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:

"And I realized that, somewhere, I lost it. I lost what I'm supposed to be fighting for: justice." –Robin

Part Four: Invincible

Chapter Fifteen

Starfire approached Titans Tower with a forlorn smile, knowing that it would be the last time. After she recharged Deathstroke, she would immediately head to Jump City's satellite tower and proceed with her plan. Then with an entire city as her evil army, there would be no turning back and the Teen Titans would be done for, once and for all. Once that was accomplished, she might as well destroyed the tower, too. While flying she had come to the decision that she needed to erase all memory of who she used to be. It seemed that things that reminded her of her past had a softening effect on her, such as her current visit to Titans Tower. And that had to end.

After all, what kind of evil villain has nostalgic feelings for the times of their innocence?

Starfire slowly pressed her hand into the DNA scanner that Cyborg had installed for entrance security. After a moment, the scanner blinked green in recognition and a female computerized voice authorized her entry.

"Identity confirmed. Starfire." The heavy doors slid open in welcome. Starfire didn't hesitate before stepping over the threshold into Titans Tower. It was good to be home.

She lifted Deathstroke over her head and carried it to Cyborg's room first. It was as if the Jewel of Charta was mentally telling her which wires to hook up where; she would have never known how to use Cyborg's equipment otherwise. It was the first time in a while that she'd seen Cyborg's room. After many failed attempts to help Cyborg with his mechanics projects, she had been banned from touching any of his stuff for fear of making things worse than they already were. But of course she wasn't going to heed his forbiddance now. Who was going to stop her?

Finally, all the wires were connected and the power was surging to the immobile robot's battery. While it was charging, Starfire ventured out of Cyborg's room to her own. At first glance it seemed to be exactly the same as she left it, as if no one had entered her room after her absence. But a closer look revealed one single thing to be missing: a picture frame from her dresser. She was surprised, and felt slightly saddened by its disappearance. Before her transformation, that picture had been her most prized possession.

Starfire quickly shook it off. That was then, this was now. Why should she care about some stupid picture frame?

The purple and pinkness of her room was starting to annoy her. Disgusted by her color choices, she decided to move on to Robin's room. She tentatively stepped into the dark area, feeling along the wall for a light switch. Illuminated, the teen hero's domain revealed his workaholic tendencies. The walls were lined with overlapping newspaper clippings of villains they had fought and conquered. A single metal desk hosted a computer and various objects obtained from fights that had not yet been secured in the evidence room.

But there was something else on the desk that caught her eye. Her stomach flip-flopped as she recognized the missing picture frame, holding the picture of herself dancing with Robin the night they were crowned King and Queen at Kitten's prom. For some reason, after her disappearance, Robin must have taken it from her room and put it in his. But why would he want it?

Starfire took a quick step back, as if putting space between her and the picture would make her strange feelings go away. The lump in her throat sickened her. Why did she feel this way? She was evil, she was invincible; a simple picture shouldn't affect her like this. In a sudden surge of anger, she knocked the frame to the ground, ready to blast it to bits. Her eyes glowed red, but for some reason, she couldn't do it. She just couldn't destroy that memory. She took another step back, terrified by her inability, then turned on her heel and fled from the room, leaving the door gaping open behind her. She rushed to Cyborg's, glad to see that Deathstroke was fully recharged. She needed to get out of there, as soon as possible. The memories were too much for her. Visiting Titans Tower was turning out to be a bad idea.

Just as she detached the wires, a female computerized voice reverberated throughout the tower, warning her of the Titans' arrival.

"Identity confirmed. Cyborg." Starfire froze, rooted to the spot. Why were they here already? She had expected the shock of Slade's takedown to detain them longer. But now they were here, and with no windows in Cyborg's room to escape through, she was trapped. She would have to try to hide herself in the shadows of the robot's room. She quickly hit the lights and backed herself and Deathstroke into a corner behind a machine. As a last minute consideration, she flipped the switch on the robot's back, powering him down. One wrong move and they would be discovered. And Starfire wasn't sure if she wanted that yet. This certainly wasn't part of the plan. She was supposed to have an entire evil city backing her up before she faced the Titans in a final showdown.

Not that she would need the help.

Normally, Starfire sat in the front passenger seat of the T Car. But Robin, with his newfound take-charge attitude, was now filling her absence. He stared straight ahead, silent and serious.

"So what happened back there?" Raven asked, interrupting the silence that filled the T Car on the way home. Their leader's abrupt change in attitude surprised her, so she was curious. And Raven wasn't the kind of person to hold back. "What made you finally wake up and face reality?" Cyborg's human eye widened, and Beast Boy elbowed the dark girl in the ribs, which resulted in a frightening death glare. Beast Boy laughed nervously and mouthed an apology. Meanwhile, Robin wasn't having the irritated reaction that his two male teammates had expected. In fact, he was quite calm, as if he expected the question.

"All my life as a Teen Titan, I've been chasing after Slade, this omnipresent arch enemy who had this certain mystery about him that made him seem all the more evil. He was my top priority, he pulled me in and I became obsessed." There was an intake of breath. Yes, he most certainly had, and no one had forgotten it. "I was convinced he was the ultimate bad guy, the essence of evil, and I would forever trying to bring him down until the one day when I would, and Jump City would finally be safe . . . and I could finally rest.

"And now he's done. In jail. And not because of me. Because of Starfire, and for all the wrong reasons. And I realized that, somewhere, I lost it. I lost what I'm supposed to be fighting for: justice. I let my obsession of Slade get in the way of what the right thing to do was. And now I'm letting my . . . my feelings for Starfire get in the way. And that makes me weak. You were right, Raven, I'm not fit to be a leader. But I am one. So I'm going to do my best to be the leader that the Teen Titans deserve, and the hero that Jump City needs. Even if it means setting my personal feelings aside." Robin finished his speech and fell silent again.

There was a pause before Raven finally spoke up.

"You're everything Jump City could ask for in a hero," she said, quietly. Robin noticed that smiles were gracing the faces of his teammates. Cyborg clapped the spiky haired teenager on the shoulder.

"Rae's right, man."

"You're the best," Beast Boy agreed. "Well, you know, with the exception of me." This time it was Raven who elbowed Beast Boy in the ribs, only much harder. The green changeling choked and coughed, trying to will the air back into his lungs. Raven smiled again, satisfied.

"Thanks," Robin replied, his voice tinged with emotion. "And you guys are the best team any leader could ask for."

"You bet we are!" Beast Boy replied, pumping his fist in the air.

"I feel like we should hug or something," Cyborg mused.

"Not happening," Raven replied, firmly.

And Robin almost smiled.

Cyborg yawned and headed to his room to recharge. After they shared their little team moment in the T Car, Robin had suggested that they all take a break upon their arrival home. It was obvious that no one had slept–or, in Cyborg's case, fully recharged–since Starfire went to the other side. And if they were going to face her, invincible, they needed all the energy they could get.

The door to his room slid open, and he didn't even bother turning on the lights. He knew where everything was and could get around with his eyes closed. He laid down on his metal bed, reached to his bedside table and reached around for the wires. He frowned. They weren't where he had left them, which was unusual. It wasn't like anyone had gone into his room. They couldn't have, he went straight there from the garage. And the rest of the Titans had been with him up until then, and no one else had the access code to the Tower . . . well, no one except . . .

The dark was suddenly illuminated by a creepy pair of glowing red eyes.

Cyborg screamed.

Okay, so Starfire had a little freakout flashback of her innocent past, Robin gave a nice little speech, and Cyborg is screaming like a little girl. What fun!

So life has been major hectic for me, so once again I've taken a little while to update and I still don't have time to go through reviewers. You know I love you all, though, and I appreciate you guys and your feedback. So thanks!

I have to get ready to go to driver's ed, a hellishly boring but required class if I ever want to drive. MD is way strict when it comes to allowing people to drive. Gahh. So I thought I would update really quick so you guys wouldn't have to wait anymore. Review, because it makes me happy, please!

Blair