Star-Crossed Betrayal: Chapter 1
Disclaimer: DC COMICS owns "Teen Titans." Pablo Neruda owns the poetry I use. I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.
The only thing she wanted at that moment was for her sister to die. She sat atop a pile of crates in the dark warehouse, her fists resting on her knees. There was no plan in her mind—she could only think of standing triumphantly over the broken, lifeless body.
Her sister had ruined everything. Vengeance had to be taken, if only for her sanity. She growled low in her throat, energy lighting her hands and eyes with her rising anger. The light that came from the energy illuminated the warehouse. She finally noticed a tall man in dark clothes and a black and orange mask standing at the base of crate pile. Lights flashed on, filling the warehouse with a buzz. With a shout, she hurled a star bolt at the man. He dodged it easily, staring at her with his one blue eye.
"I know who you are," he murmured. "I know what you want. I can help you." Blackfire grinned, eager to listen.
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Mankind has proven that some impossible tasks are just extremely difficult. First seen as impossible to conquer, Mount Everest became the greatest challenge for any mountain climber after it was first beaten. There had been a group planning for the climb of a lifetime, but storms had cut said lifetime short.
Storms on the mountain were notorious as killers, but they had intensified to the worst ever seen. The group of climbers was found dead, daggers of ice stabbed into them and ice burns marring their white flesh. Avalanches occurred without aid simply because of the amount of snow and icefall. Terrified, people near the mountain left their homes and hoped that the weather would soon change.
By the time Blackfire was told to go to the highest point on Everest, the storms had been in full force for over a week. She hovered a few thousand feet over the black clouds, scanning them for the eye Slade had promised would be there. When she found the storm's eye, she dropped down into it and stopped, hovering just above the snow.
"You aren't exactly what I was expecting," she murmured. Sitting in the snow, on the highest peak of Everest, was Chaos Morningstar. Her bare heels buried in the snow, Chaos ignored Blackfire and took a long drink from the steaming, handle-less mug in her clawed hands. After she lowered the mug from her lips, she sighed.
"I thought," she said, "that I'd be able to work up here without anyone bothering me. I really thought my storms would make sure of it." She looked up at the blue sky over her head and frowned. "Evidently I need to put something up there, too." With an angry sigh, she spoke again and said, "I'm busy."
"Doing what?" Blackfire demanded with a scoff. "You're sitting on your ass in the snow drinking!" Before she could react, a piece of ice appeared from thin air and shot by her face, slicing open a cut on her cheek. Her body spun automatically, her hand flying to the wound. When she pulled her hand away and saw blood on her fingers, a growl built in her chest.
She let it go as a scream of fury and whirled around. Energy flew from her hands, only to be stopped by a wall of black flames. A clawed hand closed around her neck from behind and forced her into the snow, face first. Blackfire struggled briefly, but stopped when the hand squeezed hard enough to make her vision fade into multi-colored darkness.
"I'm sitting because I'm concentrating," Chaos hissed in her ear. "And I'm drinking tea because I'm thirsty. I'm trying to find someone, and you're interrupting me. You better have a good reason for being here, or I'm going to see how far down the mountain a limp body with a broken spine can be thrown."
"Well, you obviously like to kill," Blackfire panted with a smirk. Her heart was thrashing against her ribs painfully, her breath barely able to reach her lungs. In a way, she was grateful for her temporary blindness. The last thing she wanted at that moment was to look at Chaos. "I came to see if you'd kill someone for me."
"What makes you think I'd kill anyone for you?" Chaos said amusedly.
"Kill my sister, and—and—there'll be one less 'hero' in the world!" Blackfire knew she was throwing out pathetic arguments, but the lack of oxygen to her brain and the claws digging into her throat kept her from thinking of anything better. "It'll be easy! Just kill Starfire—" Ice tore a gash in her left arm, and her words ended in a scream. Chaos lifted her from the ground and tossed her away. Blackfire looked up, paling in pain, and then in fear when she saw Chaos. Six glowing eyes glared at her, a sneer showing fangs aimed at her.
"Get the hell out of here before I rip off your legs," Chaos snarled. Blackfire's wide eyes blinked, and Chaos had only two eyes and a smirk on her face. "I'd say do your own dirty work, but you'll never be able to hurt Starfire."
"Why do you say that?" Blackfire asked, regretting the moments she continued to spend in Chaos's presence.
"Raven will never let you." Blackfire stared, unable to understand.
Are you saying they're together?" she asked.
"They're in love," Chaos replied. "Now leave." She put a hand on the hilt of the sword at her side. Blackfire's eyes went wide again, and she leapt into the air. Chaos watched her fly away, smirking. She kicked snow over the splatter of blood from Blackfire's arm, sat back down, and closed her eyes. "Now where are you?"
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The sky was dark with rain clouds in Black City. Thunderstorms had dominated the city for the last few days, and the Teen Titans recognized certain traits that came about with long storms. Since rain had not come for many months, the roads were slick—too slick to attempt any high-speed escapes. The lightning stopped any ideas for rooftop jaunts. And, of course, few people liked to go out in such a strong storm. Crime was slow.
Thusly, the Titans were taking a well-deserved break. Beast Boy and Cyborg had gone into the city briefly to rent an action-filled, science fiction comedy. After they dried themselves off, they dimmed the lights and started the movie.
The first ten minutes of the movie were devoted to vague exposition, and Cyborg and Beast Boy took the opportunity to divvy up the junk food and popcorn. Once the action and humor finally came into play, the boys cheered and hooted, occasionally sharing a three-way high-five whenever the explosion was large enough or the joke funny enough to warrant it.
Starfire, having learned that Earth filmmakers knew very little about life on other planets, did not comment on the fact that she had never heard of any of the aliens featured in the movie. She laughed along with the boys, enjoying the movie even if some of the jokes made little sense to her. Next to her sat Raven, eyes fixed on a large poetry anthology in her hands.
When the movie had started, Raven sat down in her usual place: slightly apart from the others. Starfire had moved from her usual place between Cyborg and Robin, sitting down next to Raven with a smile and a blush on her face. Once Raven returned the smile, Starfire scooted closer to her. Throughout the movie, Starfire moved closer to Raven, until she was snuggled comfortably against the shorter young woman. After a moment of thought, she laid her cheek atop Raven's head and smiled when Raven did not move away.
Raven had not stopped smiling since Starfire sat down next to her. Warmth came to her from Starfire's closeness, as well as Starfire's emotions. The happiness Starfire felt was easy to sense, and her caring was heaven to receive. As she read her book, she came across a love poem. Instead of dismissing it, Raven read it curiously. Her smile did not waver when she was done, but her eyes began to glow, and Starfire heard Raven's voice in her mind.
"Listen to this," Raven's voice said gently.
"Before I loved you, love, nothing was my own.
I wandered through the streets, among objects.
Nothing mattered or had a name.
The world was made of air, which waited.
I knew rooms full of ashes,
Tunnels where the moon lived,
Rough warehouses that growled 'get lost',
Questions that existed in the sand.
Everything was empty, dead, mute,
Fallen abandoned, and decayed:
Inconceivably alien, it all
Belonged to someone else - to no one:
Till your beauty and your poverty
Filled the autumn plentiful with gifts."
"Think of it from me. Always." Starfire blushed a brilliant shade of pink and wrapped her arms around Raven in a tight hug.
On the other side of the couch, Robin stared at the TV screen. The next time he laughed at a joke, his laughter was somewhat forced, and faded away quickly. The faint scowl that had been on his face for the past week reappeared, and he did nothing to hide it. He let his jealousy course through him, let it stab at the deep parts of his heart. Over the years, he had lived his life taking things head-on, and his emotions were no different.
Fighting his way through his jealousy would work far better than letting it pool and fester within him. Robin knew what would happen at the end of the battle. Starfire would always hold a place in his heart, but he would be able to let her have her happiness. Though he did not like it, it was how things were.
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"Slade!" Blackfire shouted. She punched a crate in her anger, and the wood exploded into splinters. She had returned to Black City and the warehouse, and her foul mood was not helped by the weather. "Slade! Get out here, now!"
"I see you're back." Blackfire turned about to find Slade striding out of the shadows. He stopped a few feet from her, arms held behind his back. "How was your little trip?"
"I nearly got killed!" she shrieked, pointing at the bruises on her neck. Slade said nothing for a moment, looking without blinking.
"She did not agree," he murmured.
"No, she didn't!" Blackfire destroyed another crate, this time kicking it into a far wall. "She said something about Raven and Starfire being in love, and threatened to tear off my legs!" Something glittered in Slade's eye at the information regarding the two heroines, but he remained quiet. "Why the hell did you send me to her?"
"I knew she would refuse," he replied.
"You better have a good reason for putting my neck on the line," Blackfire snarled, energy lighting her eyes and hands.
"Consider it a test," Slade said simply. "I wanted to see how you would deal with a demon, and you passed." Blackfire sneered at him and thought of how lucky he was with a mask on his face. A smile was in his voice, and had she seen it, she would have ripped out his teeth. "Go to the darkest part of this city. There is a woman there who has a price. Give her this, and she'll do what you ask." He held out a blank business card with numbers neatly written on it. Blackfire snatched it from his hand, starting toward the open door of the warehouse.
"By the way," Slade called after her, "she happens to be a demon."
By the time she found the underbelly of the city, Blackfire's scowl was nearly permanent. High in the air, she realized that she had no idea of where to find the woman Slade spoke of. Her teeth ground together as she landed in the middle of an alley. A barrel fire was going, protected by garbage bags spread over the fire escape above it. When the man standing near the fire looked up and saw Blackfire's glowing eyes, he was too frightened to run. He held up his hands when Blackfire grabbed his shirt collar, eyes going wide in terror.
"I'm looking for a monster," Blackfire said simply. "Where can I find her?" Angered by the man's sputtering, she held her free hand up and let energy surround it. "Tell me!"
"Th-that way!" the man whimpered, pointing behind himself. "An empty apartment building! She lives there! Please—please don't hurt me!" Blackfire sighed and shoved the man against the alley wall, leaping into the air and flying away. It only took a few minutes to find the building, and only because the rain ran into her eyes. The building was decrepit, with only one window lit. Blackfire entered the building through a broken window some distance away from the lit one. Her sudden entrance, she rationalized, could result in an attack.
Once safely inside the room, she looked about. Her eyes were used to the dark by then, but she was not at all prepared for what she saw. Empty bottles lay scattered on the floor. Dark stains covered every wall, the floor, and even the ceiling. Shards of glass were embedded in the walls. Patterns of four parallel gouges ran in every direction. Small holes, in fours and fives, dotted the walls and ceiling.
Scowl fading into a grimace, Blackfire lifted off the ground to keep from stepping on anything and hovered out into the hallway. The stains and wounded walls continued as far as she could see. With a hard swallow, Blackfire turned and started toward the light at the end of the hallway. She could hear nothing but the rain and distant thunderclaps after lightning struck. When she came to the light-filled room, she paused. There was nothing but the doorframe to knock on, as all the doors in the building had been ripped off their hinges. She shook her head and hovered slowly into the room.
"What the hell do you want?" a voice demanded from behind her. Blackfire froze, raising her hands much like the man she threatened had done, when the sharp tip of a weapon was pressed against the back of her neck.
"For someone to die," Blackfire replied. She reached for her belt and retrieved the card Slade had given her, holding it above her shoulder. It was taken from her hand, and Blackfire felt claws—purposefully, she was sure—trail over her skin. After a moment, the weapon was taken away and Blackfire was shoved into the room.
"Slade again." Blackfire spun about, watching as the demon woman walked into the light. She lazily sheathed a broadsword at her side, red eyes looking at the card in her clawed hand. Neatly cut and combed long gray hair was tied at the base of her neck with a black strip of cloth, errant strands tucked behind pointed ears. Her clothes were contrastingly ragged: a red, short-sleeved shirt with no trimmings, and tight, slashed-at-the-knees blue jeans. A tail wagged back and forth around her legs.
"Never wants to do his own dirty work," she murmured. She looked up at Blackfire, and the alien flinched despite herself. "And neither do you." She shrugged and walked past Blackfire, sitting down on the table in the center of the room. "My name is Kali. Tell me your name, the target, and your terms." She grabbed an unopened bottle of wine, ripped the cork out with her fangs, and spat it away. Blackfire stared a moment as she started to drink the wine without taking any breaths.
"My name is Blackfire," she said. "I want you to kill my sister Starfire." Her scowl returned at the memory of Chaos's insults. "And anyone who gets in your way." Kali stopped drinking and looked at Blackfire, eyes narrow and searching.
"You've asked someone else," she said abruptly. "From the looks of you, they didn't like it. Who did you ask?"
"Some demon named Chaos," Blackfire grumbled. Kali jerked, the wine bottle slipping from her fingers. Her tail grabbed it before it could drop too far, and her eyes widened slightly.
"You saw Chaos?" she asked, her voice soft. "Where was she?" Blackfire smirked at her, never one to pass up an obvious opportunity.
"I'll tell you once you kill Starfire," she replied. Kali gave her a smile that sent ice running down every nerve.
"Manipulative little bitch," she growled. "Anything else?"
"Make Starfire suffer," Blackfire said. Kali chuckled and took the bottle from her tail.
"You've got yourself a deal." She took a quick swig of the wine. "But I'm doing this my way. You can't give me a time limit, and if you interfere because you think I'm being slow…well, I've got to follow your terms, now don't I?" She chuckled again. "Don't worry. She'll suffer and die." She began to drink again, and Blackfire took it as a cue to leave.
Kali polished off the bottle and threw it at the wall. She watched it shatter with a smile before lying down on the table. A happy smile came to her as her demon blood destroyed the alcohol's toxins and left her with the feeling of a full stomach and a sweetly bitter taste on her tongue. She turned her head and looked out the window, watching the rain and lightning.
"Chaos," she murmured. "It's been years. I wonder if you've changed much." Her eyes suddenly grew sad, but her smile remained. "Are you still my madness?" Thunder and rain broke the silence that followed, and Kali sighed. She closed her eyes and dove into the darkness behind her eyelids.
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Raven paused in her reading and looked down at her left hand. She laughed quietly, finding that she had been combing Starfire's hair with her fingers for quite some time. It was late into the night by then, and Starfire was asleep, her head once more in Raven's lap.
The movie had ended hours ago. Robin had been the first to leave, giving a massive, obviously fake yawn and claiming he was tired. Cyborg had actually grown tired and left soon after, dragging a hyperactive Beast Boy away by the scruff of his neck before he could infuriate Raven. The two heroines were left alone, and neither could say they disliked the arrangement.
Starfire had asked Raven to read her more poetry. She had put her head in Raven's lap and smiled sweetly at her, and Raven could hardly refuse. They stayed there, Raven reading and Starfire listening, for nearly an hour before Starfire slipped off to sleep. Raven read on silently, happy to just take in Starfire's warmth.
How could she ever explain what she was feeling? For the first time in her life, she did not have to fear that her powers would suddenly rage out of control. She could finally feel. She could feel freely, with no need to hold anything back. She could hold Starfire close, could kiss her, could simply be with her. It was like flying, this freedom, but so much more.
Raven yawned, finally tired enough to sleep. She started to close her book, but stopped to read one last poem. Her smile returned easily when she finished the poem, and, even though Starfire was fast asleep, she began to read aloud.
"You are the daughter of the sea, oregano's first cousin.
Swimmer, your body is pure as the water;
Cook, your blood is quick as the soil.
Everything you do is full of flowers, rich with the earth.
Your eyes go out toward the water, and the waves rise;
Your hands go out to the earth and the seeds swell;
You know the deep essence of water and the earth,
Conjoined in you like a formula for clay.
Naiad: cut your body into turquoise pieces,
They will bloom resurrected in the kitchen.
This is how you become everything that lives.
And so at last, you sleep, in the circle of my arms
That push back the shadows so that you can rest—
Vegetables, seaweed, herbs: the foam of your dreams."
She put the book down and took Starfire's face in her hands gently. Just as gently, she lifted Starfire up and leaned down. Raven's lips pressed against Starfire's with flower-petal softness. Time passed, and Raven parted from Starfire, laying the other young woman back down.
"I love you, Starfire," Raven whispered. "I love you." She settled into the couch and closed her eyes with a smile. One hand cradling Starfire's head and the other holding Starfire's hand, she started to drift to sleep.
Until, that is, Starfire began to cry out in her dreams.
—to be continued—