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 Seven: Bespelled
The travel time between Jiranek and Drava-Airyn sector took a day to a day and a half, sometimes longer if travelers took stopovers between the exit gate and the destination sector. It was difficult not to take stopovers. Drava-Airyn, though by no means a fashionable district, boasted of factories and marketable bulk goods that they apportioned for retail. So a top designer from Saturn, whose factory could be found in Drava-Airyn Industrial and whose clothes usually sold for signature prices, could set up an outlet in Drava-Airyn Open Market and sell for much cheaper, mainly because his overhead costs for store space, salespeople and taxes were relatively low, compared to the stock he sold in the posh districts of Earth and other commercial space ports. Clearly, Drava-Airyn was just far enough from, and grubby enough for, regular consumers to go to for shopping sprees. It was practically on the outer edge of the second quadrant, a place where urban galactic society seldom reached unless one was a gater.
For the most part, the entire Mighty Titan crew liked going to Open Market, for one reason or another, because while the low-priced couture was a big draw, there were other shops of interest between the clothes and shoes; both open and indoor.
Robin, for instance, liked scouring the stalls for books with holographic pop-up pictures of unknown corners of the galaxy. And occasionally, when he got lucky, he would be able to get his hands on a book about Luna written by an outsider who wasn't an Earthling. It fascinated him how other people perceived Luna, mainly because even he understood how strange his home was to others; how disconcerting it must be to an outsider seeing not one, not two, but half a dozen clowns lined up at the check-out counter in the grocery store like it was the most normal thing in the world (which, in fact, it was in Luna), or how the lady in the crisp business suit standing at the bus beside them had a dressed-up seal on a leash as it balanced a colorful rubber ball. Robin took a guilty pleasure in how aliens took pains trying to explain why this was so when he knew, in fact, that it was just what it was.
Beast Boy liked riding around in his dingy old hover scooter, usually with Terra riding in the back. He would chauffer her around while she shopped and he didn't mind at all that she took her time in her favorite shops.
Cyborg seldom went shopping in Drava-Airyn. He instead took pleasure in the coffee. He usually roosted in one of the half-dozen coffee shops drinking espresso and having a huge pile of croissants to go with it. It was a somewhat strange picture; hulking half-robot that he was, drinking from a little cup and eating pastries (sometimes with a smear of butter), but he swore that Drava-Airyn's espresso was the best in the galaxy, and he wasn't going to deprive himself of it just because it didn't match his body armor. He usually had a holopaper with him to read, or else a crossword puzzle to solve. He would wait for everyone to finish shopping and one by one, they would converge in his chosen coffee shop, often tired and guilty of all the spending.
When the Mighty Titan docked at the sector port, Robin informed his crew that they had two hours to do all the shopping they needed and that they should be at the Black Bean, the coffee shop of Cyborg's choice, by then.
"I'll be taking the T-Craft to the nearest space lab this time," explained Cyborg. "Terra came up with nil in her analysis, not that I'm expecting much from this lab visit… anyway, I'd only be an hour gone. I bet I'll be at the coffee shop by the time you all get there."
Robin nodded, looking to the rest. "There's a fifteen minute grace period past the two hours. If after that, you're not there, we're leaving without you and you'll have to wait another ten hours until we get back." That was always an effective threat. The Open Market didn't exactly have any nearby hotels.
Beast Boy raised his hand. He always did that.
Robin sighed. "Yes?"
"What if you're the one who's late? Should we leave without you?"
Robin couldn't tell if Beast Boy was serious or if he was being a smart ass. "I'll be there. Now—"
Beast Boy raised his hand again.
"Yes!"
"What if you're the only one there? What if even Cy thought he wanted to do some shopping? Will you leave without the rest of us?"
"Because of these questions: You bet your ass I will."
"Oh."
"We're talking two hours Earth time, right?" The question had come from Raven.
This surprised Robin, though he wasn't sure why. Surely, even witches had to buy their Eye of Newt every once in a while. Eyebrow raised, he replied. "Yeah, Earth time. Why, not enough for you?"
She shook her head. "It's fine." She began to head out the bridge door and everyone followed.
Robin felt a nudge and he turned, finding himself looking at Starfire's bright, smiley face.
"Could I come with you?" she asked.
This was even more surprising to Robin. He gave her a strange look before he nodded, realizing, in spite of himself, that the surprise was welcome. "Sure. Anything you want to buy in particular? We could go there first before I check out my stuff."
"Oh, I will just go where you go. I just wish to sight see, or perhaps window shop. Do not worry about me. You could even pretend I am not there."
He didn't think that was something he could pretend. Even he had to admit that Starfire was striking. She wasn't the sort of person who got ignored.
They all exited the ship and headed to their respective shopping areas. While it took quite a bit of walking to get from the ship to the market, it wasn't an unpleasant journey. There were many sights to see along the way and Starfire seemed to show a great interest in the most useless things.
Robin watched in fascination as she dished a load of credits on simple wind-chimes. She had bargained for the item, of course, and while she had seemed to have cut the price down to half, it still seemed like a waste of money.
"What the hell are you going to do with that?" he asked. "It's totally useless."
She merely smiled, gathering her wares and praising the seller's bargaining skills. It was a standard courtesy.
As they walked away, she grabbed his arm and leaned closer to him. "In Belenus Prime, wind-chimes cost a fortune. I could sell this cheap but still get ten times more than what I paid for."
He arched an eyebrow. "We're not going to Belenus Prime. It's practically on the other side of the galaxy."
"I will… eventually."
Robin frowned, but he barely had time to be upset before she dragged him to another shop, where she bought another useless item. She seemed utterly delighted, telling him that Drava-Airyn was brimming with the best things.
"I cannot spend all my credits, you understand," she explained chattily. "I can only buy so much, but it is so satisfying to get these excellent deals on such portable items!"
He arched an eyebrow. "You do this all the time?"
"Oh, as much as I can! It is the closest thing to a legitimate trade I can get, you see. And it brings in quite a sum, after all. If I had to make payments on such things as a house or insurance, the money I earn wouldn't do, but for my lifestyle, this is good money."
Robin tried not to be so irritated by the fact that she was doing exactly the kinds of things she needed to do to leave the Mighty Titan. After all, it was her life. He hated it that he was concerning himself so much with the women on his ship. Even Raven wasn't far from his thoughts, because it was dangerous to take her for granted. "You know what, Star? You should get a ship of your own, or something. A small caravan type, just so you have a place to sleep-in wherever you go. All you have to do is find a craft protectorate and park there for a day or two. And craft-pros are everywhere."
She rolled her eyes, as if he had completely missed the point. "Robin, if I buy a craft, I would have to register my information to own one. And then every time I park in a protectorate, I would be scanned. How does that secure my existence?"
She had a point, but Robin hadn't been very keen on letting her go on her own, after all. "You could always track us down if you're in trouble. If you have a craft, you'd be able to access the Mighty Titan wherever and whenever."
"You mean you could track me down."
"Well, I could, but is that so awful?"
She giggled. "No, but if you could track me, so could everyone else, and 'everyone' includes particular unsavory individuals."
He merely gave a grunt. He didn't know what to say. He had offered her a place in his ship, but she wasn't biting. If she didn't want to stay, then he couldn't do jack shit about it.
She bought a few more things, all of them small enough to fit in a large satchel, before they arrived at Open Market central. Robin took his time heading to his favorite book shop. After all, he might find something he liked along the way. They passed a kebab stand, and Starfire stopped both of them on their tracks.
"Ooh! Barbecued strips of… of… I do not know what! But does it not smell wonderful, Robin?"
It did, and Robin wasn't really afraid of what the meat might be, considering they only sold edible food in Drava-Airyn, but he'd already had his breakfast. "I'm not really—"
"Yum! Let us try some. Please, Robin?" She grabbed his arm again, pulling him encouragingly, and she shot him this pleading look.
He stifled a sigh. He supposed it meant she wanted him to pay for the kebab. It was easy enough to oblige. She had bought them dinner before, even if the money she had used to buy it had been stolen off lecherous fools. Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to have her stuff her face. Her lifestyle didn't do much putting meat on her bones and muscles. He bought two kebabs, had them packed in a handy little bag and gave both kebabs to her. "Here. Knock yourself out."
Her smile was as bright as a super nova. "Thank you!" She immediately began to eat one. "Delicious! Have some?"
"N-No. That's fine."
"It is your loss." She happily continued to eat.
She finished both kebabs half-way to their destination and she was soon wheedling him to buy her a deli sandwich of sorts. And then it was yogurt, and then a slice of meat pie and then candy apple. He couldn't understand where she was putting all of it, and he found that it was difficult to say no to her on account of those eyes of hers, combined with her painfully thin frame.
"You got worms or something?" Robin finally asked. It wasn't that he was beginning to get annoyed by all the spending he had to do for her, but it was amazing how she packed it all away. She was almost as bad as Cyborg.
She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I seldom get to eat as much as I want and sometimes I have to go days without food, so when I have the chance I—ahem—take advantage. This candy apple is amazing…"
"Well, so long as you're not using me…" he said in a dry tone. But he couldn't really bring himself to get too offended. She seemed to be enjoying every single bite she took, like she really was savoring her food. And the thought that she had ever gone days without eating made him feel stupidly compassionate. "I'm surprised you hadn't raided the food on the ship."
"I can be a moocher when I want to, Robin, but I know enough not to devastate your supplies on the ship. Your food is rationed, yes? I was not even supposed to be there. I can be considerate too, you know."
"Fine, fine. Anything else you'd like to eat before we head to the bookshop?"
"Not for the moment, no."
He rolled his eyes at her terminology. At the "moment", she was enjoying her candy apple. She might have new ideas when she finished with it. He shook his head, chuckling in spite of himself. They were two shops away from the bookstore when Robin stopped in front of a store selling various curiosities. The store front registered in his memories and he couldn't help pushing his way through the beveled door.
The inside of the shop was just as he remembered it. Even the shelf of books at the far end of the store was where it should be. Very little in it had changed, except when he looked to the counter, he saw a tall, smiling human.
Starfire walked past Robin from behind, looking at everything as she munched on her candied apple. "Interesting store, Robin. Many… curious things…" Coming from her, it sounded like "things she couldn't sell for more somewhere else".
Robin let his eyes rove. Everything was familiar, yet it wasn't.
"Tup o' th' murnin t' y'," said the man behind the counter.
Robin blinked himself out of his stupor. "Excuse me?"
"I 'as s'yin' g'murn."
Robin's brows creased in absolute confusion. He tapped his translator. Maybe it was broken. "What?"
He looked at Starfire, wondering if she understood the man at all considering she should have encountered the like in all her travels.
She had her candy apple held up, and she stood listening to the man, just as mystified.
The man sighed in exasperation. "J' lick 'round th' shup. L' me know when y' fine sumthun."
"Y-Yeah…" Though still uncertain, Robin just headed towards the bookshelves.
Starfire followed close behind, whispering. "It is English. I know it is."
Robin stifled a sigh. It was definitely English, and after having given it more thought, Robin knew what accent it was. It was one of those Irish Gypsy accents. They had a lot of Irish Gypsies in Luna, but somehow constant interaction with people who barely understood the words through their thick drawl had managed to dilute their twang. Robin had a fair understanding of Lunarian Irish Gypsies, but the true Irish Gypsies remained quite incomprehensible.
He combed through the shelves and saw that the collection of books were fairly normal. Dime romances; old mysteries; several biographies of people he had never heard of and one or two worn-out pillow-books. There was nothing to indicate that the store sold books along the lines of Cosmic Ley Craft.
Starfire looked over his shoulder. "Ooh! Robin, look! It is a book of interesting positions. Let us peek—"
Robin flushed and gently nudged her hand away from it. "Cut it out, Star. I didn't come here to look at books like that."
"Oh? You know your positions already?"
He reddened even more but turned to face the store attendant. "Excuse me, sir? Would you happen to—umm—know who the salesclerk was in this store five years ago?"
"N' chance. Didn't gi' a' shite 'bout th' stir 'til a yr aga. But me mah might noo."
Robin sighed. "Ah Jesus… who might know?"
Starfire giggled and Robin shot her a glare to shut up.
The man shook his head in frustration. "Me mah!" he said, holding his hands up.
Robin had to think very hard. "M-Mahh? Oh, your mom. Well, where's your mah?"
"Sh' ata beck. L' me git 'er fer yah." He left through the narrow door behind the counter.
Robin expelled a breath, massaging his temples. "Why me?"
Starfire laughed.
"It isn't funny."
"Oh Robin, I noticed you seldom find anything funny these days. What is so important about the salesclerk five years ago, anyway?"
"I don't know. Maybe nothing."
"Hush! Here he comes with his 'mah'."
The man emerged from the door followed by a matronly woman with short bushy hair and a ready smile.
"Mernin t' ya. Me boi sez y' askin' 'bout oole' Dagwood."
His mother was relatively more understandable, or maybe he had managed to get used to the accent, somehow. "I don't know his name, ma'am, but he was Cahillian; and he had a kid with him; maybe six or seven."
"Cahillian, aye! Kid, y' say? I doon recall Dagwood bringin' Roog to me shup. Dagwood be sloo enuf b' 'imself. I doon think he be havin' the vigerr to chez a six yer ool like Roog."
"Well, she was very behaved that day. She just sort of sat there…" Robin pointed to the side of the counter.
Mah followed the direction of his finger. She stared a moment, like she had been struck by something very odd.
Her eyebrow arched in Robin's direction. "Oooh, boi… it ain't good to be foolin' 'bout sumthin' like tha."
That was unexpected. "I'm not fooling. It's just that she sat there—"
"She? Lass, was it? Sh' be human?"
"No, she was Cahillian. I guess she wasn't very helpful to Dagwood. The old guy kept falling asleep—"
Mah began to shake her head, a scowl forming on her face. She pointed to the door. "B' gone wit' y' boi! It be ill luck t' b' talkin' 'bout the dead soo lightly! Noo respect, I tell y'! Goh! Goh now!"
Her son blinked in surprise. "Mah… ?"
Robin was taken aback by the sudden hostility. "B-But—" He felt a tug on his arm. It was Starfire, and her eyes widened at him pointedly. She jerked her head towards the door and pulled him along.
"Our apologies, ma'am," whispered Starfire.
"Jus' goh!" Mah cried.
The man winced, but he shot Robin a pleading look, darting his eyes to the door as if to request Robin to do as his mother demanded.
Robin winced and let Starfire usher him out. Once they were outside, the man appeared behind the glass door as he flipped the sign to the store to "Closed".
"Was it something I said?" asked Robin, confused.
Starfire sighed, shrugging. "In such situations, Robin, you do not ask why, you just do as they say. I have been turned away enough times to know when it is always best to just leave."
"Damn gypsies," muttered Robin. "Bunch of superstitious… serves me right for going in there. Come on. The bookshop's right at the corner."
They went to the book store and the next hour was spent browsing through the shelves. Robin hadn't even noticed that he had been browsing so long, but he was pleased to note that Starfire was just as engrossed about looking as he was. Clutching half a dozen books in his hands, he found her leaning comfortably against one of the shelves and reading a fairytale by one of the classic authors.
"The Tower at Stony Wood," read Robin from the cover. "I never read that."
She smiled. "It is one of my favorites. It is about ladies trapped in towers, great treasures, gallant impoverished knights and beautiful but fearsome dragons."
"You always liked that sort of thing; fantasy. But I prefer the reality in fiction, I guess."
Again she smiled, but it was warmer this time. "I find that fantasy is symbolic of reality. Strangely enough I could relate to it."
He arched an eyebrow. "Relate? Because you're a princess?"
She laughed. "No, silly. I ceased to be a princess long ago, or have you forgotten?"
"You don't stop being a princess," he said. "You just sort of lie low."
It was evident that she didn't agree with him, but she wasn't willing to argue that point. She continued on her original thread. "What I meant was… well, we all find ourselves trapped in a tower every once in a while. And at other times we seek great things that may as well be great treasure, the way we dream of them. Then there is the gallant impoverished knight… that could be you—or me. Or Beast Boy. Anyone, really. We all have something of the hero or adventurer within us, but we are imperfect, because we would not be as interesting as heroes if we had no flaws or shortcomings."
He chuckled. "And the dragon?"
"Oh, that is the most interesting part. Won't you use your imagination?"
"I don't have one."
She stepped closer to him, and to his astonishment, she slipped her arm around his waist so that she could show him the page she wanted him to read from. "The dragon drew her eyes then, its luminous scales glowing in the fading light as with inner fires, its head reared on the immense stalk of its neck, staring down at Sel—that is the lady sorceress—out of cauldrons of molten gold. It was absolutely still. So was she, stunned still, for she had never seen anything so beautiful or so menacing in her life. Its jaws opened slightly, revealing teeth like wedges of crystal, as if, she thought incredulously, it smiled."
He swore he couldn't have understood a word she said, but he watched her face as she read; the glow of her eyes and the movement of her lips. As children aboard the Mighty Gotham, they had read to one another when a particular passage in a book interested them, but Robin couldn't recall being so enthralled before. At least not the way he was enthralled now, watching and hearing her speak. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the elegantly strung words.
She looked up at him expectantly. "Any ideas?"
He couldn't help but cock a tiny grin. He had ideas, just not the kind she was expecting from him. He did, however, think it very prudent not to speak of the un-literary thoughts running through his head. "And how is a passage like that supposed to help me figure out this allegory of yours?"
She pouted, slapping him lightly with the book. "You weren't listening," she admonished softly, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips.
He shook his head, his gaze fixed on her. He found he was amused by her mild frustration, though his amusement probably had more to do with the petulant look on her face.
She leaned closer and his pulse quickened. "The dragon—" she began breathily "—symbolizes temptation. Temptation is beautiful; irresistible, but we know the dangers that come with it, whether we are prone to giving in to temptation or not. Often, they hinder our path to our treasures. Whether we slip past them, kill them or suffer failure with them is a matter left entirely to us. They are what they are, and we are measured by how we stand up against the dragons we meet in our lives. Clear enough for you, Robin?"
He swallowed, her closeness unnerving, yet he didn't seem to want to pull away. It couldn't get any clearer than that. "Y-Yeah…"
She giggled and the pitched sound broke through his haze. Abruptly, she turned and left him standing dazed on the aisle as she replaced the book she held on the shelf. "You must buy those books, Robin. It is about time to meet with Cyborg and the others, yes?"
Robin hastened to recover himself and he realized he was holding his breath. What manner of hypnotism was Starfire playing at? How embarrassing that she had such an effect on him.
He quickly made his way to the counter to pay for his books, casting wary glances at Starfire as she looked at the bookmarks displayed on a revolving stand.
It was while he was processing his transaction that he actually caught her stealing a bookmark with practiced sleight of hand.
He sighed, shaking his head.
The cashier rang up his payment and stuffed the books in an easy-to-carry paper bag. Swinging the bag in his grip by its twined paper handles, he walked up behind Starfire and held her firmly by the arm. She gasped softly at the press of his fingers.
He put his lips to her ear and said, "Put the bookmark back or I'll tell on you."
She scowled, looking at him over her shoulder. "I do not know what you are talking about," she whispered fiercely.
"Bookmark; now. I don't have time for your bullshit." He was a master at scowling, and his was far better than hers.
At first, she stubbornly made no move to comply, but perhaps realizing that Robin could wait it out as long as she could, she sighed and rolled her eyes, fishing something from within her shirt. Robin barely managed not to look into her hiding place.
She brought out the bookmark and put the item back on display. "There, happy now?" she hissed.
"Yes. Let's go." He didn't let go of her arm as he dragged her to the door.
"It is not as if the store would incur huge loses from a little trinket like that," she muttered bitterly.
"It's not like you could sell that thing for a higher price in some other sector of the galaxy."
When they were outside, she wrenched her arm from his grasp and stomped her foot. "I just wanted a bookmark, you know! Honestly, Robin, you worry about the littlest things!"
He rolled his eyes. "It costs less than half a Euphorix credit! If you wanted one, why don't you just buy it? You have to steal something like that and get in trouble?"
"Why would I pay for something I could steal?" She said it as if her argument made perfect sense and that he was the stupid one who didn't get it.
"Why would you steal something you could pay for?"
She stomped her foot again then she walked past him, heading in the direction of the coffee shop. "I do not wish to argue with you over a silly, cheap bookmark—"
"That's what I was saying! It was a cheap ass—"
"You have quite missed the point!"
"Me? You're missing the point! Jesus!"
They argued the rest of the way to Black Bean, and when they got to the coffee shop, they barely gave a moment's notice to Cyborg and Raven who were watching them with narrow-eyed curiosity.
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Robin drummed his fingers impatiently on the coffee table, disturbing the huffy silence of their party. He was getting impatient waiting around for Beast Boy and Terra, but he couldn't exactly complain. The two hour limit only took effect two minutes ago, and they had thirteen more minutes before the grace period ended. In any case, he really didn't want to leave anyone behind, but if he had to, he would.
Starfire tore a piece from her croissant and dipped it into her thick chocolate before popping the piece into her mouth. "Mmm! This is so good. Would you like some, Raven?"
Raven just stared at her, as if to tell her it was a stupid question, while she twirled her finger around the spoon she was kinetically stirring into her coffee. Starfire didn't take offense. She merely shrugged and continued to eat.
Cyborg drank from his third double espresso, the cup awkwardly tiny in his huge hands.
At any rate, it had only been approximately twenty minutes since he and Starfire first arrived at the table. He wasn't usually this impatient. He lost his temper when people around him were being unnecessarily stupid or slow on the uptake, but he was actually quite patient when it came to waiting. This time he was fidgety.
He took another quick glance at the possible directions Beast Boy and Terra could come from before he settled back against his seat, resuming the drum of his fingers. He raised his gaze from his hand and rested it on Starfire who beside him.
He wondered what it was about the girl that was putting him on edge, because it had to be her. She had managed to force him to move from one spectrum of his emotions to another in the last two hours. It wasn't that he hated it, but it made him feel very strange; queasy; unbalanced. Only one other person had that effect on him, and even then, Bruce was in no way like Starfire.
She caught him staring, but she merely smiled. Her eyes roved to the bags at Raven's feet. "Well, look at you! It looks like you made good use of Drava-Airyn."
Raven's arched an eyebrow. "I bought a few things."
"Oh, a few things, yes."
Raven shot her a glare. "What's it to you?"
Starfire's eyes widened in perfect innocence, inching her chair closer to the witch. "Me? Oh, I am just making conversation. I found some trinkets, myself, and Robin brought me to a bookstore. Books are wonderful, of course, but they are difficult to carry around, so I just read them in the store. Robin bought a lot of books, though. You like books too, do you not, Raven? You visit the ship's library often. It is something you and I have in common."
"It's the only thing we have in common."
"Oh, but that is a detail!"
"It's an important detail. Now get off my personal space."
She pushed Starfire, chair and all, away from her, slamming the seat against Robin's knee. Metal whapped against bone and Robin went on his tirade of besmirching the good name of Raven's parents, whoever they were.
Cyborg sighed, shaking his head but refusing to join in the mini-chaos.
Starfire scowled. "Oh Raven! That was not very nice! Robin, are you hurt?"
Robin just shot her a dirty look. There were too many sarcastic things to say in reply to the spectacularly stupid question. But when she responded to it with an apologetic smile, the acid in his thoughts dissolved and he found himself muttering that he would be fine.
"Just… just please leave Raven alone," he added. "When she gets agitated, she becomes dangerous."
Raven frowned. "And what you just said won't agitate me, of course."
Robin sighed. There was just no winning with Raven.
Starfire put her arm around his shoulder, much to his surprise, and she smiled. "Raven is not so bad. But I will do as you ask for now."
"Talking about me as if I wasn't here won't agitate me, either." It was so sarcastically put that it could have melted off the surface of sandpaper.
Starfire, true to her word, ignored her. Instead, she chose to agitate Robin, in a manner of speaking. She put her hand atop his aching knee and delicately rubbed it. "Does it still hurt?"
The alarm bells in Robin's head went off. "I'm fine!" He awkwardly pulled himself away from her, chair and all, bumping his seat on Cyborg's knee with a resounding clang. Lucky for the both of them, Cyborg's knee was steel enforced.
Cyborg arched an eyebrow and Robin prayed he wouldn't say anything.
Starfire looked mildly surprised but she gave in to dropping the issue. "That is good…"
The sputtering whir of a hover Mo-Ped never sounded so welcome to Robin. He got to his feet. "About time."
Beast Boy came to a stop just beside their table and Terra peeked from his shoulder.
"We're going already?" she asked, arms laden with packages. "But we just got here!"
"You're past the two-hour limit," said Robin. "We have to go."
Beast Boy looked over his shoulder at her. "That's the chief's favorite word. 'Go.' Let's go! Go there, now! We have to get going. Go away."
"Yeah, well, go eff yourself. How's that for go?" muttered Robin, gathering his packages. Instinctively, he took hold of Starfire's bags as well.
Beast Boy's eyebrow arched. "Eff? Did you say 'eff'? Egad!"
Robin flipped him the finger but he caught Starfire scowling and he found himself putting his offending finger away. "Cyborg, your coffee and croissants paid for?"
"Yes, but could you wait a second? Tipping isn't a country in China, you know," muttered Cyborg as he fumbled for his trans-card.
Robin tapped his foot.
Sighing, Cyborg made the necessary computations and inputted his credits into the tipping panel at the center of the coffee table. "Alright! Don't get your boxers in a twist. Jeez…"
Even Raven was caught in the rush. She hurriedly gathered her bags, casting a questioning glance at Cyborg. "Does he always get this edgy when he's upset about a girl?"
"I heard that," said Robin as he walked ahead of the entire group.
"This is your fault, Starfire," said Raven.
"How is this my fault?"
This time, Robin pretended not to hear it.
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They were about two hours away from the Drava-Airyn-Linschoten-Estate Stargate. Linschoten was a privately owned star situated nearer to the edge of the second quadrant. While it was owned by a German trillionaire whose family made a fortune inventing and marketing containers that either cooled or heated its contents with a swift pull of its packaging seal, Linschoten Estate had developed its own little society, apart from the Linschoten family members. They were like a space age feudal system, with vassals and holdings, and perhaps even the occasional land dispute.
Robin explained this to Starfire as she sat on the bridge's guest chair.
"Inbreeeeeding…" said Beast Boy as a contribution to the Linschoten Estate discussion. "They—like, marry their cousins and impregnate their aunts."
Terra made a face from her work panel. "That is so gross, BB."
Robin ignored their banter. "We'll be in the wormhole three to four hours. There's nothing in Linschoten to see. After we drop of our deliveries, they might have us deliver things for the return trip. It's the usual routine, but seeing as we don't even know where we're supposed to go next…"
Starfire raised an eyebrow.
He couldn't resist giving her a sardonic grin before looking over his shoulder at Cyborg. "Did you get anything from the space lab, Cy?"
"Nope. The samples were too contaminated for the analysts to make anything of it. We're just going to have to hope that we had us a freak incident."
"Great."
There was a hiss at the door and Raven walked into the bridge, arms laden with strange things.
The entire crew watched as she knelt at the center of the room and carefully set her things aside. There was a strange looking knife, a chalice, a stick of wood and a glass sphere. From within her cloak she took out a hand-held mirror, its frame shaped into an eerie face with four eyes and a surface more obsidian than clear. There were more things in her cloak. There was a pouch, its contents unknown and then she had a can of ordinary salt, which was perhaps the strangest thing of all.
Robin blinked. "What the…"
Raven hefted what looked like a chunk of purple chalk. She hesitated and looked up at Robin. "In a minute, it's going to be a pretty bumpy ride."
"Huh?"
Raven began to draw what looked like a circle on the floor.
Robin reacted immediately. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
She paid him no heed, drawing a circle clockwise, carefully and muttering words that made absolutely no sense.
"By the code and craft thy hold; in love and trust thy will uphold.
In taking, thy live; in let living, thy give.
Draw the circle thrice around, to ward off evil that abounds.
To bind the magik in thy grasp, spake in rhyme and seal the clasp…"
"Oh my…" said Starfire.
"What are you—?" Robin stepped towards Raven but felt Stafire's hand stopping him.
"Incoming! BB, evade left now!" It was Terra and her fingers flew rapidly over her keyboard.
Beast Boy didn't even ask. He maneuvered, swerving the craft to the left.
Raven lowered herself to the floor even more, keeping her balance.
Robin barely had time to react as the ship veered. He managed to lock the magnets in his boots to the bridge's floor on time and make a grab for Starfire's arm to keep her from falling. He saw the shields come up through the bridge windows just before the jolting force of plasma cannons hit them.
Whoever was firing at them meant serious harm. The cannons connected solidly with the shields, the vibrations almost painfully jarring. It would take at least two more hits like it to damage the shields, but none of them ever liked the enemy to get that many hits in.
Starfire yelped, throwing her arms around Robin for support.
Robin gritted his teeth, battle mode kicking into high gear. "Cyborg, get those blasters firing and ready the heavy artillery!"
"Aye, aye, captain! Blasters ready! Heavy artillery charging!"
"Terra, feed the enemy ship's information to Cyborg. He'll need to know where to hit 'em where it hurts."
"Transmitting info, chief!"
"Beast Boy—"
"I know! Fly like hell!"
"Go!"
Beast Boy didn't hesitate in the least. He avoided enemy fire with breathtaking skill while Cyborg used the information Terra gave him to target the enemy.
"…Wizened is the Lady's tree; treat it true, or cursed be!
Waters of the cup will flow; enriching life with what seeds sow.
Upon the earth and through the air; does nature speak and nature share…"
Raven had finished her circle and was drawing a pentacle inside it. Robin didn't have time to yell at her. Between coordinating efforts to save his ship and getting Starfire to sit in her chair, he had his hands full.
The attacks ceased but the enemy ship continued pursuit.
"They're trying to contact us, captain!" cried Terra.
Robin growled but composed himself. It wasn't unusual for enemies to establish communications, but it irked him when they did. "Put 'im on."
Seconds later, the face of a Gordanian-human hybrid appeared on-screen. Robin had no idea who he was, but that was pretty common with enemies, too.
"I am Captain Lorix Harrison of the ship Gothic. Surrender the drifter and you will come to no further harm."
Several eyebrows lifted at the statement.
The ship named Gothic, he had heard about. They were a crew of professional bounty hunters, known throughout space as being effective, professional and ruthless. There was little else anyone knew of the crew; which wasn't surprising considering their line of work, but when any one of them introduced themselves to you, you could be sure that meant they were going to kill you.
"Oh no," whispered Starfire.
Robin felt that familiar painful twitch in his stomach, knowing exactly who that drifter was. He pushed Starfire behind him, his glare fixed on Harrison. "I don't transport drifters. Everyone in this ship who isn't part of my crew are considered clients and cargo. Gaters don't give up their cargo."
Harrison was not fazed. "I could respect that. In fact, two of my crew were formerly gaters, themselves. The lot of you make formidable cargo guards, but I am afraid my interests exceed yours at this moment. We have been commissioned with an enormous amount of money to deliver the drifter to our own clients, unharmed. This presents a problem, as it is much easier to blast your ship into oblivion, but for the amount of credits we are being paid, we will not be reluctant to board your ship, kill all of you and take our bounty."
This was extremely annoying to Robin and he scowled. "And what the hell makes you think I'll let you board this ship?"
"Oh, I'm not asking for your permission."
Which was almost always the case in space-jacking.
Robin's eyebrow arched. "You could fuck me sideways and I won't let you board this ship."
"You could always count on a gater's profanity."
"Surer than death and taxes. Cut the transmission, Terra."
"With pleasure, captain."
Harrison tried to get another word in but the transmission was severed.
Starfire began to rise out of her seat and was about to say something when Robin narrowed his gaze at her.
"Sit your ass back down and shut up," he said. She did, muttering incomprehensibly under her breath.
Raven began to place her items on points of the circle, emptying the contents of her pouch little by little. Little flakes of what looked like dried leaves drifted to the floor and amidst the sanitized smell of bridge, the pungent herbal scents wafted to Robin's nose.
"Beast Boy, evasive maneuvers!"
"Roger that, chief!"
"Raven, what the hell—"
"True in heart, true to see; unless thy heart's untrue to thee.
Words to live by and fulfill: 'And it harm none, do what ye will!'"
Raven finally settled into silence, closing her eyes as if completely oblivious to the turmoil.
"Heat seeking plasma torpedoes, model GDm, class 9, incoming!" Terra yelled.
"Shit!" cried Beast Boy. "Who uses those? I mean, who the hell uses those?"
On the one hand, Beast Boy had a point. The GDm, class 9 model heat seeking torpedoes were more expensive than any civilian-issue artillery allowed by the Galactic Federation. The cost equivalent of using one could fund an interplanetary war for six Earth months, which was a long enough time for the rest of the galaxy. One had to have a lot of money to have them at all, let alone release two at once. On the other hand, that was a greatly irrelevant question when staring down the nose of a GDm, class 9 heat seeking torpedo.
Robin's heart triple-timed. "Cyborg, raise shields to maximum resistance! Beast Boy, if you avoid that torpedo, I'll make sure you never scrub another deck in your life!"
Beast Boy winced, sweat trickling from his brow as he executed every evasive maneuver he could think of. "I probably won't anyway. I couldn't scrub no decks being dead and all."
Terra sniffed uneasily. "Does this mean the Gothic will screw us sideways?"
Robin didn't even want to think about it. The torpedoes impacted once; twice and there was a gut-wrenching explosion as the bridge lights dimmed and pulsed.
The ship tilted to the right and Robin had to push away memories of an attack, long ago, that was just as courage-jolting as this one.
Starfire tumbled over him and she grabbed Robin by the lapels of his surcoat. "Are you insane? Give me up! He will decimate this ship and everything in it! Terra, contact Harrison this instant and tell him—"
Robin tried to pry her hands away. "Starfire, shut the hell up!"
Raven levitated, bringing her objects up with her while remaining centered in her pentacle. Her dark aura glowed, blanketing the room in ink. The mirror, once flat on the ground, stood, handle point down, spinning on its axis.
"I cast thee now, hallowed circle
Draw thy power from this pentacle
This space where all magic flows and weaves
Where reality changes like autumn leaves
Between this world and that, this power I cast
Joining what once was three: present, future and past.
Old and young swept into one
Dimensions of mundanity be gone
All what was real, suspend in time
What once was time, be bound by rhyme…"
The mirror stopped spinning, its reflective surface facing the panoramic windows of the bridge. Then there was an explosion, or maybe it was an implosion, but for a heartbeat—
Or maybe two, thought Robin.
it was as if everything stood absolutely still in a three second measure of eternity.
8888888888888888
Darkness came first, and then silence.
Robin blinked his eyes into adjusting, the light from the distant stars outside the only source of illumination. He could see Raven through the dimness, levitating still in her orb, her materials floating with her. The mirror remained still.
Starfire, speaking into his ear, broke the ringing quiet. "A-Are we dead?"
The truth was Robin wasn't sure.
"Yes, and we're destined to roam this ghost ship forever," came Raven's grainy drawl. "Of course we're not dead, you ditz."
"Why does she always call me that?" Starfire whined.
"Well, the ship's dead if we ain't," said Terra. "Nothing is working. It's like the batteries just—just completely ran out!"
Robin could hear her working the panels, the rhythm of her fingers swiftly drumming his senses back into gear. "S-Say that again, Terra?"
He heard her sigh. She was impatient. It was bad when Terra was being impatient with her captain.
"The. Ship. Is. Dead. Even the back-ups aren't working! The only thing working is the gravity core and I don't know how well that will hold if we have a breach."
Dead ship, he thought, blinking. Dead plasma cells. Dead engines. Dead weapons control. Dead us.
His ulcers screamed.
"Um, champ?" said Cyborg.
"Yeah?"
"The Gothic… is it dead like us or are they—you know—still fully powered?"
"They should be working fine," said Raven.
Cyborg sighed. "Oh, we definitely dead. As in, afterworld shit."
Beast Boy whined. "Could you all please stop saying the 'D' word!"
Robin felt strangely calm in spite of it all. Maybe it was Starfire clinging to the collar of his coat so tightly that it disrupted proper blood flow to his brain. "Bee, picture this: We have no weapons. We have no shields. We have no propulsion." He laughed. He didn't know why because it wasn't funny. "Your Mo-ped has more power than this ship, right now. Compared to this ship, your mo-ped is a pimped, tricked-out, bad ass killing machine. And the Gothic? Well, Raven said they're working fine. So I took that to mean they are fully equipped to BLOW US INTO TINY PIECES AFTER THEY KIDNAP STARFIRE'S ASS. Are you feeling the 'D' word now, BB? You better, BB. You know what? I want you to fucking marry the 'D' word!"
"Dude, would it hurt you to lie to me just this once?" Beast Boy whimpered.
"Would everyone please calm down? We're going to be fine," said Raven.
There was another heavy silence and Robin swore that wanted to jump Raven and strangle her. But he felt a wave-like pulse, and it seemed to have emanated from her. His anger and anxiety melted in that one beat. No one spoke, and Starfire's grip on his coat loosened.
Raven's voice filled the silence as she raised her arms forward and held her palms up towards the mirror.
"To show, lead, guide and send
Light the way that hath portend
Unlock the gate for us to see
Deliverance; blessed be!"
A blinding glare erupted from the mirror and Robin had to look away, shutting his eyes tight.
Seconds later, the glare lessened and cautiously, Robin pried his eyes open. He came upon an eerie sight.
From the mirror's surface was a white shaft of light, shimmering like the rippling surface of water. The beam went straight through the glass window of the bridge, like a laser, and extended maybe a hundred—two hundred—yards ahead. At the edge of the shaft, the light glowed a bit brighter, like it had hit an invisible wall and splashed around as it did. The dispersion grew, first gradually and then spread like a flash flood, growing with frightening speed and mass.
"What the hell is that?" whispered Cyborg, his tone struck with awe.
Robin didn't know what to say.
There was another explosion and it rocked the ship with violent turbulence. Everyone but Raven found themselves stumbling to the floor.
Robin blinked from this new shock that was reshuffling his senses. Everyone seemed too stunned to react, everyone, of course, except Raven, who always seemed to be the exception.
A second explosion rocked the ship again, but this time, cries of dismay came from all sides.
"Why?" moaned Cyborg. "Why do they keep doing that? Don't they know ships explode when they do that?"
Beast Boy squealed. "I'm too young to die, dammit!"
"You're too young?" said Terra. "I've been in jail since I was nine! I haven't even had a childhood!"
"Well, whose fault is that?"
"What! You jerk!"
"How could you call me a jerk at a time like this?"
"Because you are, jerk!"
Robin stared at them, disbelieving their petty quarrels at such a dire time. He ignored the pain in his belly and run a hand through his hair. He urged himself to think; to be calm, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind was a jumble and his heart palpitated uncontrollably.
"Robin?"
It was a whisper; an insanely soothing whisper. He turned to look at Starfire, her eyes conveying worry and pain.
She pressed her hand to his shoulder and squeezed. "You must take everyone to the escape pods and you must go. I will make sure they do not follow you. Please, you cannot die on this day; not on my account. You realize that the burden of your deaths will be too much for me to bear. You must go."
She's serious, he thought. She's fucking serious.
Of course, he had no reason to believe that this was a time for joking around. Nevertheless, it amazed him to hear her say such a thing. As if he would actually leave her again. Yet, was he ready to sacrifice his crew just because he had left Starfire behind before?
He glared at her. "Shut up, Starfire. If anyone's going to be left on this ship, it's me. I am not going to let anyone take my ship without a fight and I'll be damned if I let someone take you again. Not on my watch, they won't. Cy, take Starfire—"
"No! Richard Grayson, my sister bullied me before and I will not let you bully me in the same manner! I refuse—"
"Cy, take Starfire now—"
"Champ? Shut the fuck up. I'm staying right here with you. Bee, take Starfire and Terra—"
"What? Why do I have to baby sit the women?"
Terra gasped. "Baby sit? Up yours, BB! If you think I'm going to let you two morons watch the captain's back, then you're both idiots! Leave you while I save myself… humph! The idea!"
Robin gritted his teeth as he stood. "Fine! Don't any of you fucking tell me I didn't give you the chance to get away!"
"Even if no one cares about what happens to me," said Raven from her dark bubble. "Allow me to offer an option that doesn't include space pods and standing up to big bad bounty hunters."
A third explosion jerked the ship forward, and it was so loud and strong that it might have damaged the gravity core. They began to rise off the floor.
"Just great…" said Cyborg, sighing.
Starfire used her own powers to balance herself and realizing that she was completely mobile in the new environment, Robin grabbed her firmly by the wrist. She scowled at him and he scowled back.
"Not on my watch," he repeated. He looked at Raven. "Witch, whatever you've got planned, you have to hurry this along because we don't exactly have all the time in the universe."
A whirr and hiss came alive and a small, beeping light began to glow from the control panels.
Terra rushed to check it. "Propulsion… we have propulsion!"
Robin felt his heart beat faster. "How much, Terra? Could we get away?"
Terra took a moment to check and when her shoulders slumped, Robin did not expect good news. "No…"
"Beast Boy," said Raven. "Use that propulsion to push the ship to the portal."
"To the what?"
"To that glowy, shiny thing."
Beast Boy frowned. "And why the hell would I want to do that? For all I know, that thing's a black hole that'll destroy us all!"
"With me in the ship? I'm weird, but I'm not suicidal."
"Pardon me if I don't take your word for it."
They heard a fourth explosion. While it did not rock the ship as badly as the first three, they felt the vibrations of it beneath them.
"They're trying to breach the ship. They're going to board us," said Raven. "So if you want to stay here while the crew of the Gothic massacre us, then I suppose shit happens. But if you have an iota of survival instinct in you, you'll take what littler reassurance I have to offer. Propel this ship forward and the portal will do the rest."
Robin didn't know how Beast Boy processed situations like this; he expected that the Space Academy alumni (expelled though he was before he could graduate), knew how to weigh his options, but Robin was the captain of this ship and he if there ever was a chance, he had to take it.
"Beast Boy," he said. "I want you to maneuver this ship to that portal and I want you to do it, now."
That did it. Beast Boy scampered to lever himself on the helm and used what little propulsion they had to head for the light.
The entire ship began to groan and slowly, it pushed itself forward with teeth gritting sluggishness. The gears and mechanisms sputtered and pounded, moaning in parts like a wounded beast.
From the corner of the panoramic window, the Gothic came into view. Their ship was a lot smaller than the Mighty Gotham, as was common for bounty hunting crafts, and while weight was a non-factor in space, something other-worldly seemed to be at work, because it looked as if something was sucking it towards the light. They could see the Gothic's engine's firing up to fight it, but the magnetic pull was humungous and its initial thrusters weren't strong enough to have any effect. There was a flare, like hyperspeed, and the Gothic was suddenly nowhere in sight. Its residual plasma trail indicated that it had retreated somewhere in the direction of central second quad; definitely away from the strange, magnetic light.
A smaller, unidentified craft and chucks of what looked like parts of the Mighty Titan flew by ahead of them, disappearing into the mirror-like surface of the supernatural hole.
"It looks like we're safe for now," said Raven. "Just—oh—hold on to something. The gate will be pulling us in shortly and it's a little… unstable. I guess the Mighty Titan could hold up against the pressure, but it'll sustain more damage considering it's in such bad shape now."
"Unstable?" cried Robin.
"More damage?" cried Cyborg.
"Simmer down. We'll fix it. You'll see. Everyone, brace yourselves. It's about to get tricky."
There was a jolt and the ship surged forward in an alarmingly fast rate. They were careening into the light and they were well in their rights to expect a spectacular crash.
Robin heard panicked screams around him. He didn't know from whom, but he figured everyone was putting in a fair share of shrieking, because he was screaming just like everyone else.
888888888888888
It was like the pool of light was seeping through everything in the ship, flooding the hallways, the doors and drowning everything in it.
Robin could almost feel the tendrils of radiance seeping through his nose, mouth and ears. His eyes were covered in it and he couldn't see, hear, feel, nor smell.
It felt like an eternity, being caught in that sea of illumination, and Robin truly believed he had been sucked and encased in the afterlife, but then the tidal wave began to dissipate. Robin could see again, and all his other senses returned just as quickly. The ship was still moving, but it glided along serenely, like it was moving on another source of power. Outside, it was just open space without a planet nearby.
All but his emotions returned; emotions which were too stunned to make its presence known at the moment.
He felt movement against him and he looked down at himself. He was too amazed to find Starfire locked in his tight embrace to feel too self-conscious about it. She had her face buried in his chest, her fists grasping the cloth of his shirt desperately.
Slowly, she looked up at him, eyes cracking open cautiously. "We are… alive?"
"I think so." He swallowed, awkwardly undoing his embrace. It took some effort. His fingers might cause bruising on her skin. Then again, those of her species were strong. She might not bruise at all.
She didn't let go and it felt weird to tell her to back off.
He broadened his senses and checked his crew one at a time.
Cyborg looked fine, if a little shaken. It took a lot to knock out an eight hundred pound man, especially if seven hundred pounds of it was steel mass.
Terra grabbed the edge of her seat and picked herself off the floor, groaning from some ache on her hip. She seemed alright, but if they could get the power back on the ship, he could have her run through the Phys-Chamber.
He looked at Beast Boy and saw that the boy sprawled on the bridge floor. He wasn't moving.
"BB?" came Terra's voice. "BB? Are you--?"
Beast Boy remained silent.
Robin reacted, pulling free of Starfire's grasp, but it was Terra who reached Beast Boy first.
She fell to her knees by his side, brows pinched. "BB, I swear, you better not be playing because I will kill you, you hear me? BB!" She reached out to shake him, but Cyborg was there, grabbing her wrist to stop her.
"Let's not injure him anymore than he already is," said Cyborg gently, running a quick scan over him.
Robin crouched by Beast Boy's side and saw the blood running down Beast Boy's forehead. He had a cut, just above his brow, like he had hit his head on something and the impact burst the blood vessels. It could be serious, but Robin couldn't waste energy being emotional about it. If Beast Boy needed help, he had to be calm enough to administer it. "What's it look like, Cy?"
"He's out but alive. Everything else seems to be alright, but we couldn't know for sure until we run him through the Phys Chamber. Let's straighten him out and put something on that wound, but don't press down on it. If he has a skull fracture, we don't want to aggravate it." Cyborg gently placed his hands on Beast Boy's jaws to straighten the angle of his head in line with his spine. Robin moved the rest of Beast Boy carefully. Terra, blinking rapidly as if to hold back tears, pulled out a small packet of tissues, folding them twice over and gently holding them on the cut on Beast Boy's head.
Cyborg nodded. "I'll go get the stretcher—"
"I will get it," said Starfire, swooping above the huddle. "Tell me where."
"Just outside, down the hall, there's an emergency cab—"
"Wait here a moment. Help will come," said Raven.
They all turned to look at her.
Robin felt the first flicker of emotions and it was anger. "This is your fault, witch. Whatever that thing was put Beast Boy in this situation and you could have very well injured the rest of us, too. But you know what? On second thought, this isn't your fault, this is my fault for letting you stay on this ship—"
"Relax. Help is here."
There was a banging on the door.
Robin responded by rising to his feet and grabbing his bo-staff, extending it at ready. Terra and Cyborg reacted, just as alert. Cyborg powered his cannon and Terra plucked her stun-gun from her holster, stepping reflexively in front of Beast Boy's prone body.
Starfire rose into the air and looked over her shoulder, startling them all with the menacing green glow in her eyes as she powered her hands with the same energy. "I will help defend."
Raven sighed. "Everyone put down your weapons. Nobody outside that door will want to harm you. The only dangerous person in this ship is me, and I'm not in the mood to drain any of you of your sanity. I'm going to let those good people outside into this bridge and I will let them help you. Now listen to me… I am only going to say this once: Please. Don't kill them."
Robin blinked. There was something about Raven asking them so nicely that compelled him to retract his bo-staff.
The rest of them followed suit, but Starfire remained wary, eyes staying aglow as she scowled in Raven's direction.
"Who are they?" Starfire asked.
"They aren't bounty hunters," said Raven.
"I asked: who are they?"
Raven glared at her but replied. "Disciples of Azar. Acolytes in the great temple of Azarath. They are priests and priestesses in training, for a cult based on peace and harmony. They're not the type of people who would want your stone, Starfire. That task lies with me, and as you can see, I haven't killed you."
The glow in Starfire's eyes waned and she let out a breath.
Perhaps taking that to mean as consent, Raven looked to the door and raised her fingers to it. The bridge door was encased in black and it slid open, the hydraulic tubes hissing slowly in response to the motion.
An orange glow began to pour into the room from the threshold, pushing back the dimness. At the door stood a woman, dressed much the same way as Raven, except she was made more of sunshine than darkness; instead of black, she was clothed in white, and the stones on her were cast in blue. Her blonde hair fell freely down her back and shoulders. Her skin was vibrant with life and she had a ready smile on her face. But while her face gleamed bright, her ice-blue eyes showed serenity, as if it knew no turmoil.
She wasn't a young woman, but whatever aged her had not been unkind. Ancient, but lovely, like Raven.
There were others behind her, but who cared? She was everything they needed to see.
"Brina," said Raven, breaking through the enchanting haze.
Brina nodded, as if everything were right with the world again. "Your return was quick, sister. We did not expect you for another five years."
"I got tired of waiting. I took some matters into my own hands."
Brina chuckled softly. "That, we expected. May I come in?"
"You may."
Brina stepped in and she illuminated the room like a star. Several others came in after her, rushing past her towards Beast Boy.
Shiny though she was, Robin stepped in front of Beast Boy and Terra protectively, glaring at them, though if they intended any harm, Robin couldn't have asked for a more harmless looking posse.
Robin found himself staring at men and women of various species, humanoid, cloaked like monks in ecru, and blinking at him with wide-eyed innocence.
The young man leading the pack gestured gracefully to Beast Boy and he spoke in a soothing cadence. "Please. He is hurt. We must help him."
He couldn't exactly say no to that. Slowly, he stepped aside and was bombarded by polite thanks from everyone who walked past him. He wasn't sure what they were thanking him for until Brina spoke.
"I thank you for your trust, Rhisiart."
He tensed, astonished, and then he was filled with questions. What did she call him? It sounded like his given name, but it wasn't. And if it was in any way related to the name his mother gave him, how did this woman know it? Who is this woman? Where are they? What the hell was going on?
"He's Richard, now," said Raven. "Actually, they call him Robin. Gwythyr is Cyborg. Malaika is Beast Boy and Chiyo-chan is Terra."
Robin met the eyes of his crewmen. What the fuck?
Brina gestured to Starfire. "And this soul? Our fiery Bastet?"
"Split."
"Split?"
"Yes. I'll explain later."
"Well met, sister. There is time enough for talk later. Now, you must rest. You and your ship look ill-used."
"That we—"
Robin finally recovered his senses. "Alright, I want to know what's going on and I want to know now. Raven, who are these people? What are these names you're calling us and where the hell are we?"
Brina shot Raven a slightly disapproving glance. "Oh sister… they are yet unprepared…"
"They will be prepared when the time comes."
Robin stifled a growl of frustration. "What are you talking about? Could someone please explain to me—"
"Be at ease, Rhistian, known as Robin," said Brina softly. "Your questions I shall answer as best I could when you have gotten the proper rest. In the meantime, have no fear. You are in Azarath now. Look. See. For it is beautiful."
She gestured to the window and Robin turned. Everyone did.
The space-like blanket lifted from the glass, like she had turned a page, and the image of coral spires shot into view. It was a city made of porcelain and shells; crystals and pearls. There were tinges of gold and silver in places and the orb of light in the sky cast beams off the shiny surface of the tall structures, causing it to sparkle like a jewel and throw rainbows in every direction.
Surrounding the metropolis were trees and plains. Greens mixed with yellows, oranges, reds and blues and dotted by structures similar to that found in the city. If there were roads, they were sheltered by the multi-colored leaves. There were bodies of water too. Clear; crisp, gleaming, and farther to the horizon were mountains of red, yellow and brown earth.
Robin's jaw dropped at the sight.
Raven walked to the windows, her back to them. They couldn't see the expression on her face. "Welcome to Azarath. Welcome to my home."
To be continued…
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Reflections of Cyborg: Yep. Definitely ain't Kansas.
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Author's notes: Like, finally! I was able to do some writing!
Alright, I made reference to the book entitled "The Tower at Stony Wood" by Patricia McKillip. Enchanting prose. I couldn't say I loved it, but many do, and yes, I bow down to the elegance of McKillip's words.
The rhyming spells I came up with on my own, but that's after reading quite a few spells already, so I got a lot of influence going into it.