Ohhh, second chapter! I already recieved a review, thank you very much! This chapter introduces Cyborg and Starfire. I was going to give each chapter to one member of the group kind of falling in with Robin, but Starfire's and Cyborg's kind of fitted together since...Oh, well, I'll just let you read it yourselves! Please, don't forget to review! I haven't quite thought up who I'm going to enter next, probably BB since Raven is aprehensive about the whole 'friendship' thing.
The night was just beginning to fall. She sat on the small island in the middle of the bay with an expression that could only be described as pure serenity. She hugged her legs to her body as the sun finally disappeared behind the seemingly endless ocean.
She sighed and stood up, subconsciously brushing herself off in the process.
"Earth's sunsets are most beautiful," she murmured to no one in particular, though it was not in English but Tamaranean, her home planet's language.
"I don't know what you said, but I hope it was in Earth's favor," Said a voice from behind her. She turned eagerly and as fast as she could because she immediately recognized the smooth voice. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed the boy in her arms, hugging him with not even half of her Tamaranean strength.
Despite that fact, he still squirmed and struggled for air. She noticed he was gasping for breath in between her arms and body and hurriedly let go.
"Friend Robin! You are alright?" She asked happily, clapping her hands together and jumping into the air.
He straightened and adjusted his out-of-place mask. A rosy tint crept onto his face and he could feel his heart beating loudly. She must have heard it too, for she blushed as well.
He coughed and took a place on the grassy terrain. He chose a spot where the rocks were moving into the island, their jagged ends pointed in all directions. There was no sand, but pebbles where the water met the earth, gently lapping at the brims of his shoes. He pulled them away.
Starfire took the seat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Robin's eye twitched and he could feel sweat dropping down his forehead. They sat like that for a good while; Starfire content on his broad shoulder, nestling herself inside it as though it was a pillow, while Robin sat uncomfortably but in silence, feeling the beads of sweat trickle down his face.
He wasn't used to something like this before. Growing up with the Batman, he never was a very social person. Wayne had home schooled him, trained him in private, and really only hit the town if they were on patrol, so he wasn't used to suddenly being surrounded by people his own age.
They were interrupted by the sound of a motor boat steadily approaching the island. They had been sitting there longer then Robin had thought, for they could only make out the shape of a tall man in the roaring boat. He landed on the shore shortly after, a huge black bag that would be too much for any human slung over his shoulder. He didn't seem to notice them, so they scampered to the very edge of the beach and hid behind some of the larger rocks.
The man took out several pieces of metal and began wielding them together. He worked all through dawn in silence. Robin and Starfire had fallen asleep on the beach hours ago and were awoken by the sound of something being drilled.
She began to speak, but Robin put a finger up to her lips. He didn't say anything, but kept the one finger out as he crawled up shore. His head peered over the dune and his eyes widened at what he saw. It looked like the beginnings of a house–a very, very large house. The outline was made entirely of a bluish metal, and looked like it was being made into a very slender and long house. It took up most of the island, except for a patch of land big enough for a tennis course. It looked a bit like an office building, but the difference was unexplainable.
The same man as before was working with nearly inhuman speed, drilling, screwing, and adjusting faster then Robin had ever seen before. What was more, he was entirely alone. He had constructed nearly half of the frame of the building in less then ten hours, something that 30 workmen with all the machines could barely handle. Robin couldn't see his face, but he was wearing a strangely familiar sweatshirt and sweatpants…
He craned his neck to get a better look at the man and he gasped as he recognized him. He instantly regretted it, because the man jerked his head around and caught him.
"What are you doing here?" He yelled, storming over to him and grabbing him by the cuff of his collar.
"I could ask you the same," Robin replied smugly.
Starfire, who had been waiting patiently behind the rocks, could not stand for her new friend to be harmed. She flew out from her hiding spot at an alarming speed, and aimed for the hooded man; bringing him down as she landed on him. Her eyes glowed a threatening green and lime green orbs were beginning to form in her spread out palms.
Robin rested a strong arm on her shoulder and she lowered her arms. Her eyes returned to their normal state and she growled:
"You were lucky. You do not harm my friend."
"It's alright, Starfire. He didn't mean me any harm," Robin said, throwing a wink towards the hooded man. Robin pushed by her and whistled at the metal frame.
"Nice piece of work. What are you building?" He asked.
The man narrowed an eye. His voice sounded innocent enough; and this was the kid who he'd paired up with earlier, twice, in fact. Still, Boy Wonder or not, this was his project, and he intended to keep it that way.
"None of your business," He replied flatly. But Robin was not done yet.
"I've never seen this kind of metal before; where'd you get it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow towards the man.
"I made it. It's made from the same material that my father used to sav-" He stopped mid sentence and fell silent. He sighed and continued, rewording it.
"I made it. It's made from a rare type of cybernetic technology nearly as smart as the human brain. Nothing's getting by this baby. Strong as steel," He added with a pat on the frame and a smile. He was pratically glowing, until he realized it. He pulled on his hood, even though it was already covering most of his face.
"Why do you hide yourself? If you are who I believe, you need not to conceal yourself from us," Starfire asked, cocking her head at the cyborg.
"Starfire's right. It's not like we haven't seen your face before, Cyborg. There's no one else out here," Robin added.
He wasn't facing them anymore, but he pulled his hood down reluctantly. He turned to reveal a brown face, half covered in the same blue metal. Where another human eye should have been was a red eye, the only thing visible through his hood when it was covering all of his face. Starfire smiled widely, and Robin placed a hand on the cyborg's shoulder.
"How did it happen? People aren't born a cyborg." Robin's question escaped his lips before he could keep it in.
Cyborg tensed but dropped to the ground. A tear fell from his human side of the face. "I was in an accident. My mother was killed instantly. My father is a scientist, so he thought he'd be able to save me by combing a new product he had been working on to me. He was, but look at me. I'm a freak," He said softly, the tears multiplying in his eye.
"No, no friend Cyborg. You are not 'the freak'. On my home planet, you would be an honored guest as a mix of two great things. The hard wood you call metal is sacred on my home planet," Starfire said reassuringly.
"Maybe you're this way for a reason," Robin said. Cyborg looked at him with terrified eyes (Or eye, I guess!), and Robin quickly added, "I mean, think of all the good you can do with your electronics. Remember when we were fighting those aliens, and you transformed your hand into a sonic blaster?" He nodded slowly. "If you can do that, just think of what else you can do!"
The half-man furrowed what was left of his brow. "I-I never thought of it that way. I don't know man. A what, superhero? I don't know," He repeated that last phrase to himself softly, as though thinking.
"Now," Robin said with a chuckle. "Are you going to let us in on what you're making, or are we gonna have to get it out of you ourselves?"
Ya! I kind of bended the Cyborg story. I knew the basics of it, but about the whole metal thing, blah blah, I'm not quite sure.
And the thing about metal being sacred on Starfire's home planet...Again, I'm not really sure. Heh...
Like? Yes? No? Maybe so?
I'm also not sure if the Tower is made from Cyborg's type of robotics, but I'm kind of stretching it a bit. I'm entitled to that, right?