets me! He really gets me!"
Cyborg chuckles. "He gets all of us, BB, that's why he's the leader. I think I'll take over from here, squirt."
"Please do," said Aqualad.
Beast Boy spared him a haughty glance. "Try not to sound so jealous, Water Boy."
"Whatever."
Starfire stifled a giggle. She didn't want to strain Robin's temper any more than it probably already was. Her Boy Wonder may not look ruffled to the others, but she could already detect signs of his impatience through the barely discernible twitch of his jaw.
"Cyborg?" prompted Robin in a calm tone.
Cyborg grinned. "We already decided that it's easier to cloak a space ship in space than within the Earth's atmosphere. A really good cloaking system, like the ones the Tamaranians have in their ship, could keep a craft hidden from detection, in space, for a few hours, give or take two or three variable risks. It's only logical that the smaller the ship is, the easier it is to cloak. So, given those facts, let's say there is, indeed, a ship in space that is big enough to accommodate a one-man space pod and maybe half a dozen crew members. And that this ship has an unbelievably awesome cloaking system that could render it undetectable, whether it stays still or moves around. The only problem we have now is the space pod. We know that the space pod, or this craft, enters the Earth. We know it runs underwater. We even know its path… we just don't know where it goes after that, right?"
At this, all eyes turned to Aqualad.
Aqualad grinned. "Well… I have an idea where it goes. So does Robin, but… I'd rather not say until I have hard facts."
Cyborg chuckled. "Oh, I think Beast Boy and I know where you're going with this."
Starfire was surprised; so was Raven. For Raven, it was probably because Beast Boy apparently knew more than she did.
Cyborg continued. "I looked over the Tamaranian transport—also known as 'beaming'—systems and I found out that a ship its size is capable of making transports between two remote points. This means the ship could transport me from here, the tower, to one of the escort ships."
Starfire nodded. That sounded about right. Though she knew a bit about it, engineering was not one of her strengths. She could not have told Cyborg all this information simply because she didn't know what was important and what wasn't. Besides, she was sure Cyborg now knew more about it than she ever did, technical aspects and all.
"Could the ship transport you—say—from here to the Jump City Mall?" asked Raven.
"Good question, Raven. No, the ship couldn't do that, simply because the ship requires at least one remote point to be networked into the main ship's transport systems."
"How remote could remote be from the main ship?"
"According to Wyfern, the main ship couldn't be that far away, but it could be far away enough from satellite radar."
"Far enough away to avoid detection from the Watchtower," Robin supplemented.
Raven nodded. "Makes sense. That takes care of the main ship and one remote point. But what about the second remote point; the craft networked into the main ship's transport systems?"
"This is where it gets hot and where Beast Boy's lecture might come in. Transports executed in space barely leave a trace. The only way for a ship to know that another ship did an inter-space transport is if the observing ship targets its sensors to the transporting ship. So if—say—Blackfire's ship secretly makes a transport between two of her smaller crafts while both ships are in space, Galfore's ship won't be able to detect it, simply because they didn't know they had to aim their sensors at Blackfire's ship. On the other hand, a transport from Earth to space does leave a significant enough trace to be detected by any sensor on Earth. Seismographs, barometers, thermometers, weather balloons, weather satellites… transport beams could affect readings in these instruments significantly enough for scientists to notice, and that's only with the ordinary equipment. You have to remember that we have our equipment configured to pick out readings like that; the Watchtower probably has equipment like ours… on steroids even."
Starfire wasn't certain about the 'steroids' comment, but she was sure it didn't mean the Watchtower's equipment was on drugs… or was it? Anyway, that was beside the point. She had more important things to share. "So combining your observations with Beast Boy's discussion… the transports done within the Earth's atmosphere were somehow masked so they would go undetected. They made it so that the readings their transport would emit would look like regular, non-extraordinary occurrences on the Earth's atmosphere."
Cyborg looked very pleased that she and Raven showed comprehension. "Yes! Exactly!"
Starfire frowned. "But that is impossible. I do not know much about the technical aspects of transporting, but the amount of energy used to transport, especially between two remote points, is enough to cause a rather loud 'racket' on any enclosed environment, and Earth's environment is quite enclosed." Of course, by 'racket', Starfire did not mean actual sound. Transporters were silent enough, but they emitted enormous amounts of energy that sensitive equipment within a closed environment like Earth could catch and record. Equipment would have registered noticeable readings.
Cyborg grinned. "Beast Boy?"
Raven's eye twitched, but she said nothing.
Beast Boy cleared his throat again. "Some believe that on the surface of the Earth, there are blind spots, where gravity and terrestrial magnetism are weaker for some unknown reason. Scientific observation attests that most oceanic disappearances occur approximately within the same area as seismic disturbances are most prone to happen. In other words, there are, in reality, places on this Earth that scientists are yet incapable of making proper observation because the usual rules of physics hardly apply."
Starfire's eyebrow arched. "Are you meaning to tell me that there are parts in this world that simply disappear from radars and all the world's instruments of detection?"
Cyborg shook his head. "Oh, the radars and instruments detect them alright, it's just that the readings they put out are so consistently inconsistent and unexplainable that as long as there are no reported disappearances of ships and airplanes, they write the readings off as terrestrial burps."
"Terrestrial burps?"
"Quirks on the Earth's surface; pulses that interfere with normal data readings from within the perimeter of the 'blind spot' and sometimes, even along the areas surrounding it."
Aqualad gave a triumphant laugh. "And no spot on Earth seems to be blinder than—"
"The Bermuda Triangle," said everyone in unison; everyone, except Starfire.
She pouted. "How come I do not know this?"
Robin patted her shoulder. "The Bermuda Triangle is more of a legend than scientific fact. You have to have spent most of your life on Earth to have at least some general knowledge of it."
Aqualad grinned. "Well, now I feel useless. That was the information I was confirming. Now I have nothing to report."
Robin shook his head. "Don't feel useless. Raven told us that you were snooping around Puerto Rico and Miami before we boarded the Tamaranian ship to make our observations. It was that little tidbit that got me thinking in the right direction. I suspected that you had a third point of reference, and it was probably Bermuda, just that you didn't want to tell Raven, because telling her you were checking out the Bermuda Triangle was embarrassing."
Aqualad shrugged. "You got that right. I mean, I'm not buying into the idea that the Bermuda Triangle is some kind of extra-dimensional portal, but it's entirely possible that there are certain areas in it where the terrestrial magnetic fields are highly irregular."
"I'm willing to give that possibility a look-see, too, which is why I told Cyborg and Beast Boy about it. You have to understand that we've exhausted all scientific avenues. I figured it was about time we went in another direction."
Raven shook her head in disbelief. "The paranormal direction?"
"No, the Beast Boy direction. Besides, there are enough documented observations about the area that suggests strange, varying levels of magnetism. Maybe it's not as paranormal as we thought."
Starfire remembered Robin engaging Beast Boy in serious conversation on several occasions since they came back from Gotham. She chuckled. "I am most impressed by your intuition, Robin."
Raven arched an eyebrow. "Everything about Robin impresses you."
Starfire nudged her. "Oh, hush. What I meant to say was Robin hardly takes Beast Boy seriously but when he did, it counted."
Beast Boy rolled his eyes, quirking a grin. "The one time I knew more than others and still the Boy Wonder gets all the credit."
She gave Beast Boy an affection pinch on the cheek. "You know what I mean."
Robin smirked. "Couldn't have done it without everyone else. Anyway, Aqualad, I'll still be waiting for that data I asked from you. Probable or not, I'm not about to let the Bermuda Traingle convince me of its weird powers without proof. I want to be sure we're following a real lead and not some crazy old legend. If your data checks out with ours, we'll be ready to form a plan."
"Gotcha," said Aqualad. "I'll report back as quickly as I could."
"Counting on it."
"Aqualad out."
Aqualad's face disappeared from the monitor.
Starfire smiled. "That was an enlightening discussion."
"The only problem I see now," said Raven, "is how are we going to find a craft in space that we couldn't detect?"
"That—I think—is manageable," said Starfire, to everyone's surprise.
She saw Robin exchanging astonished looks with the others.
"We haven't thought that far into the plan," said Robin.
Starfire shrugged. "Were you not listening to Beast Boy's lecture? It goes well with the Tamaranian practice of Smoke and Mirrors."
A glimmer of realization flickered in Robin's eyes. "Magicians hide and do things in plain sight, making you think that you saw something disappear right before your eyes. Camouflage…"
She nodded. "I am willing to wager that it is not that they are completely invisible, but that they are using something; an illusion if you would like to call it, to render their spaceship unnoticeable."
"But not unseen," said Robin. "Starfire, you're a genius. Cyborg, coordinate with the Watchtower. See if you could find anything in space that may be used as a kind of camouflage: Unusual meteor activity, floating debris, nebular clouds… anything that might give us an approximate location where we could target our sensors."
"I'm on it."
"In the meantime, I have a question I'd like the rest of you to answer."
Starfire looked at Robin quizzically. Raven and Beast Boy did likewise.
Robin continued. "Why do you think Maxwell Victoria's still sitting pretty in his Jump City detention cell?"
Raven cocked a smile. "Because he's too far off the coast of Bludhaven. They couldn't risk exposing themselves staying too long on Earth going from coast to coast. At least, not immediately."
"Right. Jump City is West Coast. Gotham and Bludhaven East Coast. If they attempt to snatch Victoria here, they'd make themselves vulnerable for way too long. If we want to compel them to make a move, we're going to have to set up our bait where they could reach him."
"We will send Victoria back to Bludhaven?" asked Starfire.
Robin chuckled. "Not exactly. We'll wait for the data Aqualad and Cyborg have for us before we come up with any concrete plans. With Victoria here, I think we've bought ourselves a lot of time."
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His sword blocked her bolt. It would not be there to catch her steel, but something rammed into her gut, pushing her away and disrupting the flow of her strike as she doubled over from the blow. She fell on one knee.
It was his sheathe. She had forgotten about it, and unless she made a quick counter, he would have his sword poised at her nape.
Ignoring the silver spots blossoming in her vision, she switched the trajectory of her swing.
Upward! Swing up and then thrust!
She could see it happening. She would have him in submission if she could only move fast enough. It would be the perfect finish if she could only move fast enough.
Quick!
But knew she wasn't.
She met his sword and deflected it, but her sword would not be swift enough to switch directions and force his submission.
Almost as if she could see his movements in slow motion, she watched him and knew he would have his blade pressed to her neck. It would be over and she would be defeated.
But he blinked. Perhaps that was his mistake, or maybe it was just dumb luck. It was the precious second she needed to complete her counter strike…
Starfire jerked awake and pushed her face off her work panel. Her muscles shrieked in response and she hissed in pain.
"Star?" It was Beast Boy, sharing the shift with her from his own work station.
She blinked back sleep and pain. "G-Goodness, I fell asleep… I…" She felt disoriented, her thoughts in a jumble.
The room was dim and silent except for the blinking controls and Beast Boy's reassuring presence. They were the only two people in the information center.
"You should've listened to Robin and Galfore," said Beast Boy. "You need to relax if you want to recover."
"B-But my shift…"
Beast Boy chuckled. "I've been covering for you in the last half-hour. It's no big deal. Things are always quiet at this time."
"I am sorry…"
"Shees, Star. No need to apologize. Get some rest. Even if you won that fight with Karras, it doesn't mean he didn't beat you to a pulp."
His mention of Karras made Starfire recall her dream. Her thoughts drifted to the memory of the pensive look on Robin's face whenever Karras was mentioned.
Blinked… she thought. Dumb luck… precious second she needed…
The haze of sleep cleared from her senses, astonishing herself with a realization so great; so improbable, yet probable…
"Karras," she said. "I must speak to Karras."
Beast Boy looked at her like she had gone crazy. "You shouldn't be fighting again so soon."
Starfire shot him a mild frown. "I am not looking to fight. Just to talk. What time is it?"
"Early. Eleven thirty. I know Cy's still awake down at the garage with Wyfern. Galfore said he'd be in his room if you need him. Raven's meditating, I think, and Robin sort of took off… I don't know where, but you could contact him on his T-Comm."
This distracted Starfire momentarily. "Took off? Like—"
"Yeah, he's in one of those moods. Like he wants to be alone."
Not good, thought Starfire grimly. However, her Boy Wonder would have to wait. She had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.
"Beast Boy, are you sure you could handle this shift alone?"
"Positive. You need sleep, so go get it."
"Thank you, Beast Boy. You are always 'the pal', but I am afraid I will not be using this time for sleeping. There are important matters that need clearing up. Should anyone look for me, I will have my T-Comm, so do feel free to contact me. But if Robin calls… " which I doubt "… please tell him I will be looking for him soon."
Beast Boy sighed. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what this is about?"
"Not at present, no," she said with an apologetic smile. "But rest assured it is not something you… should be worried about. There is no danger, just—as you would say—stuff."
"And of course, 'stuff' is always important."
"Always."
"Fine. I got your back, Star. Call me if you need anything."
Starfire smiled, giving Beast Boy a quick hug. "Thank you, again."
He blushed. "Yeah, yeah."
Starfire took off, making her way out of the tower.
888888888888888888
She could make out a fire at the center of the Tamaranian camp site. The smoke rising in the air wasn't alarmingly thick and she could detect a bit of fragrance, like food cooking over a spit.
The camp was like a shimmer of light amidst the darkness of the forest, an enticing sight to a weary traveler, or one who craved life, like she did.
Though the Tamaranian ship overhead loomed with small, blinking lights, its presence was ominous; not the least bit comforting. She needed the campfire's liveliness; the way the shadows danced around it.
In spite of the loud laughter and cheerful sounds, Starfire saw that there weren't that many people out. There were about a dozen unit members left around the campfire. The others, Starfire assumed, had retired for the night.
What was important was that Karras was still awake, sitting in the circle beside Taryia and Luren, his face as animated as the rest of them. They seemed to be drinking, and Starfire wondered if this was a good time to be discussing serious matters with Karras.
She swooped down into the shadow of trees as quietly as she could, hoping not to disrupt their revelry too much. With her feet on the ground, she walked through the growth noisily, so that she wouldn't startle them into attacking her.
When she emerged in the clearing, all eyes were turned to her, but the tension in everyone's shoulders eased when they realized who it was.
They hailed their welcome of her somewhat drunkenly but Luren took a more active approach. It was nice to hear the old language being spoken by so many.
"Princess!" he said, rising from his seat and hurrying towards her. "So nice of you to grace us with your presence again, so soon! You're looking better than I expected."
She laughed. "I suppose you could say that."
"Much better than Karras, at least."
Karras sneered as shouts of laughter erupted all around.
"Come, your highness," said Taryia. "There is always a place for you around this fire. Sit by me and I will protect you from these hooligans."
Taryia was booed good-naturedly.
Starfire, not wishing to be impolite, nodded and sat herself down. She gave Karras a glance and saw that while he didn't look worse, he didn't look any better than she did. The sight of him kept her priorities in focus. "I will be glad to join you for one drink, friends, but I must attend to the purpose of my visit after that."
Mention of official business earned her a booing. She laughed as a cup of wine was shoved into her hand.
She gave them a good hour, trading laughter and cheer. Karras barely addressed her, but they were both gracious enough to raise their cups together and unhesitatingly whenever the discussion required it.
When Starfire had finished her cup, she met eyes with Karras and she gestured towards a more private part of the clearing.
He seemed to have understood and he made excuses for the both of them. "Her Highness has something important to discuss with me."
There were complaints, as was only polite of everyone, but they let Karras and Starfire go easily enough. They were soldiers, after all, and they knew when they had to let their superiors talk.
When Starfire and Karras were far enough away from the fire, Luren shouted out a last crack. "No funny business with the princess, Karras! Or you'll get it from me!"
The campfire group laughed and finally left them alone.
"How are you feeling, Koriand'r?" asked Karras with a sneer.
She glared. "Fine, no thanks to you."
He chuckled.
The good mood the others put her in disappeared in a snap. "Do not be laughing at me, Karras. Why did you do it?"
His smile remained. "Do what, princess? Hit you? I was merely defending myself."
"Do not play games with me. You know what I mean. You lost!"
"Well, you were obviously the better fighter."
"I am not stupid. Why did you lose that fight deliberately?"
"Deliberately, eh? That is a new concept to me. Losing a fight to you deliberately."
"Even Robin saw it. I have not talked about it with him, but I could tell he knows. This once, Karras, have a civil conversation with me. Why, Karras? Why lose to me on purpose?"
He took his time in answering, but it seemed that for once, it had little to do with irritating her and more to do with choosing his words well. "Because I know you to be stubborn, Koriand'r, and there is no forcing you to do what you do not want to do. And you know me… I never take women by force."
She reddened at the implications of his words. "Are you—are you trying to seduce me, Karras? Do you even know what Robin will do to you if—"
He seemed irritated. "Ugh! Settle down, brat. I have no intention of seducing you. The very thought of it upsets me."
"Hey!"
"It was an expression," he said, undistracted by her protests. "I only use force with my enemies, Koriand'r. You are not an enemy. You are an ally. I even dare to think that we might be more alike than either of us would like to admit."
Starfire said nothing; listening.
"I do not want to force you to go back to Tamaran. Though I admit, I only realized that when I felt the full-force of your starbolts on my chest." He smiled bitterly. "After that, the challenge ceased to be about getting you back to Tamaran."
"Then—"
"You know that I do not like to lose. I especially do not like losing to you. I hate it. Since our battle this afternoon, Luren and the others have done nothing but remind me how much better you were than I was. What was that choice jibe of theirs? Ah, 'Princess Whipped', they called me. I swear on my mother's virtue that it sounds worse to me than—what is that nickname you gave me? Oh yes… 'Gelroid Get'. So you see, if you hadn't come to the campfire this evening, I would have regretted it completely, losing to you, because it would have meant that it was all for naught."
Arrogant pride: It was a definitive trait of Karras. She had always known this; always thought it would eventually be his downfall. To give up his pride for her to realize… what? What was he trying to make her realize?
"Why, Karras? You had me. I would have lost that fight this afternoon. I saw it. I knew it. And you would have spared yourself the humiliation; and maybe I would have gone back to Tamaran, because those were the terms of the challenge."
He cocked a smile. "Humiliation… yes. I could have won that fight and in a million years, I would not have let you forget it. I would remind you of it to my dying day and I would enjoy every second of my gloating. And indeed, wouldn't it have been a notch on my belt? I could have been the man who got the absentee princess to return to Tamaran. I could have had all of that, and I would have enjoyed it, proud fool that I am."
"But you gave it up, losing to me."
"Indeed I did. I gave it up. I did not want to, but I did. To force you back to Tamaran would be wrong. Galfore already knew this. I needed to get 'princess whipped' to understand. Now it's your turn to understand, by example."
"Make me understand what, Karras?"
"That it is not always about what you want, princess. Sometimes, it's about what you have to do."
88888888888888
It wasn't all that difficult to find Robin. Flying gave her that advantage. She could sweep over the skyscrapers of Jump City and spot Robin on one of the rooftops, brooding by himself as he watch the city moving beneath him.
She could have contacted him on his T-Comm, of course, but now, she preferred to catch him unguarded.
Starfire found Robin sitting precariously on the corner stone gargoyle on one of his foster father's buildings. It was almost always the case with him, anyway. A hundred buildings in the metropolis and he would pick a Wayne Enterprises one. Perhaps the familiarity of it was what he sought: The dark stone; the fearsome creatures perched on the ledges. It was telling enough of where he got this habit of his.
Dark though it was, she detected the tension in his shoulders as she approached, and then he relaxed. Without turning to look at her, Starfire knew he was aware of her presence.
She daintily set herself down on the ledge, beside him. The gargoyle elevated him and she had to look up.
His gaze remained focused to the expanse of the city. He straddled the stone creature's back easily, elbows on his lap. His cape swished slightly behind him.
Her first words were an apology. "I am sorry for disturbing you like this. I know you wanted to be alone."
He tilted his gaze to her a bit before returning it to the buildings and streets. "I don't mind your company."
Silence fell over them.
She wasn't sure why she sought him. She just thought she wanted him near. She hadn't thought as far as what she should talk about with him.
"You feeling alright?" he asked.
It was better than nothing. "Of course, Robin. Karras may have been rough, but he did not hurt me any more than was necessary. Besides, Tamaranians heal from such injuries quicker than most."
For a while, he made no response. Moments later he blew a short breath, grinning slightly. "If I tell you something about that fight—"
"I know. Karras threw it. He lost to me deliberately."
Robin fell silent, confirming her suspicions that it was what he was going to say.
They shared an even longer moment of quiet.
After the silence stretched, she sidled up to him. "I spoke to him about—"
He swallowed, looking even farther away from her. "I don't want to hear about it."
She was surprised, and she couldn't help but feel a slight stab of hurt. She was used to him deferring from telling her how he felt, but she was not used to him telling her to "shut up". It was what he meant, after all, with what he just said.
A kinder way of putting it, maybe, but that was what it meant nonetheless.
He realized what his words did to her because he began to apologize. "Sorry. I'm just being weird."
It didn't mean anything, "being weird", at least not with Robin. Everything he did had a reason.
She began to feel that intruding on him had been a mistake. "It is my fault. You wanted to be alone and I barged in on your private time. I will go…" She began to rise from her seat, hurt and upset, when she felt his gentle grip on her arm, keeping her from flying away.
He sighed. "Don't go. Don't—" he sighed again, punctuating it with a weary grin. "Get over here," he said gently, guiding her to share the gargoyle seat with him.
She resisted only a little, won over immediately by his gently insistent tugs. She sat sideways so she could look at him. Already, the sting of his earlier rebuff was wearing away and she was willing to compromise. His arms were around her, as if to keep her from falling, and his hold was reassuring. "I will be quiet, then."
"I didn't mean to shut you out." With his mask on, it was difficult to read the look in his eyes. She would have to rely on what he had to say. "But whatever Karras told you… I just know I couldn't deal with it right now. Whatever it is."
She placed her hand upon his cheek. "How do you know? It could be nothing."
He shook his head. "Everything your people have said, from the moment they arrived, has been something I've had to deal with. Right now I just… I just want to sit here with you."
She didn't completely understand, but it was clear enough that talking about what she spoke of with Karras was out of the question. She could bear to stay quiet about it, especially being so comfortable in Robin's embrace, and he seldom asked anything from her. It was easy to give in, just this once.
She sealed the agreement with a kiss, keeping them occupied for the next few minutes.
They exchanged whispered intimacies before they settled in each other's embrace, looking out to the dark city.
She remembered that morning; how they had started the day.
Just like this, but not quite. It was brighter; now it is dark. It was lighter; now… it is not.
To one side of the view, farther out in the bay, Starfire could see the T-Tower. It made her smile. To the other side, towards the forest, loomed the ship that brought Tamaran to her.
The Titans were all that she wanted, that she knew. She was yet to decide if "Tamaran" was what she had to do.
To be continued…
Author's notes: Thank you, readers, for having the patience. Robin's perch on the ledge was an image inspired by the artist, Turin the Forsaken, from Deviant Art. Check out the picture in my comments, the link of which I will provide in my bios.
There's also a discussion there about the Bermuda Triangle. Hopefully, you find it enlightening.