Author's Note: Chapter four took a loooong time. I had it written, and then I didn't like it, and then…You get it. I'm making excuses. Look forward to some more Talan/Raven banter, some Robin/Star hints (I swear this will end up Rob/Rae), and a few Rob/Rae moments as well. Like I said before, don't be a read-and-not-reviewer! I really want to hear what you guys think. The response for last chapter was pretty great. Keep it up!
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. If I did, Stranded would have had Rob and Rae on that stupid planet together.
Polaris: Lift Off
"Dude," Beast Boy squeaked after Starfire had finished explaining the nature of the war they would be fighting in. "They just kill them? Just like that? Man, I figured Raven didn't come from the nicest place, but that's just plain evil."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven asked irritably.
Beast Boy looked at her blankly. "You don't think what Azarath is doing is evil?"
"Of course I do," Raven said. "I was talking about what you said before that."
"What?" Beast Boy said and for a moment it appeared he was genuinely wracking his brains to remember. "Ohhh, you mean that thing about how I didn't think you came from a nice place?" He laughed uncomfortably under her glare. "Well, you're not exactly Ms. Cheery-Sunshine-Kitten-Lover, are you?"
"Nice," Raven scowled. She looked like she wanted to say more, but Robin cut her off.
"Guys, this isn't really the time," he admonished before turning back to Starfire. "Okay, so now that we know what we're up against, when do we leave? And for how long?"
"We must make haste, friend Robin. The war has already begun. The messengers from my planet have requested we leave by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Beast Boy howled. "But that only gives us like…not enough time! We're supposed to just jump into a war against freaky goth people who have about fifty million different powers without any kind of training at all?"
"Looks that way," Robin said grimly.
"It is dangerous, Robin," Cyborg pointed out. "Maybe we should think this over. At least let me try and develop something that might help us out. It should only take a couple weeks or so."
Robin looked like he was willing to consider the idea, but Starfire broke in with a vehement, "No!" Before their eyes, she seemed to swell to twice her usual size, fueled by her own righteous indignation. "I promised to do what was right for my people, and this would not be right. We must leave tomorrow by the rise of the sun."
"Sunrise?" Beast Boy moaned. "This just keeps getting better and better."
"Starfire, I have the rest of our team to think about," Robin tried to reason with her. "I have to do what's best for all of us."
"We cannot delay our departure for two weeks," Starfire insisted. However, it was becoming clear that she was losing the argument.
"She's right," Raven said unexpectedly. All eyes swiveled to her, incredulous. She matched them with a cool stare. "If we're going to help Tamaran at all, we have to leave right away. We could wait for two weeks for some fancy technology, but by then, Azarath might have some new powers and there might not be a Tamaran to help anymore." She spoke impassively, as if the fate of her friend's planet did not concern her in the least.
"You really think it might be over that fast?" Robin inquired curiously. He trusted Raven's opinion.
Raven shrugged. "No way to tell, for sure. But Azarath is ruthless." She smiled, though it was humorless. "You all might have your ideas about how a war is supposed to be, but Azarath doesn't play by the rules. Tamaran is only a passing interest for them. They'll want to move onto bigger and better things soon enough. They'll do anything to speed things up so the war will be as quick and painless as possible," she paused, mulling over her words. "Well, quick and painless for Azarath, anyway."
"Tamaran will prove to be a worthy opponent," Starfire said after Raven's little speech. She looked somewhat offended by her friend alluding that Tamaran could be taken down so easily.
Raven shrugged. She would not add insult to Starfire's wounded pride by arguing, but she would not take back her words either. She spoke the truth.
"So we really have no choice," Robin sighed. "Okay then, team, we'd better start getting ready. Cyborg, you get the T-Ship ready."
"How much fuel should I put in it?" Cyborg asked.
"Oh, right," Robin said, remembering the long-forgotten question he had asked Starfire earlier. "How long are we going to be fighting?"
"I will stay for as long as I am needed," Starfire said stubbornly.
Robin frowned. "Just put in as much fuel as it can carry," he told Cyborg. The half-robot nodded and set to work. Robin turned to the rest of his team. "Beast Boy, you contact the mayor and tell him we're taking a vacation. Then call up Titans East and ask them to watch over Jump City for a while."
"Some vacation," Beast Boy muttered, setting off to do his job all the same. "You'd think a bunch of superheroes could score a better trip than a Star Wars reenactment."
Robin shook his head. "I'll look in the Weapons Room and see if there's anything we might be able to use in there. Raven and Starfire, you guys keep interrogating your, um, friends just in case there's anything other information that might help us." He walked out, still mumbling plans and to-do lists under his breath.
"I think he's cracked," Raven said dourly after Robin was out of earshot.
Starfire gave her a wide-eyed look. "Friend Robin is breaking?" she cried, aghast.
"Not how you think," Raven waved her off. Starfire looked doubtful, so she changed the subject. "Your arm," Raven said, gesturing to the injury the Tamaranean had been hiding from view for almost two hours now. "You should let me see it. I can wrap it for you."
"It is not necessary, friend Raven," Starfire said, twisting her arm further behind her back.
"It would make it a lot easier to hide it from the rest of the team," Raven reasoned with her.
Starfire shifted uneasily. "It is hideous," she said bluntly. "You will not be frightened by it?"
Raven almost smiled. "I've seen scarier things."
Starfire seemed unconvinced, but she slowly brought her arm out from behind her. Raven's eyes widened despite her promise. It was black and charred, and the few places where orange skin remained were covered in painful blisters. Starfire noted her friend's expression and brought it back immediately. "You are horrified by my disfigurement," she cried reproachfully.
"No, Starfire," Raven said hurriedly. "It's not that. It's not you. I just can't believe…Talan…"
"You are also aware of how my injury was caused," Starfire said sagely.
"It was only a legend," Raven whispered.
"On Tamaran, it is considered one of the greatest evils to take the life of a child," Starfire said, watching Raven intently for any sort of reaction.
Raven shot her a withering glare. "Don't preach to me," she said. "It's evil on Azarath too. I don't know where Talan got this sort of power, but I doubt he or anyone else would have sunken that low."
"I am sorry for the insinuation," Starfire said, though her tone remained doubtful.
Raven quickly schooled her expression into the blank one she normally wore. "Just let me wrap your arm."
Starfire complied without protest, sensing that they both needed a reprieve. Enough words had been exchanged between the two friends that day. In most cases, what had occurred would be enough to destroy a friendship, and Starfire felt lucky that the bond between her and Raven was stronger. She was confident in the security of Raven's promise that they would not be torn apart by the war.
Raven, however, had her doubts. It was all part of being her, really, she mused as she retrieved spare gauze from a drawer and began to wrap the ugly stump that was Starfire's arm on an otherwise flawless body. On any other person, the wound might have seemed out-of-place, but on Starfire it just seemed wrong. She was supposed to be pure and untainted and beautiful, and this injury, this disfigurement, marred that perfection. It made her less than she had been before. And it was only a surface wound.
Raven had seen war before. Azarath was not shy when it came to making enemies. She had seen what war could do to people. Wounds caused by war were not only on the surface, they were deeper. They were inside a person, clawing and biting at him, slowly eating him away emotionally and mentally. The scars they left weren't visible, but they were much more painful. They were a disfigurement in a person's mind and heart, and Raven feared that it may have been more than Starfire could handle. More than their friendship could handle.
But she had promised Starfire, and she would fight to keep that promise. Some things were worth fighting for, even if it was a futile battle.
"I'm done," Raven said, releasing Starfire's arm after making a neat tie to keep the gauze in its place.
"I thank you, friend Raven, for the time you have spent on the wrapping of my arm," Starfire said, pleased upon seeing how carefully the bandages had been wrapped to cover every last inch of burned skin.
"Welcome, Star," Raven said automatically. She shifted. "I should go have a talk with Talan now."
Starfire's gaze darkened considerably. Raven was unused to the sight and found she didn't care to become used to it either. She much preferred the happy, perky version of her friend, even if she often found her aggravating. This was the reason she walked out of the room without another word or glance in Starfire's direction. It was much easier than facing the very real possibility that this war could change them.
When she arrived in her room, Talan was pacing incessantly. It did nothing to improve her mood. "Sit," she commanded, feeling the beginnings of a massive headache. She needed tea. Or coffee. Or any type of caffeine. Preferably injected straight into the vein.
"How did your team meeting go?" Talan asked as he sat on the bed beside her. She gave him a pointed look, and he wisely scooted away.
Raven rubbed her forehead. "We haven't decided to kick you out if that's what you're asking."
"Then what did you decide?" Talan persisted, somewhat surprised.
"Truthfully, we didn't talk about you," Raven said. She glanced over at him and saw he seemed offended by this almost. "Don't give me that look. You're lucky. You've made such a bad impression that I'm sure pretty much everybody wants you gone."
"Do you?" Talan smirked.
Raven glared. "What I want is none of your concern." She paused. "But I do think that you would be useful. We wouldn't have any insight into Azarath's attack methods or plans if you weren't here."
"So if it came down to a vote you would…"
"Don't test me, Talan," Raven warned. "After what happened with Starfire, you should be begging for my forgiveness not annoying me."
"You don't forgive," Talan said, obviously speaking from past experience.
"Or forget," Raven shot back. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try. What you did deserves some serious groveling and maybe even a little bribing."
Talan's gaze darkened. "I know."
"Where in Azar's name did you even get those powers?"
It was silent in the room for a few minutes. Luckily, Raven was patient. Talan finally opened his mouth to speak, smirking, though Raven could feel a very faint sense of regret radiating from him. "Where else would I get these kinds of powers from, Rae?"
"You wouldn't do that, Talan," Raven said evenly.
"You haven't been around for a long time, Princess," Talan shot back.
Raven considered probing his mind but then decided against it for unjustified reasons. It was very unlike her. But she needed to hear this from him, out loud. "You're not evil."
"I like to tell myself that too," Talan shrugged.
"Talan," Raven said, her tone touched with impatience and warning.
"Raven," Talan mimicked.
"What did you do?"
"Your father is the big baddy who gives all these powers out, Raven. You should know."
"You wouldn't pay the life of a child for something so stupid," Raven said, frustrated, "You wouldn't sacrifice that much. Tell me. Tell me you didn't do it."
Talan hesitated. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He averted his eyes from her. "I can't," he said.
"You're sick," Raven said, disgusted. "You and everybody else from that damned planet. Beast Boy was right."
"Look in the mirror, Princess," Talan shot back, angry. "You're one of us."
"I'm not!" Raven snapped. A statuette adorning her bookcase shattered. "I wouldn't do something like that."
"Really?" Talan asked. His eyes held an almost sadistic gleam now. "Are you telling me you've never felt the urge to be a little dark before?"
Raven stared at him for a few long moments. Her breathing was harsh and ragged, and it was obvious that she was struggling not to blow up the entire room. Her eyes flooded with fury. "Get out," she finally said.
"Can't face the truth?" Talan said softly, smirking.
"Get out now."
"Really, Rae. You can't run away from who you are. It's not healthy," Talan mocked. "Acceptance is the first step."
Raven's eyes glowed white. "I said OUT!" A burst of dark energy blew her door open, and Talan was forced out on a wave of black magic. The remaining tendrils left of her power slammed the door shut behind him.
Raven stared at her shut door, still panting heavily from both her rage and the small exertion used for her powers. She had almost lost control, she thought, sickened. She had let Talan get under her skin and could have paid an enormous price for it. Who knew what she could have done in such a state? The tower could have ended up in shambles.
"Anger is pointless," she reminded herself for the second time that day. She shook her head, still disgusted with herself and forced herself into a troubled meditation.
Meanwhile, Talan was staring at the door with equal ferocity. He let himself get lost in his thoughts for a few minutes as he ran his mind over what had just occurred before snapping himself out of it. He heard footsteps. Somebody was coming down the hall. Quickly, he picked himself off the floor that Raven's powers had sprawled him on.
It was Robin, looking thoroughly harassed as he raced around the corner. "I heard a yell," he said shrewdly. "What did you do?"
Talan glared at him sullenly. "Since when are we assuming everything is my fault?"
Robin was unamused. "Since you attacked somebody on my team. What did you do to Raven?"
"I didn't attack her," Talan protested. "It was a duel."
Robin's fists clenched. "She was on the floor screaming. You attacked her."
Talan observed Robin's rigid stature with some interest. "Was I mistaken earlier? Is it the troq you have feelings for?"
"She's not a troq!" Robin roared, lunging at Talan. A small scuffle ensued, and after a few moments, it became clear that the two were almost evenly matched, though Robin seemed to be grasping hard for the upper-hand. True to character, however, Talan's fingers reached for an embedded button on his wrist. He would not lose…
Black tendrils of energy suddenly pulled them apart. Robin and Talan were struggling against the rope-like magic when Raven spoke, commanding their attentions. "If you both insist on acting like five-year olds, then go do it somewhere else. Stay away from my room." She slammed the door shut again and flung both Talan and Robin into the wall behind them.
"She plays rough," Talan whined, massaging his shoulder. A devilish grin abruptly unfurled on his face, and his voice lowered to a purr. "I think I like it."
"So sick," Robin muttered as he picked himself up off the ground and readjusted his mask.
Talan's grin only grew wider. "Raven is the best kind of sexual deviant. You'd see it too if you weren't so busy pining after your little alien." He paused and looked Robin up and down, suppressing a laugh. "Of course, I use 'little' in the loosest terms possible. Isn't she kind of tall for you?"
Robin opened his mouth in indignation, but the words refused to fall. Talan chuckled and patted his cheek condescendingly. "Don't worry. She doesn't like you that much anyway." He swept out of the hallway, still laughing, while Robin was left glaring.
Robin was about to turn around and head back to his room when he heard something crash behind Raven's door. He grimaced and took a few tentative steps over to her door. She had told him to leave her in peace. He was reluctant to test her patience much longer.
"Rae?" he said, rapping lightly on her door. "You okay in there?"
No answer.
"Rae?" he tried again.
It was silent for a few minutes, and he was seriously considering the idea that he should just leave when the door opened an inch. Purple eyes peered out at him from the crack of the opening. "It's Raven," a voice told him evenly.
Robin frowned. "It's just a nickname. It's not like I've never called you that before."
The eyes staring back at him narrowed into annoyed slits. "I don't like nicknames. My name is only two syllables. How hard can it really be to say?"
"Okay," Robin acquiesced, putting up his hands in a gesture of peace. "You got it. Raven, it is."
"Thank you," Raven seethed.
"Somebody's in a bad mood," Robin observed casually.
"You mean worse than usual?" Raven shot back. "Sorry if I'm not taking this whole 'you're fighting a doomed war against your own planet and just to make it even more fun we'll throw in one of the miserable jerks from your past' very well. I really shouldn't be making a big deal out of all this."
"I didn't mean it like that," Robin said gently. "I'm sorry."
Raven stared.
"So you really think this war is doomed?" Robin said, just as she reached to shut her door.
She froze. With some hesitation, she nodded. "I really do."
"Why?"
"I told you. Azarath doesn't like to lose. The Tamaraneans are strong, but they're too pure. They'll never stoop to the lengths Azarath will to win. And that's not even taking into account that Azarath is years ahead technologically."
Robin mulled over her words. Finally, his masked eyes rose to meet hers. "Should we be doing this then?"
"What?"
"Getting involved."
Raven sighed. She looked away. "Why are you asking me?"
"Because you seem to know the most about all this besides Talan, and I'm not going to ask him about this. I want to keep my team safe. If this war is really impossible, then I don't want to risk anybody's lives out there," Robin answered.
"You'll never convince Starfire not to go," Raven said.
"I'm her leader," Robin said.
"That's bullshit," Raven said, "You know that won't stop her."
"Well, I can at least protect the rest of my team," Robin said stubbornly.
"More bullshit. You won't be able to stop yourself from following her."
"Will you stop?" Robin roared. "I'm trying to do what's best for everybody here!"
"What's best isn't always what works, Robin," Raven said heatedly. "We were in this war from the moment Talan said 'Tamaran.' There's no use pretending that we can still pull out because we can't. Not when somebody from our team is so personally involved."
"Two people," Robin said quietly.
"What?" Raven asked, thrown by his sudden change in demeanor.
"Two people are personally involved in this war. I don't care what you say, Raven. Azarath is your home planet. You've got some kind of attachment in all of this."
"I make it my business to be unattached," Raven hissed. "This war is no different."
She shut the door in his face before he could even open his mouth. Robin punched the door angrily, but it did nothing to change what had happened. Defeated, he trudged back to his room, his knuckles throbbing.
The next morning started off with a bang.
The titans jumped from their beds, racing down to the source of the explosion, which happened to be in the garage. It was an hour before sunrise, and they couldn't help but wonder what kind of villain could find the energy to attack at such an ungodly hour. The scene that met their eyes, however, was very different from what they had expected.
It was Cyborg, spotted with oil, cackling happily. "It's finished!" he cheered as he engaged Starfire, the first to arrive with green starbolts glaring in her hands, in some knock-off version of the victory dance he did whenever he beat Beast Boy at a video game.
"It's almost tribal," Raven remarked while the rest of the team stared dumbfounded.
Cyborg finished by pulling Starfire into a dramatic dip and then spinning her out of his arms…and right into Talan's. She made a small "eep!" of indignation, and Talan smirked suggestively at her. She pushed herself off with a burst of force and hovered over to Robin's side, glaring at Talan the entire time.
Cyborg took no notice of the mini-drama he had caused. "I finished!" he repeated. "My baby is done!"
"Your car?" Robin asked, uncomprehending.
"Not the car," Cyborg said impatiently. His human eye gleamed with excitement and pride. He picked up a remote that had been lying on the ground beside him, somehow unscathed by his dancing. He looked at each of the titans in turn, a sort of crazy joy taking over his features. "It's beautiful," he said. "I've stayed up the whole night working on it. It's absolutely perfect."
"Dude," Beast Boy said, sounding horrified. "Are you crying?"
Cyborg wiped at his eye quickly. "Of course not," he said, sending Beast Boy a pointed look. Beast Boy shrank back, joining Starfire at Robin's side. "This place hasn't been used lately. It's just some dust in my eye, that's all."
"The same dust that's bothering the rest of us?" Raven asked skeptically, gesturing to everybody else's bright, unaffected eyes and the suspicious lack of sneezing. Cyborg scowled.
"Just show us what you've been working on, Cy," Robin said hurriedly before things could escalate.
He instantly forgot about his anger. "Get ready to be amazed," he said mysteriously.
"Get on with it already," Beast Boy said, only to be the recipient of another cringe-worthy glare.
"As I was saying," Cyborg said, still staring at Beast Boy as if daring him to speak. When he didn't, Cyborg addressed the rest of the team. "Ladies and gentlemen…and Beast Boy, I present you…The T-Ship!" He punched a button on the remote dramatically and the moonlight from the outside shone into the area, though obstructed by a large object sitting majestically on the lawn about fifty feet away.
"Um," Beast Boy said hesitantly, "Didn't we already have the T-Ship?"
Cyborg couldn't even bring himself to be annoyed as he stared at his creation lovingly. "She's been upgraded," he explained. He began pressing other buttons on the remote, talking non-stop the entire time. "See this? This is the missile launcher. It can shoot 'em out faster than you can blink and with 97 percent accuracy. And this? This is the indestructible shield shooter. It can hold up under heat up to 1000 degrees, liquid nitrogen cold, and blasts that could level Jump City. All at once. Oooooh, and look at that over there. That's the fuel storage room, expanded by 75 percent. We could stay up there for over a year if we needed to, provided nothing happens to our fuel. Oh, and I almost forgot that! That…"
"I lost him back at fuel storage," Raven said.
"Better than me," Beast Boy shrugged. "What's liquid nitrogen?"
Talan made a noise of derision loud enough to stop Cyborg's rambles. "Impressive," he said, "really, but don't you think Azarath has all of this and more? We have enough stored electrical power to black out your entire ship and leave you falling into space forever."
Cyborg grinned manically. "That's where you're wrong." He pressed another button on the remote, and the ship glimmered as a red coating oozed over it. Cyborg peeled off a chunk of it and threw it towards Talan's feet. It hit the ground before the Azarathean and bounced up into his hands.
Talan examined the substance curiously and then looked back up at a smug Cyborg. "Rubber," Talan said flatly. "You plan on saving yourself with rubber."
"I don't see why it shouldn't work," Cyborg shrugged.
"Well, what if, by some chance, a part of the ship is damaged, and all the oxygen gets sucked out, or it catches on fire or something?" Talan argued.
"It's detachable," Cyborg replied, matter-of-factly.
"It's awful big," Talan pointed out. "How do you plan on going on any surprise missions?"
"Cloaking system," Cyborg said, his grin growing wider by the second. "It also sends sound waves out that can scramble any computers tracking it."
Talan gritted his teeth but finally accepted his defeat. But not without getting a last word in. "It's very primal," he said, "and the technology isn't completely up to date, but I suppose it might be able to hold its own against the Azarathean ships for a short while until we can develop something better."
Cyborg's face progressively fell as Talan spoke, and by the end it looked like he wanted to throttle the Azarathean. Robin broke in hurriedly. "Okay, team," he said. "You heard him. The T-ship is good to go. Start getting ready. Everybody needs to be back out here in a half-hour."
Beast Boy's yells of "a half-hour?" were drowned out by the general mayhem that followed Robin's orders.
"My extra batteries!" Cyborg howled as the team scurried about inside twenty minutes later. "Where are they?"
"Check the equipment room," Robin grunted. "Where the hell is my hair gel?"
"Bathroom across from my room, second drawer from the left," Raven said in passing. "I need my books."
"Books?" Beast Boy cried as he ran out of his room, uniform half-on and extra clothes hanging on both him and out of his suitcase. "We're going into a war, and you plan on reading? Are you crazy?" He turned towards the main room. "You think Robin'll let me take the new Gamestation?"
"You're getting on me for reading, and you want to play video games?" Raven retorted shrewdly.
"It's all about the strategy, man!" Beast Boy insisted. "Super Space Galaxy Wars is the ultimate training since we don't have time for it here."
"Hurry, friends!" Starfire urged, flying in and out of rooms, having been packed long since. "My planet is in the greatest need!"
Talan strolled casually after. "By greatest need, she means all the troqs are going to die within the hour if you guys don't hurry the hell up." Occasionally, he was forced to dodge a green starbolt or a jar of hair gel, but he still seemed to derive much amusement from his game.
Ten minutes later, against all odds, everyone was assembled in the rocket.
"Can I do the countdown?" Beast Boy begged.
"I wouldn't trust him," Raven said dryly. "He can barely count forwards."
"Aw, come on, that's not fair! Pleeeeaaaase?"
"Just let him do it, Cyborg," Robin sighed. "He'll never shut up if you don't."
"Hurry, friends!"
"Go ahead, Beast Boy."
"Yeah!" Beast Boy cheered. "Okay…ten…nine…"
"Bathroom?" Talan requested.
"No," Robin said. "I told everyone to go before we left."
"Bossy."
"…eight…seven…six…"
"Count faster, friend! We must make haste!"
"…five-four…three…"
"I told you guys he had trouble counting backwards."
"…two…"
"This is it," Robin murmured, suddenly seized with an all-encompassing dread. He was overcome with the desire to yell that this was a mistake, that they should forget about this war. It wasn't safe for his team.
"…one!"
"Lift-off!" Cyborg yelled triumphantly, punching a black button with his metallic finger.
It was too late. The T-ship blasted off into the sky.
Notes and References…
None. Just remember to review! ;)