Genre: Alternative Universe – Space Age
Rating: R – For really bad swearing and adult situations… yes, especially from the Titans.
Summary: Space Cargo Guarding was getting old for Robin. He loved space, but surely there were better things to look forward to than getting to the other side of the stargate. Man-oh-man, was he right...
Standard disclaimers apply.
THE MIGHTY TITAN
Chapter Four – Found and Lost
"N-Now?"
Throughout history, mankind had been plagued by life-changing events and near Earth-shattering revelations. Important things, really. Oftentimes, the average historian would report the bare facts leading to the event and then press forward, because there was no sense in backtracking. The reason, therefore, behind global events being reduced to three to four paragraphs of history-telling, was because the fat had been cut out of it. Historians discarded tedious details, menial characters and most importantly, stupid dialogue.
The fact that four thousand years of Earth history could be compiled into a two thousand page manuscript which took the average history-major two semesters in college to read (roughly six months) meant that important men and women might have very well wasted approximately three thousand nine hundred ninety nine years worth of history, wading through nonsense, to get to the important parts.
But while they may have contributed nothing to progress, moments of nonsense were a part of life, and they would insist on peppering history's most un-chronicled moments.
Robin's eyes blazed as Terra spoke the most unnecessary question of the century. "Yes, NOW! Jesus-fucking-Christ!"
Terra whimpered. "Well, she's just in her room—"
"No, Terra, she is not in her room. I am willing to bet my balls on it. Just do as I tell you and stop asking stupid questions!"
"Alright, alright! Jeez!" She turned to her computer panel, keying in her codes.
Beast Boy frowned. He didn't like it when Robin yelled at Terra. "Simmer down, captain. I'm sure we could—"
"I was thinking about giving you dickheads a bonus from that Trans-Card, but now that Starfire has run away with my money, I guess the issue is moot."
Beast Boy and Terra froze.
"Terra!" shrieked Beast Boy. "Find that bitch, pronto!"
"I'm so fucking on it!" Terra typed like mad.
Robin breathed deeply to calm himself and he caught Cyborg arching an eyebrow at him. Of course, the bonus was a bit of a white lie, and Cyborg probably knew it, but people always worked best with incentives.
Robin went to his computer panel and contacted Raven. Raven's face popped up on his monitor and he didn't even let her speak. "Starfire's gone. Do you know where she went?"
Raven frowned, her background a wall of books. She was still in the library. "How the hell would I?"
Robin glared at her. "Well, you seem to know a lot of things. Maybe for once, you could be useful and help us."
"I know a lot of things, that's for sure." She didn't add anything more.
Robin sighed in frustration. "Where's Starfire?"
"I don't know."
"The hell you don't."
"Screw you." Raven cut the line.
Cyborg, watching the conversation from behind Robin's shoulder, shrugged. "You know, for once I believe her."
Robin grit his teeth, banging his fist on the computer panel.
"Whoa!" cried Cyborg. "Easy on the equipment!"
"Better the equipment than my sanity. Argh! I can't believe Starfire did this!"
Terra erupted in a triumphant laugh. "Got her! She's on the planet V'yus."
Robin's mouth dropped and Beast Boy squealed in dismay.
"She's in the Vice Planet!" cried Beast Boy. "She's going to gamble all that money away!"
Robin tried not to blow his top. "Get her on the line right now!"
"Connecting!" chimed Terra. She pulled the communication screen up on the panoramic monitor. The audio crackled for a moment as the screen remained blank.
"Hello?" came Starfire's pleasant voice. "This is Robin's communicator. He's not here right now but I shall be taking his calls and I will make sure he gets them!"
Robin could hardly speak from the shock of it. She was actually taking his calls!
Cyborg took over for the moment. "Starfire, this is Cyborg. I'm the engineer on the Mighty Titan. You have to press the button on the lower right hand corner to activate the screen. Did you understand that?"
There was a pause, and for a second, everyone thought Cyborg might have to repeat himself, but the screen popped open, and soon they were looking at Starfire's face, her large green eyes blinking with ethereal innocence.
"Robin?" Her smile quickly followed. "Robin! Oh, I am so glad you called!"
Robin swore he could have popped a vein that very moment. "Glad? Glad?" He controlled himself, or else he was going to start yelling. "Where are you?"
"In V'yus." She grinned, as if she ought to be petted for being there.
"Where in V'yus?"
Her grin widened. "Trumpland. It is really very nice here, Robin. The carpets are quite lush and the dealers are so pretty in their tiny little dresses with bunny tails—"
"I want you to come back here, post-haste! Are you hearing me?"
"Oh, indeed! But I have to work."
Robin was just slightly taken aback. "Work? What, did you get a job while I wasn't looking…?"
"Well, I am somewhat of a freelancer."
"Freelancer for what?"
"With what I am good at, of course! It is my occupation when it is necessary. It is why I borrowed your Trans-Card."
"Borrowed? You fucking stole it!"
"Oh, Robin," she said, as if his accusation had hurt her. "I did not steal it. I have every intention of giving it back, with interest, even. I would never steal from you, dear friend. I just needed a bit for Trumpland's cover charge at the entrance. That is all. I do not even plan on using it to gamble. Like I said, I am here for work."
Robin held out his hands helplessly. "What sort of work? Starfire, what the hell are you doing there?"
"I will be back in a few hours, I promise!" She held up her hand, like she was swearing on a Bible. "It is awfully sweet of you to worry, though." She blew him a sultry kiss and a wink. "Buh-bye!"
She signed off just when Robin was yelling her name.
Robin began swearing randomly and he lashed out with a kick to the side of a computer panel. His metal-toe boot left an imprint. Cyborg's robot eye flashed.
"D'you think she's whoring?" asked Terra.
Robin's reaction was instantaneous. "What? What the hell kind of a question is that?" Starfire, whoring? There was absolutely no reason for her to do such a thing. She would never! He refused to give the idea the slightest bit of consideration.
Terra recoiled, shrugging innocently. "I was just saying…"
"She's not like that."
Beast Boy laughed. "Oh, you mean the way she's not like a pickpocket?"
Robin frowned. "She said she'll return my Trans-Card," he muttered.
"Well," said Cyborg in a slightly mocking tone. "That's niceof her, isn't it?"
Robin ran his fingers through his hair and shook himself. Obviously, Starfire had changed between then and now. He knew shit about her. "Cyborg, BB, we're going to V'yus. We're going to find that chick—"
Cyborg laughed. "Chick now, is it?"
Terra turned on her seat and frowned. "You're leaving me with the witch?"
Robin ignored Cyborg to address Terra's question. "Why? You afraid of her?"
"Hell, no!"
"Then shut up and stay in the ship!"
Terra pouted but said nothing in response, turning in her chair to mope by herself.
Robin stalked out of the bridge with Cyborg and Beast Boy right behind him. "I swear, if she took the T-Craft…"
"You'll what?" asked Beast Boy.
The truth was, Robin didn't know what he'd do.
888888888888888888888
Of course, Starfire did take the T-Craft and Cyborg was beside himself with worry. They had to take a space cab to get to V'yus and they got charged an exorbitant amount of money, as was a common thing in the Vegan commercial district. The trip took almost an hour, which wasn't bad for a space cab. Of course, their cabbie had to dodge death several times through out the trip, reckless as he was, but that was a detail.
They asked to be dropped off at Trumpland square. It was the first time either of them had been to V'yus because none of them were prone to going on gambling sprees. Sure, they bet on the occasional space track, perhaps in a Hover Football game or two, but they never went on a free for all double-or-nothing.
Trumpland Avenue was a street of thousands of blinking neon lights and holographic projections. Most, if not all the signs had a language transmographer, slightly similar to the ones the Collar-smiths and merchants had in Thelsor-Con; only modified in brain-wave response and appearance. The rest of the planet, likely, was one blinking neon sign. Everything was either "Live! Live! Live!" or "Girls! Girls! Girls!"
The famous Trumpland Hotel was huge. It went at least two hundred stories high. The first one hundred stories of it consisted of casinos, professional loan sharks, pawnshops, restaurants, bars, lounges, whorehouses, a shopping mall and even a medical facility (there being an alarming number of incidents involving heart-attacks, strokes and attempted suicides.) The other one hundred floors were rooms, apartments and multiple dry-cleaners.
"That's a big-ass hotel," said Cyborg, craning his neck to see the top. It wasn't visible through the clouds. It was a shiny golden monolith that reflected everything that passed it by.
Beast Boy let his gaze wander and was momentarily halted by the shop behind them, which sold lingerie for all shapes and species. The shop offered a variety of whips, dog collars and chains, too. "That's a kinky-ass store."
Robin sighed. "Okay, first thing's first." He activated the remote on the T-Craft. It responded by saying the craft was in use, would they still like to activate remote? Robin smiled. "Awesome. We might not have to try and find Starfire after all."
Minutes later, the craft came flying by, landing gracefully on its anti-gravity engines. Robin pulled the door open. Starfire was not inside the craft. Instead, there were two Banachians; both male; both in uniform overalls. Banachians looked almost human, except that their ears were smaller and they had no nails on their toes and fingers.
Robin was too astonished to be angry. "Who the hell are you two?"
The Banachians began to say something in their language. Robin flipped his translator open.
"We were just—you know—having some fun!"
"We weren't going to steal it! Honest!"
"We were even going to fill 'er back up with gas!"
"Yeah! And we really hadn't damaged it… "
Beast Boy transformed into a tiger and roared at them. They fell into terrified silence. Changing back into himself, Beast Boy frowned. "Dude, we ought to beat the shit out of these guys."
Robin shook his head. "That's going too easy on them."
The Banachians whimpered.
Cyborg leaned over the craft, staring at them. He turned his translator on. "You dudes are from the parking garage, aren't you?"
Both Banachians nodded.
"You saw the chick who brought this craft in?"
The Banachian on the driver's seat spoke. "Tamaranean? Red head? Hottest legs this side of the quadrant?"
Robin exchanged tired glances with Cyborg and Beast Boy. "Yeah. Did she tell you where she was going?"
"No, but she asked us where the high rollers liked to hang out after they were done gambling."
"And what did you say to her?"
"Lots of places like that in there, but we told her she'd be well-received in Dedalus. Lots of humanoids there; they'd appreciate what she's got. It's on the fiftieth floor."
"Great! That helps. Now get out of the fucking craft."
Both Banachians scrambled out of the craft. The one on the passenger's side made a run for it. The driver was not so fortunate.
Robin grabbed the driver by the collar of his overall and dragged him away from the craft. "Listen to me and listen to me well. This craft has a homing device and we could track its whereabouts from his computers." He pointed at Cyborg. "I want you and this craft waiting for us at this very space when we come out, and if it's anywhere else, or if you're not here watching over it—I don't care for what reason—we're going to find your sorry ass and let him—" Robin pointed to Beast Boy who in turn transformed into a huge, salivating lion "—deal with you. Capish?"
"I-I—"
Beast Boy opened his gaping maw and gave an impressive roar. As if that wasn't enough, Beast Boy batted his claw at the Banachian, shredding his pant leg. The Banachian screamed. So did several passersby. The Banachian also wet his pants.
Robin arched an eyebrow and let their prey go. He collapsed to the ground, shaking, but he didn't go anywhere.
"Yo," said Cyborg. "Don't you be going inside the craft now."
The Banachian nodded. "I s-swear! Please don't eat me."
Beast Boy tossed him a smug look.
Robin led the way into Trumpland. To save on the cover charge, Beast Boy transformed into a mouse and jumped into Robin's pocket.
The entire lobby looked like a shopping mall for the British Royal family. The carpets were lush with Victorian patterns and everything else was in stone, marble or dark, polished oak. If it weren't for the blinking neon lights, the slot machines and the fifty transporters lined up on the far wall, it could very well pass for a palace.
The floor was milling with tourists, young and old; mostly old in their comfortable jump suits and hovering chairs.
The transporters were in constant use, but they were commercial-sized, so they were big enough to accommodate a fairly large group of passengers. Transporters replaced elevators in commercial buildings at least one hundred fifty years ago. Where an elevator physically brought passengers on each and every floor, transporters beamed people, or groups of people, and their belongings, to the floor of their choice in three seconds if there wasn't somebody else holding up the space at the other end. They were fast, efficient and very safe, though many still suspected that the molecular process of transporting matter from point A to B had some kind of effect. For those who were most uncomfortable, there was always the courtesy elevator. Old building regulation required the presence of at least two elevators in the premises, and while the regulation had ceased to apply some twenty years before, many of the fancier hotels still kept their elevators available and in good condition.
There were probably more transporters through out the floor, but it was standard to have many of them gathered on the lobby.
Beast Boy hopped out of Robin's pocket and turned human. There were small yelps of surprise from several bystanders. Shapeshifters weren't common anywhere in the galaxy. Gelatinous species were one thing, but having the ability to actually change one's form into another solid, existing form, was a different matter. Beast Boy often joked that he was the "alienest of the alien". Robin often wondered if his mutation really didn't bother him.
They stalked to one of the transporters and all three of them stood onto the crystalline floor of the machine. The door hissed closed and Robin pressed the button to the 50th floor.
It had something to do with the mechanism, that all passengers happened to close their eyes when transporting began. It was like a split heartbeat dose of tranquilizers that faded just as quickly. Even passengers didn't notice it. For a long time, it was like the light bulb in the refrigerator mystery: did the light ever go off? Or did it stay on the whole time whether the door was open or closed?
Passengers likened it to blinking. Before they knew it, they had been transported.
They arrived on the fiftieth floor.
"Let's go," said Robin.
"Hellllp!"
Cyborg jumped, horrified at the mutilated form that used to be their shapechanging friend. "Mother of—"
Robin rolled his eyes. It was one of Beast Boy's oldest tricks: transforming into an obscure alien animal, usually one that looked flat out weird, whenever they finished transporting. It used to scare the hell out of Robin, remembering urban legends of transporters gone haywire. It still scared Robin sometimes, and obviously, it got to Cyborg on occasion as well.
Right now, Beast Boy looked like a gigantic brain with disproportionate arms and legs. This alien animal could talk some, since Beast Boy managed a distorted cry for help. It added to the drama.
"Dammit, Beast Boy!" Cyborg yelled.
Beast Boy became himself, rolling on the floor in laughter. "Dude, I so got you!"
Cyborg glared at him, stalking out of the transporter. "You're fucked up, man." Getting punk'd by Beast Boy always put him in a bad mood.
"Quit the games, BB," said Robin, walking after Cyborg.
Beast Boy followed, still giggling. "Did you see the look on Cy's face? It was like he was going to crap motor oil! Man-oh-man, I should've taken a picture!" He swiped out a pocket digital cam.
Robin frowned. "You brought a camera? BB, we're not here to sight-see."
"Oh, lighten up. We're not looking for a crazed killer. We're looking for a hot chick who promised she would come back to the ship with your Trans-Card."
Robin didn't feel like talking to him anymore. He came up beside Cyborg.
They headed straight for the holographic floor map and found that Dedalus wasn't that far from the transporters.
"Hope she's still there," said Cyborg.
Robin had given up trying to foresee the future. Nothing had been predictable as of yet. "If she isn't, we'll just have to try contacting her again."
"How the hell did she get your Trans-Card from you, anyway? You're usually sharper than that."
Robin had a feeling Cyborg knew the answer; he just wanted to hear Robin say it. "You're a dick, you know that?"
Cyborg failed dismally at trying to hide the smirk on his face. "What? Was it something I said?"
Beast Boy popped up beside them. "The chief always was sort of a leg-man."
"And a sucker for red-heads."
Robin ignored them both, heading straight for Dedalus.
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Dedalus was a club filled with scantily clad humanoid women and richly dressed humanoid men. The waitresses, dressed in thought provoking haute couture, knew they got attention and showed they liked it.
It was dark, but the strobe lights and effects reflected off the colorful clothing, different-colored skins and drinks. The bass of the music reverberated through the obsidian colored floor and the Jihlavan DJ waved his four arms up in the air, having the time of his life as the crowd responded with enthusiasm.
The tables were situated on the elevation surrounding the dance floor.
An attractive Tarxienite approached Beast Boy. "Hi, cutie." She had a really low cut dress showing a lot of cleavage. Her dress was a dark blue, or maybe purple. Who cared what color the dress was? She could have worn something the color of vomit and she'd still look sensational. Her silver skin glittered gorgeously under the lights. Her cobalt-blue hair was breathtaking. "What say your friends and my friends hit the floor?" She jerked her head to the side where a group of Tarxienite women stood waving at them flirtatiously.
Robin didn't know what it was about Beast Boy, but women flocked to him like he was the most adorable thing they've ever seen. It was always "cutie" or "sweetheart" or "baby", like he was someone or something they could take care of or stroke like a kitty.
Beast Boy smiled stupidly, like he had just walked into paradise. He began to make his way towards her.
Robin frowned and grabbed Beast Boy by the back of his shirt. He spoke to the Tarxienite over Beast Boy's shoulder. "Sorry, but this cutie has things to do."
Robin dragged Beast Boy off as he whined piteously.
"Could we focus, please?" asked Robin.
"Dude, how am I supposed to focus when the femmes are so friendly?" He made eye contact with another woman. She giggled. He grinned. "'Sup?"
Robin hit him upside the head.
"Ow! Jesus!"
"We're here to find Starfire!"
"Playa' hater!"
"Cyborg, think you could—Cy?" Robin looked around, only to find Cyborg hooking up with a golden-skinned Olathean. He was showing her his robotic arms and she looked properly impressed.
Robin gave a frustrated growl. "Could we please—"
Beast Boy grinned. "Oh, yes we can!"
"Fine. If you two want to fuck around, I could care less. I'll find Starfire by myself."
"You do that. Maybe when you find her, you could start to enjoy yourself."
If Robin had known this was going to turn into a boys' night out, he would have left Cyborg on the ship. If he had taken Terra, she would keep Beast Boy in line and he'd have a crew behind him that would actually help him find his wayward childhood friend.
Robin was too set on finding Starfire to get distracted by the scenery. The women tried; most definitely. With the crowd of people and the dark anonymity of the place, inhibitions were on vacation. They felt him up, pressed against him, whispered in his ear and grabbed his ass. He rolled his eyes each time. He had things to do. He had no time for these women.
He had lost sight of his companions already. Beast Boy was probably buried under a pile of women who were all cooing and gushing over him, as women tended to do when it came to Beast Boy. Even Terra cooed for him. It was almost sickening. Whoever said it wasn't easy being green hadn't met Beast Boy.
Cyborg used his Robot-card. He would always start with his sob story of the near-fatal accident and having to become what he was to survive. Then he'd work it, laying his bravely-living-life-as-normally-as-he-could bit on thick. He'd show them a few robotic tricks, make them laugh; they ate it up like cherries.
Robin's style was fuss-free. In fact, he didn't work on it, much. There were a lot of girls who really went for the strong silent type, and oddly enough, all he had to do was shut up. He didn't attract them in hoards like Beast Boy did, and he didn't fascinate them the way Cyborg did, but enough women were suckers for 'mystery.' Unlike the women Beast Boy and Cyborg attracted (who were supposedly attracted to them for who they were), Robin's women just wanted to sleep with him, because really, if he wasn't saying anything, then they knew nothing about him. It was an empty experience, but as far as empty experiences went, it was the best; so said a legendary skinny Earth intellectual from long ago.
Further into the club, Robin saw a large cluster of people surrounding a table. They were chanting something. It was hard to decipher through all the noise, but as Robin came closer, he could make the word out through his translator.
"Toss! Toss! Toss!"
Robin shook his head. Bring on the drinking games.
The crowd cheered. Obviously, whomever they were goading tossed very well. Casino chips were exchanged overhead.
Robin searched elsewhere. Fifteen minutes later, he hadn't made any progress. It irked him that he couldn't try to contact Starfire because the two people who had communicators were nowhere to be found.
Robin was scanning the dance floor when the DJ spoke.
"How's the drink-off going over there?"
The small crowd Robin had seen earlier gave a cheer. The entire dance floor cheered with them.
"Is our Tamaranean Tosser still standing?"
"Yeah!"
More cheering.
Robin's eyes widened. He whipped around and saw her.
Starfire stood at the center of the circle, waving to the DJ. She looked a little glazed at the eyes, and she wavered slightly where she stood, but she looked sober enough to giggle and take some of the casino chips that were being passed around. At her feet was a wasted Olathean man. He was huge, built like a gorilla, but he was passed out cold, his friends trying to get him off the floor.
There were two tall and empty bottles of good old-fashioned Earth whisky surrounded by more than a dozen overturned shot-glasses.
"Awesome!" said the DJ over the mic. "I love a broad who could take her alcohol. Here's to our sloshed, but succulent Starfire." He played a drinking song that the entire club approved of.
Robin had heard enough.
Starfire staggered slightly and someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her close with a leer and groping her butt. She smiled up at him drunkenly, leaning against him with a giggle. His bad intentions showed through his smirk.
Robin stepped up beside him and glared. "Get your hands the fuck off her, asshole."
Starfire's smile widened. "Robin!" She threw her arms around him, giggling.
The leering stranger stepped back, holding his hands up. It was a proven fact that most gaters looked as tough as roughies and could be just as dangerous. There was a swagger to the likes of them that no one lost sight of. It didn't matter if the person they were threatening knew they were gaters or not; they reeked Don't-fuck-with-me-or-else. It was universal; no language translation necessary.
"Everyone!" cried Starfire to the crowd. "This is my good friend Robin!"
"Hi Robin!" shouted the crowd.
Robin sighed. "Oh fer—"
"I must go now," slurred Starfire. She reached behind her to pluck something. For a split heartbeat, Robin flinched. It looked like she was pulling out a gun, but it turned out to be a rolled up hat, with a huge brim. She set it on her head with a drunken flourish. It looked like one of those tourist hats from the many souvenir shops in the hotel. He wondered why she thought it necessary to wear one indoors, but then again, she was drunk.
Exaggerated sounds of regret rippled through the group.
Starfire waved them off as Robin dragged her away. It was too noisy in the club, so Robin decided they would have to talk outside. Besides, Starfire looked too drunk to understand anything.
Having heard the DJ's announcements, Beast Boy and Cyborg met him halfway.
"Well, look who decided to show up," said Robin sarcastically, slapping away Starfire's finger which she was trying to wiggle into his ear.
"Green Boy and Robot Maaan," drawled Starfire. She laughed.
Beast Boy grinned. "Hundreds of girls in the joint and you had to pick the one who was plastered."
"Need help with her?" asked Cyborg.
Robin bit back whatever retort he had thought of spewing. "Yeah, just take her other arm. She keeps touching me. Christ, Starfire! Stop that!"
Starfire giggled and was too drunk to protest Cyborg taking her arm in a firm grip.
They stepped out of the club and Robin felt his ears ringing at the abrupt silence. The beat of the music was muffled behind him as the doors to the club closed.
When they were a considerable distance from the club, Starfire spoke.
"You may unhand me now," she said in a shockingly lucid tone. Her legs steadied and she twisted her arms free of them.
They watched in astonishment as she began to dig through her shorts, pulling out casino chips. She had a tall pile in her hand when she was done. She reached into the top of her shirt and pulled out a Trans-Card. "And this, my friend, is yours." She held it out for Robin.
Robin took it, dazed.
Starfire grinned. "Give me a moment." She plucked another Trans-Card from inside her shirt and God-knew-where and began pushing the buttons on it. "We must extract the credit from this Trans-Card before the man I took it from notices it is gone. There is a Trans-Card machine not too far from—"
Robin blinked himself out of his stupor. "Wait, you took that from someone?"
She nodded. "You did not think I would let someone grab my behind without penalizing them for it, would you, Robin?"
"N-No…"
"Damn!" hissed Cyborg, just now recovering. "What the hell just happened here?"
"Who cares?" said Beast Boy. "I just want to see her pull out another Trans-Card!"
Starfire chuckled. She did. Twice. "There were many who needed penalizing."
Cyborg arched an eyebrow. "So… were you 'penalizing' Robin?"
Robin reacted almost immediately. "Blow me, Cy. Starfire, you can't just take Trans-Cards when you feel like it, that's stealing. You have to give those back."
"And you used counterfeit money to pay for me, what is your point?"
"Hey, I didn't know those decs were counterfeit."
"Yet I do not see you returning me, now do I?" She grinned.
"Oh, so you want me to bring you back to Thelsor-Con, is that it?"
She arched an eyebrow, smirking. "Would you?"
Robin growled. He didn't know why he was letting her win this argument. "You're not a thing to be returned, Starfire."
"Neither is my virtue. If I return these, they will not be sorry they groped me. Come along, then. I must turn the credits in these cards over to my newly acquire Trans-card so I could pay you back. I also have to convert these chips into credits. There are quite a lot of them, you know."
Robin shook his head as he followed behind her. "This is bullshit," he muttered.
Cyborg shrugged. "She did earn those chips, you know."
Robin tossed Cyborg an Are-You-Stupid look. "She conned those poor fools into believing she was on the verge of getting wasted."
"Their fault; not hers."
Robin stared at Cyborg in disbelief. "Am I hearing your right? You think she was right to hustle those dorks?"
"Well, maybe she wasn't right right, but she did pick a high-rollers club and whatever she did, she technically earned her bets fair and square. Everybody has their poker face. Know what I mean?"
"I suppose now you're going to tell me she was right to pick those pockets."
"Well… it ain't polite to cop a feel from a lady." Cyborg punctuated it with a smirk.
Robin didn't feel like asking him what the smirk was for. He had a feeling he already knew.
Beast Boy nudged Robin with an elbow. "Dude, I think she has those big chips. You know, the ones that are worth tens of thousands of Euphorix credits."
Euphorix credits were one of the strongest credits in the galaxy, and casinos, especially in V'yus, held them as currency. As far as hustling went, it was the best currency to work for: The small credits carried a lot of weight and if one's methods of earning were a bit unorthodox (a.k.a. Illegal), then Euphorix credits were worth the risk of getting busted.
Whatever the value of Starfire's casino chips, it was enough for the human teller in the booth to give her a wide smile.
"We've been lucky today, haven't we?" asked the teller, her ash-blonde hair tied in a perfect knot on her head. She wore a suit that made her look like a ringmaster in a circus and her grin, though reaching her eyes, looked pasted on, nonetheless. Still, the smile she had on for Starfire looked like it was reserved for big winners. Her transmographying name-tag said her name was Peachy.
Starfire smiled back, though her smile looked much more sincere. "Yes, we have!"
Robin sighed, glancing away in disgust. He never could stand the patronizing "we" so many of these Customer Service employees used. They would say things like, "Are we enjoying ourselves?" or "Do we want another drink?" Sometimes, it irritated him so much that he wanted to say, "We are not amused," just to shut them up. It's amazing how Starfire could just take it in stride and do the "we" thing. Then again, she was cashing in a large amount of money.
Peachy took Starfire's chips and poured them into a counter. The chips rattled through a basin and slipped through to a slot at the bottom. Peachy turned to a small box by the cashier window before swiveling it around to show to Starfire. Starfire peered at the box's screen and nodded.
"Please press reset on the panel," said Peachy. Starfire did.
Peachy gathered the chips up and ran them through the counter again.
Starfire looked at the box's screen one more time.
"Please confirm the amount by pressing 'Ok' on the panel," said Peachy.
Starfire pressed a button. A print-out lolled out of the box and Starfire took it, reading it briefly.
"Would you like to transfer the credits to your card now?" asked Peachy.
"Yes."
"You may use the panel."
Starfire undertook the transfer. She also transferred the credits from the stolen Trans-Cards to her own. Peachy allowed her to use the machine without question. When Starfire was done, she asked Peachy to shred the other Trans-Cards. Peachy obliged her. Big winners always got their wishes granted.
Like a casino regular, Starfire made a final request. She would like to make one last transfer, this time to debit from her Trans-Card to Robin's.
Robin frowned, tugging at her arm. "You're doing it here? I don't want to have a record!" he whispered in a fierce tone.
Starfire politely excused herself from Peachy before turning to face Robin. "Casino cashiers guarantee total confidentiality. Your name will not turn up. This is the reason why I want to make a transfer to your card here."
"There's a camera pointed at your face right now, do you know that?"
"Oh, don't be silly, Robin! Of course I know. Why do you think I am wearing this ridiculous hat? That camera is recording nothing. Now do be a dear and give me your Trans-Card."
There was nothing dear about Robin's mood at the moment. Starfire grinned and turned back to the cashier window. She made the transfer and seconds later she was thanking Peachy for the service.
Peachy gave one last dazzling smile. "Thank you for winning in Trumpland! Buh-bye!"
Starfire turned and left. The rest of them followed.
Robin came up beside her. "Alright, fun time's over. We're going back to the ship right now."
"Alright, Robin." She took off her hat and tossed it in the nearest garbage processor.
"We have to talk."
"Very well."
"Give me back my communicator."
"Oh, dear! Of course! I almost forgot." She handed him his communicator as they reached the transporters.
Robin arched an eyebrow. "What are you up to? Why are you agreeing to everything I'm saying?"
Beast Boy punched the button for the lobby.
One blink and they were back on the ground floor.
"Because you are the captain," said Starfire, smoothly continuing with the conversation. "And because your requests are not unreasonable. I am not up to anything. Goodness, aren't we suspicious?"
"Cut it out with the 'we'. It irritates me."
She blinked, as if she were mildly surprised by his gruffness. "My apologies."
"You have a helluva lot more things to apologize for." There was no humor in his face. He tried to recall, from the time they were kids, whether he had been gruff with her in any way. When she first crept up beside him, "invading" his personal space, he had acted impolitely, but that had been a conscious effort, and she had easily won him over with her knowledge of the Vegan star system. After the initial difficulty, he was never impolite to her again. He even believed that he had been pleasant company, like he was always in a good mood, and it had come so naturally to him, too. When had being pleasant become so difficult for him?
She reddened, looking somewhat shamefaced; like a child that had been scolded by a parent. Still, he didn't feel like taking his stern tone back.
As they neared the doors, she tugged at Robin's coat. "Um, the T-Craft is—"
"Across the street," he finished brusquely. "We called it on remote when we got here. The garage boys were taking it for a joy ride. I swear to God, Starfire, if something had happened to that T-Craft, you'd have Cyborg, Beast Boy and Terra to deal with, and you don't want that happening when they're pissed. Do you understand?"
More painful blushing.
Robin frowned. He actually began to feel a bit guilty being so brutally frank.
Cyborg gave her a stern look. "Well?"
"I understand," she replied with an embarrassed smile. "Let me make it up to everyone, then! We must have dinner in a nice restaurant. My treat!"
Robin was about to say no when Beast Boy jumped into the conversation. "But Terra's back in the ship…"
Starfire grinned. "Very well, we shall have take-out, so that she could join in the feast. It will be almost as good as eating in a restaurant. I wonder what Raven would like…"
Robin had completely forgotten about Raven. From the looks on the others' faces, they hadn't remembered her either. It was just as well. None of them had a clue what kind of food Raven liked. She had eaten the instant meals they had stocked up in the ship without a complaint, and since she hadn't exactly endeared herself to anyone, no one had bothered to ask her if she'd like to pick up something else.
Starfire looped her arm around Robin's. "I saw a Chinese restaurant named Great Wall Lotus between Euphorix and the Gryphia craft-protectorate. Perhaps we could all enjoy that? After all, who does not like Chinese?"
Resisting the clutch of her arms seemed childish, but Robin was definitely inclined to say no to Chinese, mainly just to be contrary. She was almost as troublesome as Raven, except that Starfire was much more pleasant and was less inclined to frame the rest of them for her crimes. Still, Robin felt somewhat sour that Starfire had kissed him practically senseless only to find out that it had been a ploy to pick his pockets clean. He didn't know what pissed him off more: The fact that she had caught him off guard or the fact that she had done it as a diversion.
He was on the verge of telling Starfire that there would be no Chinese that night when Cyborg, perhaps seeing the look on Robin's face, clapped a hand on his back, knocking the breath out of him before he could speak.
"Everybody loves Chinese!" said Cyborg. "I think I saw that restaurant, Starfire. It's a fine place for take-out. Let's go. I'm driving!"
Robin shot Cyborg a glare but Cyborg ignored him.
Beast Boy ran across the street and transformed into a cheetah, belting out a feline scream. The Banachian stumbled backwards, digging into his pockets frenziedly and tossing the T-Craft's keys from out of his hand. The Banachian didn't even look back as he ran.
Cyborg took the driver's seat and Beast Boy took the passenger's seat beside him.
This did not help Robin's mood in the least. He opened the door to the back and Starfire hopped in. She looked up at him from her seat.
"Are you still angry?" she asked.
He arched an eyebrow. "Why would I be?" His tone was a tad sarcastic.
She sighed, leaning back. "I said I was sorry," she muttered.
Robin was about to blurt something particularly biting when he held his tongue. Taking a deep breath, he let it go for the meantime, sliding the door and closing everyone but himself in. He went around the craft to the passenger's side and stared Beast Boy down.
"BB, go to the back."
"I got here first!"
"Do I look like I care? Go to the back."
Beast Boy pouted but did as he was told, transforming into a rabbit and hopping to the passenger carriage.
As Robin secured himself, he could hear Starfire giggling about cute little Bunny Beast Boy. He did his kitten routine and Starfire fell in love with it completely.
Rolling his eyes, Robin reached over his seat and switched on the radio. He flipped it to an Earth radio station and strangely found comfort in some punk rock.
Cyborg gave him a disapproving glare and flipped it to an RB-Hip Hop station. "Chill, man. Is why you're wound up so tight; your music could make a bitch out of anyone." The T-Craft hummed and rose into the air.
Robin just sighed and sat back on his seat. Just in! Loser of the day: Robin the bitch.
Something hissed and coughed at the back seat.
Starfire gasped. "Beast Boy is choking! Oh, help!"
Robin pressed circles to his temples. "BB, for the love of God…"
Beast Boy sprang back into himself and a hairball splattered to the dashboard.
"Ew…" said Starfire.
Cyborg shrieked. "What the fuck, Beast Boy!"
"I had no choice!"
Robin gritted his teeth. "Honest to God! Could we please just all shut up for one fucking minute?"
The sudden silence in the craft was marred only by the music piping from the radio. Robin took a deep breath, relieved. He closed his eyes, trying to refocus his thoughts as they slipped out of V'yus and into space.
"Is it one minute yet?"
"Dammit, Beast Boy!"
"What? You said a minute!"
Robin's eyes flashed murder, or something like it.
Cyborg winced. "BB, Jesus! Quit pissing off the chief!"
"I never mean it when I do it!"
Robin was in dire danger of pushing the "launch" button for Beast Boy's seat. It wouldn't kill Beast Boy. The seat-eject was actually a mini-escape pod for the T-Craft. It protected the passenger from harmful exposure to space and the pod could be programmed to go where the passenger wanted. The worse that could happen was that Beast Boy would have to go the rest of the way to the Mighty Titan in his little, confining pod. Of course, it would still be spectacularly crabby of Robin if he shot Beast Boy out of the craft.
Nevertheless, Robin's hand crept towards that tempting switch.
He was, therefore, caught completely off-guard when a pair of hands fell upon his shoulders and started to knead them in bone liquefying circles. The hands were beyond genius, they were divine and he sank against his seat, eyes rolling as he groaned. "S-Sweet Jesus, that feels awesome..."
Starfire giggled softly. "I thought you would like that." She worked her fingers to his nape and Robin's eyes dropped close. He suddenly had a silly smile on his face.
Cyborg and Beast Boy watched in awe.
"Holy shit," said Cyborg. "He's happy… he's actually happy! It's a goddam miracle!"
"Shut up, Cy…" drawled Robin. Much of his conviction saying it was lost on a soft moan. Though she was only working on his upper body, it felt like his entire back was going boneless. The relaxing sensations were spreading from his nape to the rest of his skull. He could have fallen asleep and might not have known it.
Beast Boy raised his hand, like he was in class. "Ooh! Me! My turn!"
Starfire grinned as she continued to administer to Robin. "I am sorry, Beast Boy, but this one is special to Robin. He was so stressed! I was afraid he was going to have a stroke. Perhaps I could teach Terra and she could do it in my stead. You are with her, are you not?"
"Well, of course—"
"I would not have known, seeing you in the club."
Beast Boy's eyes widened. "I-It wasn't me!"
"Oh? I could have sworn…"
"They come to me! I don't call their attention! They just—you know—swarm!"
"Of course they do." Starfire's smile widened.
Beast Boy shot her a suspicious stare. He didn't ask for a massage again.
Robin's vision swam momentarily before he felt a warmth settle at the pit of his stomach. The fingers were gone and he sighed regretfully, gently catching her fingers before they could retreat completely. He lolled his head to the side to look at her, his cheek pressing to the back of her hand. "Starfire, you could make a living with those hands."
She laughed softly. "Sometimes I do. I told you: I was not always a slave."
"Damn." He let her hands go and he slumped in his seat.
Cyborg chuckled. "This is good for you, champ. You should pay Starfire to do this for you at least once every week. Everyone in the ship would be happier for it."
Robin's eyebrow arched. "I don't—"
"Oh," said Starfire. "For him I would always do it for free."
Robin's eyebrow arched even higher.
Cyborg laughed. "Well, there you go! Couldn't get any better than that… or could it?"
Robin could have socked the smirk from Cyborg's face if he didn't feel so relaxed. The giggle that emanated from Starfire knotted something in the pit of his stomach ever so slightly, but the sensation was fleeting.
They made a quick run through the Great Wall Lotus. Cyborg and Beast Boy, while generally not moochers, had no problem ordering everything they could on the menu. To her credit, Starfire laughed it off, permitting it. As promised, she paid for the entire meal, and laden with Wonton, Dumplings, Fu Yong and alot of Chow Fan, they went back to the Mighty Titan.
888888888888888888
Robin watched Cyborg dig through a mountain of Chinese-restaurant cartons. He wasn't particularly surprised seeing Cyborg plow through a truckload of food; he was, in fact, used to it. The steady stream of food Cyborg was shoving into his mouth was almost lulling if you didn't listen to the incessant slurping sounds. Robin found it mildly interesting, as he always wondered whether a black hole had actually taken residence in Cyborg's stomach.
Across the table, Beast Boy and Terra were cracking cookies and reading the fortunes inside them out loud with thick, Cantonese accents. They had grown accustomed to Cyborg, too.
Terra fell in stitches when Beast Boy said, "It take many nail to build crib, but one screw to fill it."
Even Robin felt like laughing at it. He didn't, though.
Raven was too preoccupied to pay attention. She was watching Cyborg with dead calm, but even Robin could tell she was awed, in her own way, by the amount of food Cyborg was scarfing down.
"His stomach… it is like the universe," breathed someone into Robin's ear.
Robin stifled a jerk of surprise. He had almost forgotten that Starfire was beside him.
Cyborg heard her and grinned with noodles dangling from his mouth. "Praise the Lord for health-friendly MSG."
"Praise Zork Baubernon," said Raven.
"Praise what?"
"Who, actually. Zork Babernon; hails from Psion. He processed the toxic MSG and made it benign; so it's not really healthy, per se; just non-harmful. It was actually a nuclear physics experiment gone awry, but he had the scientific competence to know what he had done and make money off it. It had nothing to do with this Lord of yours."
Cyborg grinned, pieces of cabbage in his teeth. "Now, that's a matter of faith, girl."
Raven turned away in disgust. "Ugh."
They didn't know if she meant the cabbage or faith.
Robin arched an eyebrow and cocked a derisive smirk. "So you do know how to engage in normal—dare I say interesting—conversation."
"That's me. Always the life of the party."
He chuckled. He was beginning to appreciate her sarcastic wit. He wondered if it had anything to do with Starfire's magic fingers. He had certainly felt loosened up since their ride back from V'yus. He reckoned someone could kick him in the nuts and he'd still feel too relaxed to get worked up about it. He wasn't willing to test out the theory, though.
Cyborg was right; if he got massaged like that at least once a week, it just might be good for him.
Starfire shook her head. "MSG or no MSG… where do you put all of it?"
"Answer that and you answer the question to life, the universe and everything," said Robin.
Starfire giggled.
He liked that giggle. His stomach twitched.
Robin got up. "I'm going to take a walk on deck. Starfire, would you…" All eyes turned to him, waiting for him to continue. He shook his head, annoyed that he couldn't do anything on the ship without the entire crew getting in on it. "Nothing. Forget it." He walked out of the mess hall.
Seconds later, he heard the doors to the mess hall hiss open and close behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Starfire drifting gracefully towards him. She smiled as she planted her feet on the ground and fell into step.
"I wish to walk on deck too, if you do not mind my accompanying you."
He stared at her a moment, his facial expression unchanging. "Sure."
They walked in silence to the elevators and he tried to keep his gaze firmly ahead. Every once in a while, he felt her eyes on him, and when he looked, she would be staring with barely veiled amusement. He could never stare back for long.
When they got to the deck, Robin pressed the codes to make the glass transparent. The opacity faded and the star system was made visible to them.
Starfire looked at if for a long moment. Her eyes shifted to the Vegan sun. She smiled. "I used to think that the most beautiful sight in the universe."
He arched an eyebrow. It wasn't the most beautiful sight, for him, but it was certainly one of the most memorable. "You don't think it's the most beautiful anymore?"
She shook her head.
"What changed? Something better came along?"
"No, but I changed. Surely, you've noticed it." She gave him a somewhat embarrassed grin.
Yes, he had noticed. He hadn't decided yet if he liked the changes. "You know, Starfire… you didn't have to steal my Trans-Card. If you had asked me for money, I would've lent it to you. Of course, if you had still kissed me after that, you might not have had to pay me back."
She giggled. "Truly?"
"Truly, I would have lent it to you, or truly, I wouldn't have let you pay me back?"
"Both," she replied, grinning.
He shrugged. "You'll never know now, would you?"
"I suppose not."
"You do that often?"
"What?"
"Kiss unsuspecting dudes to steal their Trans-Cards?" He said it with a slight edge.
If she noticed it, she made no indication. "Certainly not! I wasn't planning on doing such a thing, but you were quite the tough customer, Robin. So alert! You would have noticed my wayward hands in a second, so I had to kiss you, you understand. It was the only way."
"Right." He didn't feel any better about the kiss.
"Ah, maybe I should have asked you instead of picked your pockets. And who knows? I might have kissed you anyway."
He shook his head in slight amazement. "Why can't wehave just meteach other again like normal people? You know… hi… how are you? Nice to see you again… that sort of thing. I had to buy your from a slave market and you had to steal my Trans-Card. This was not how I envisioned our first meeting in ten years."
"How did you envision it, then?"
He shrugged, holding out his hands. "I don't know." He sighed. "Maybe I thought you would still be eight years old…"
Starfire laughed. "You do not like that I am eighteen? You are disappointed that I am all grown up."
Robin carefully pulled his gaze from her, looking to the galaxy outside the dome. The last thing he wanted her to see in his eyes was the fact that he thought there was absolutely nothing disappointing about her grown-up self; at least physically. Perhaps Beast Boy was right; perhaps he was a legman. "I'm not disappointed. I guess I just didn't expect you'd… look like an eighteen year old."
He didn't know how to explain it. He hoped to God she wouldn't ask him to explain.
She didn't. "I am just glad you found me, Robin."
He looked at her, astonished. "You are?"
"Of course, silly. I was being sold as a slave. When you are locked in a cage, being sold like dogs, you always expect that you would be bought by the worse masters."
He tried not to feel stung by the implication that she might not have felt so glad to see him had she been in better circumstances. "Well, that's just horrible. How the hell did you get there in the first place, Starfire? You're a Tamaranean Princess, for God's sake. How does a Tamaranean Princess go from royalty to slavery?"
"That is a long story, my friend."
"I'm not going anywhere. Start talking."
She smiled. "I got caught picking pockets in Hauge-Nebulon. The judge gave me three options. One, they would chop off my hands, after which they would set me free; two, I would be incarcerated on a meteor in Cordia-belt while encased in ice; or three, sold as a slave in Thelsor-Con. I chose the third option, but while in transport, I escaped and hid in one of the swamp moons. As you may have figured out, they caught me hiding in the mud. Those search-drones are horridly persistent. They sold me to Glim and you know the rest."
"Well, that was a long story."
She shrugged. "It felt longer in my mind."
"Where's the rest of it?"
She stepped ahead of him, stretching her arms above her in ancompulsiveneed to loosen her muscles, or perhaps she was just stalling for time. "How far back do you want me to tell?"
"Right from the time you walked out of the escape pod with your sister, maybe?"
"Oh."
"That doesn't sound like a happy 'Oh.'"
"Let us talk about something else."
"Ten years, Starfire. I looked for you for ten years. I earned this. I deserve to know."
"I did not tell you to look for me."
He couldn't believe how much that hurt him. He didn't realize that anyone could hurt him, but there he was, affected. "Well, that's just terrific," he muttered. "Stick me with a knife, why don't you? Because it seems I just fucking wasted ten years of my life."
She sighed, giving him an apologetic glance. "I did not mean it that way. I already told you that I am glad you found me. Just that the circumstances of my disappearance… it is complicated. I think maybe the story is not meant to be told."
He expelled an exasperated sigh. "Well, the truth is, I thought your family was hiding you. Of course, I had nothing to support this theory, but I didn't think you'd be gallivanting through the galaxy, picking pockets and occasionally putting yourself on the market as a slave… do you include your being a masseus in your slave-resume?"
"Oh, you liked that little massage, didn't you? I could do it to you again—"
"Don't change the subject."
She winked. "I could do full body, too."
It was astonishing, how flirty she was. It never occurred to him that she could be that way. She had always seemed the type to…
To what?He thought sardonically.The type to blush like a maiden? Oh, to hell with "maiden". I always thought she was virginal. Shy. Sheltered from the harsh realities of a rough life. Well, guess what! She actually had a rougher life than you did, Robin, and she's still smiling through it. That's one tough broad.
Getting over his surprise, he responded to her with the same smooth confidence she was showing. "Well, shit. Why didn't you say so in the first place? But we could get to that later. What happened to you, Starfire? Why wasn't your family taking care of you? Why were you alone out there? It was your sister, wasn't it? She sold you to slavery. Maybe not all the time, but the first time—"
"No!"
The vehemence of her reply startled him.
She reddened and she calmed down visibly. "No. She did not sell me. She didn't—" Sighing, she bent over the railing, leaning her chin on her propped up hand. It took all of his willpower not to check out her backside. He succeeded. Barely. She continued. "Blackfire is many things. She is selfish and conceited and often thoughtless, but… I understand why she did what she had to do ten years ago."
He arched an eyebrow. "So she did do something."
There was an uncertain pause before she slapped her palm lightly on her forehead. She sighed, probably exasperated with herself. "I should not have said that."
"Oh, great," he muttered. "More things for me to obsess about. Yipee."
She looked at him over her shoulder. "Are you sure you do not wish the full-body massage? You are getting wound up again."
Robin suspected that a full-body massage from her wasn't going to relax him in the slightest. Make him happy, probably, but it would have nothing to do with being relaxed. "You're just going to keep throwing that in my face to divert my attention, aren't you?"
"Whatever works."
"That won't work."
"You cannot blame a girl for trying."
He shook his head. He wondered if she made such offers on a regular basis. He hoped not. But that's none of your business now, is it? He frowned at his own thoughts.
"But enough about me." She said. "What have you been doing, Robin? I must say I was greatly surprised to find you a captain of such a wonderful ship."
He gave a soft snort, disgusted with himself because he was going to let her have her way, for now. He figured she wasn't asking for much, anyway. She wanted privacy; it was something he understood. He would have to ask her again, though, because he did believe that he deserved an explanation.
He ran a palm against the deck railing, as if patting the neck of a thoroughbred horse. "It gets us around. It holds up against roughies. She's a good ship."
"How long have you been flying her?"
"Three years. I got the ship when I was fifteen, but it took me almost a year to get a crew to sail this baby. I couldn't fly it by myself. It's not built like the Mighty Gotham, but maybe I like it better this way. I think I'd go crazy if I had only a butler to talk to. Cy, BB and Terra… they make pretty good friends."
"Raven is not your friend?"
He gave a derisive laugh. "Are you kidding? We couldn't wait to get rid of her. I've only known her for a couple of days, but I feel like it's been years, in a bad way. It's been a nightmare."
"Hmm… makes sense. Terra did not seem to like her much."
"That's putting it mildly."
"I do not think she is all that bad."
"Well, I guess you'd think so. She's basically the one who led us to you."
Something flickered in her gaze. "Yes, I have been wondering about that. She is a complete stranger to me, yet she pointed me out in the slave-barracks like she had been looking for me all her life. And then when we got to the ship, she had clothes that fit me perfectly. I mean, she and I are not the same size. I have bigger… you know…"
"Yeah." There was hardly any sense in pretending that he didn't know what she was talking about.
She went on. "I could not stop thinking: Who is this woman? Yet oddly enough, I constantly have this sense of déjà vu when I look at her."
"Déjà vu? Like you've seen her somewhere before?"
"Maybe. It hardly matters, anyway. I am not one to delve on silly things like mystique, horoscopes and superstition. The only thing that has helped me to survive all these years was the reality of here, now and yesterday… and perhaps the occasional hunch. Survival instinct, you know." She grinned.
He cocked a tiny smile. It was good to know that they agreed on something so important. Still, something tainted that relief. He let out a breath, like he was exhausted for her. "Where've you been, Starfire?"
"I told you-"
"No, I mean, where've you been that you've learned so much about survival?" Because that was the crux of it: She had changed because she had to, because if she had been anything like her princess-self, they would've eaten her alive out there, both literally and figuratively. She wasn't born tough, she was made tough, and you had to have survived the toughest places to believe hustling, hiding in the mud and picking pockets in casinos was an alternative.
She smiled. "Everywhere you wouldn't want to go even if you got paid for it."
Robin knew those places and he studied her closely. She was the one who looked away this time, but he had found what he was looking for.
His gaze filled with disbelief. "You didn't want to be found, did you? You were hiding. Why? Did you get in trouble? Did you—I would've helped you hide if that's what you wanted."
She tilted her gaze at him. "Really? That is sweet of you."
"I wouldn't call myself that, but yeah, I would've helped."
Her hand patted his. "I do appreciate the thought. But even if I had known you would do such a thing for me, I would not have asked for your help. I would not have subjected you to such a responsibility. The responsibility was mine and Blackfire's. We managed that, although I must admit that it was taxing in the extreme."
Robin had a feeling that even that was an understatement. "Well, now you're here, and I'm here. What are you going to do now?"
"Raven has requested that I meet with her. I am waiting for that meeting. After that, I do not know."
He didn't know why, but that hurt too. "You're staying because she asked you to stay?"
"More or less."
"So if she hadn't asked you, you would've just—I don't know—up and left?" He laughed, but he didn't think it was very funny. "Are you fucking kidding me? You didn't even want to stay? To catch up on old times, maybe?"
"Robin," she said with a dour frown. Frowns did not become her."It is nothing personal."
"Well, it's a little too fucking impersonal, if you ask me."
"What is it that you want from me, anyway?"
Robin wasn't sure, either, but he had figured it would be like before; that mutual, unspoken agreement; that the next day, they would meet up again because they liked each other's company. He felt like an idiot. Did he think nothing was going to change after ten years? "You know what? Nothing. I don't want anything. Just forget it."
"Robin?" Her tone held a hint of concern, but it only shut him down tighter.
"I have to go back to the bridge," he said, heading back to the elevators. "I think Raven's in her room, or else the library. You could go talk to her now; finish up. You know? We'll be docking at the Agrius Nebular Craft Protectorate for the night, but we could probably drop you off as far as Drava-Airyn tomorrow. Beyond that, you're on your own."
Drava-Airyn was somewhere at the edge of the second quadrant and it was still quite far, but there was always good business there for gaters. He could use a quick Pick-and-Drop. They certainly weren't earning anything from Raven's contract.
"You are angry with me," she said before he could step into the elevator.
He wasn't, but now he was. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "It's been ten years. You know nothing about me anymore."
He saw her flinch and his stomach twisted unexpectedly.
Damn ulcer. He walked through the elevators and turned to watch the doors close. He saw that her gaze had gone back to the galaxy outside.
The sad truth became clear as he was closed in; alone in the elevator.
He hadn't found Starfire. The Starfire he knew was gone forever.
-
Reflections of Starfire: I suspect I have brought R'kma upon Robin and myself… oh dear.
-
Author's note: It took a while! My apologies.