Evil: The Other Side

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"It is done." –Slade

Part Three: Evil

Chapter Eight

Cyborg and Beast Boy were happily playing video games again, Raven was reading in her room, and Robin was in the training room, except he wasn't actually training. He was sitting on the weight-lifting bench, thinking about Slade and Starfire and what will happen next. And while he was thinking, unbeknownst to him, Starfire was watching him from the doorway.

"Is Starfire safe?" he pondered out loud. "If I know anything about Slade, he wouldn't give up and let her go. But as long as she's here with us, she should be safe, right?" Robin put his head in his hands and let out a frustrated noise. "What's Slade's next move?"

"Robin." At the sound of her sweet, melodic voice, Robin's head shot up, and he flushed as he realized Starfire had been standing there the whole time, listening to him.

"Ah, uh, Star, hey," he said, nervously. "I was just . . ." She flew over and sat next to him as he trailed off. The bench was narrow, and her bare thigh touched his, sending a chill through his body.

"Please, do not worry yourself over my safety. I can take care of myself, and I am sure you have more important things to focus on." Robin shook his head.

"No," he responded vehemently."Nothing's more important than you, Starfire." He immediately clammed up as he realized what he said. But Starfire smiled at him and took his hand. This action froze him; was he having a dream? God, he hoped not.

"You are so sweet to me," she said, clasping his hand firmly. "I do not deserve you." He stared at her. Say what?

"Starfire . . ." He was cut off by the alarm blaring. The red light lit up his worried features. Could it be? Was he back already? Starfire released his hand and stood up.

"We must go see what the trouble is!" she announced, and flew out the door, not waiting for him. Robin raised an eyebrow. She was acting strange.

When he reached the living room, the other Titans had already gathered there, and by their troubled expressions, his worst fear was confirmed: Slade.

"He's back at the mechanics warehouse," Cyborg informed him. "And I thought that place looked familiar, so this afternoon, I looked it up and discovered that it's the same place he broke into to build his robots back when Terra . . . yeah . . ." Cyborg cleared his throat, wishing he could take that back. Beast Boy looked sad for a moment, but he shook it off. He had to focus on what was going on now, which was Slade's apparent plans to build a more advance robot army. Great.

"As if he needs an army," Beast Boy said, miserably. Normally, he was the last person to admit that they could be defeated. But from what happened the last time they faced off with Slade, it didn't look like they stood a chance.

"Starfire stays here," Robin said, firmly. The other Titans were about to agree, but Starfire cut them off.

"No! I will not just stand by while my friends go into danger!"

"Star, you're the one in danger," Robin replied, the harsh tone in his voice suggesting that he wasn't going to back down. But neither was Starfire.

"If you go, then I go."

"Star . . ."

"Let her go," Cyborg interrupted. "She can handle herself. And we'll be there to protect her."

"Like we did last time?" Robin shot back. It was a low blow, and even he knew it.

"We did everything we could," Raven said, stepping in.

"It wasn't enough."

"You know what, Robin?" Beast Boy began, angered. "With an attitude like that, it won't be. But we have to keep trying. What else do you expect us to do, just sit here while Slade builds his robot army so he can kick our ass even more? With Starfire's help, we have more of a chance to defeat him. We fought him separately last time. We should fight him together this time." Robin couldn't argue with that, and it seemed that even if he tried, it would be in vain.

"I am going," Starfire said. "There is nothing you can do to stop me." Robin knew it was true, so he backed down.

"Fine. But you'll stay back, okay? I'm . . . we're not going to lose you again." Starfire agreed, and Robin sighed. He was uncomfortable with it, but knew he had no choice.

"Okay." He turned to the rest of the Titans. "Just make sure that whatever happens, Starfire stays safe."

"I really hope Kent isn't here," Beast Boy commented as Cyborg pulled the T Car into the driveway of the once again closed mechanics warehouse.

"He's the least of our problems," Robin said, his face stony. He still wasn't sure how he felt about all this. He had always considered Slade his arch nemesis. Now Slade was after Starfire. And there was no guarantee that Starfire would be kept safe from him. It was pretty much the worst scenario ever.

The Titans took their time in approaching the warehouse. The memories of their last battle were flooding back to them. They weren't ready for a rematch. Robin reached the door first, and took a deep breath before he opened it.

"Titans, welcome," Slade said as they entered. He was standing on a platform above them, and it didn't seem like he was doing anything to prepare for building an advanced robot army. He was just standing there, as if he were waiting for them. And he was.

"I've been expecting you. And you brought Starfire with you. How nice of you to hand deliver her to me."

"Stay away from her," Robin growled.

"The question is, will she be able to stay away from me?" Slade replied cooly. "The possibilities are endless when you're on my side, and she knows it. The girl's got fire in her. I was very impressed."

"Well unfortunately for you, the fire's on our side," Beast Boy retaliated. "So let's just beat you and get it over with."

"I would love to see you try," Slade said. "I will eliminate each and every one of you."

"No you will not!" Starfire cried, and before anyone could react, she flew towards Slade, ready to fire.

"Starfire, no!" Robin cried, but it was too late. She was beyond his reach. However, instead of grabbing her and abducting her once more, Slade fired at her, and for some unexplainable reason, Starfire didn't dodge it. It hit her hard, and she started to fall. Robin gasped. It was a long way to the ground. He started to run, arms outstretched to catch her. He slid on his knees to reach her, and she landed safely in his arms.

"Oh, Robin!" she cried, joyfully. "You saved me!"

"Eh, yeah, well . . ." Robin trailed off, embarrassed. Starfire replied to this with her most shocking action yet: she kissed him.

The Titans' mouths dropped open; Robin's would have too if it hadn't been occupied at the moment. He had fantasized and dreamed about this moment many, many times . . . but it was never like this. He had always thought that kissing Starfire would be soft and sweet. But this kiss was hard and hungry and not what he expected at all. He was surprised, because it was a damn good kiss, but something about it didn't seem quite right. It seemed . . . wrong.

"Robin!" Cyborg called out. The urgent tone in his voice chilled Robin to the bone. He had a sick feeling in his stomach as he pulled away from Starfire and saw the robot army surrounding them. There were millions of them, and there was no way out but to fight them, Starfire included.

Except Starfire wasn't going to fight.

"It is done," Slade announced. "You have led them into the trap. Well done, apprentice. Come, now we leave them to be destroyed."

No one quite believed their eyes as Starfire left Robin and flew to Slade's side and smirked. As Slade put his arm around Starfire in a fatherly manner, Robin felt dizzy and thought he might faint. No . . . it wasn't possible . . . this whole time she had been . . . Starfire . . . was this really happening?

"I thank you for your hospitality, Titans," Starfire said in a voice completely unlike her own. It was cold and hard and . . . evil. "But now it is time for this to come to an end." With that, she blew them a goodbye kiss and turned to go.

And so the Teen Titans were left with the sound of Starfire and Slade's combined evil laughter echoing in their ears, faced with the seemingly invincible robot army that none of them felt up to fighting.

Ouch. That's painful. I'm seriously killing myself for that one, but at the same time, I'm loving it. I fought with myself a long time on whether or not to include the kiss, but at the end I decided it provided the emphasis on just how evil Starfire was that I needed, as well as other plot reasons, so I kept it. I can't wait to see your reactions to this one. Ah, sometimes I wonder if I'm evil myself. I look forward to your angry reviews.

Also, while she is evil, you will notice a drastic change in Starfire's speech. I always thought that Starfire becoming evil was a great story idea, and wondered why there weren't more (successful) fics on it. Now I'm discovering why, because it's incredibly difficult to present an evil Starfire while trying to keep her in character. So she might be really out of character, but just bear with me, please.

And now for reviewers . . .

Peppermint Sticks: Aww, you're so sweet! I love hearing that I'm a favorite author. And I joined the staff of your C2 . . . not that I actually know what to do . . . but I'm sure I'll figure it out. And I appreciate that you said this fic is the best! I hope it will continue to live up to that standard.

Aurora Starcrystal: Blair the writer-extraordinaire? That's so cute, I love it! And of course I care about your reviews, every review is highly appreciated! I love them all, and the more the better! So thanks!

Story Weaver1: Right you are! I used the Terra idea big time here, as you can see. It's not the same scenario, but still . . . the Titans have once again been caught off guard. Ouch. That's gotta hurt.

Darklight989: Wow . . . that was the most interesting review I've ever gotten. It was very, very . . . entertaining.

JulesFire: I know, right? Yes, Robin is of course preoccupied with getting the bad guy, but Starfire is important too, you know! He better pass that "test of affection" on the show soon or I'm going to protest big time.

TTHPfan: Yes! JUNIORS ALL THE WAY! It's gonna be the best year ever! And yes, obviously, you were right about the Terra thing. Ouch.

xox.Annie Potter.xox: Yes, we should so sue them! I can totally see that, though, how their shadows come together indicating a kiss but you don't actually see it . . . I wish that had actually happened! Oh and I agree that Raven was OoC when she burst into laughter, sorry about that.

TheNextTitan: Aww, you're not a pain, when people ask me questions it means they're interested! So I appreciate it!

dragonofraven: I figured everyone would be suspicious, but just in case, I didn't want people to attack me in their reviews saying, "hey! Slade gave up too easily! You're an awful writer!" so I just said that for safety purposes.

Riles: Oh. They so offered. And why haven't you updated yet? Don't make me get out my secret weapon again. I have minions. Insert evil laughter here.

And that's all for me. Review, and don't hate me too much. You know I love happy endings.

Blair