Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.
A Strange Business
Chapter Two: Music and Trees
Before he joined the army, he had always enjoyed looking up at the stars. There was something so beautiful about them, so unattainable yet so close. His love of the stars had gone on until that experiment forced him to close himself off from the world. That was one of the things he had missed the most during his self imposed exile; the ability to simply lie on the ground and look up at the stars, wondering what was out there.
Then he was set adrift in space all those months ago, where he learnt how to control and use his powers properly without the worry of endangering the lives of others. He had also learnt something else; he could survive in space. He had felt almost ecstatic when he had learned this. At first, he thought it was a side-effect of his overcharged form, but once he had control of the power raging inside him... needless to say, he was rather pleased.
And yet, here he was, again stranded in space, although now he had none of the freedom he had before. He was trapped in a pod, slowly orbiting a planet with orange clouds and red seas. He looked over at the pod next to him and noticed that she seemed to be waking up. Grasping for his communicator headset, he quickly put it on and pushed the outgoing signal button.
"Starfire? Can you hear me?"
No response. He looked over at the pod, then pushed the button again.
"Starfire?"
Slowly, she reached up and pushed the button on her headset. "I am… fine." She looked out around her. "What has happened?"
"What is the last thing you remember?"
"We were under attack from-" she gasped. "-the Gordanians! Where are they? Are they still-?"
"They are gone; at least for the moment. They attacked us with a weapon that shorted out the circuitry. You were at the center of the effect."
"Yes… I remember."
"We were separated from the others. I do not know what has happened to them. I did not want to try anything until you were awake."
Although he could only see her silhouette through the glass on the pod, he could tell she was smiling.
"Thank you."
A small smile crossing his lips, he looked down at the planet curiously. "How are we going to leave?"
"I am not sure… there is not enough power left in these systems to fly away."
He eyed the glass surrounding his pod. "We can both survive in space; perhaps we should leave the pods behind?"
"We cannot. As durable as we are, if the Gordanians attacked us with the same weapon as before, we would not survive. Besides," she said, knocking on the glass, "Cyborg has made quite certain that these pods cannot be broken easily."
A frown creased Red Star's brow. "Then… what can we do?"
Starfire sighed. "At this moment we can do nothing. We will have to either think of something, or hope that Robin and the others find us."
Red Star's expression darkened. "I do not like that plan."
"Nor do I. And not only that, but we have another problem."
The hulking Russian's arms slumped. "Oh, there is more?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Our orbit around the planet has not been properly calculated. Without power to move us away, we will begin to sink further until we burn up in the atmosphere."
"How long?"
"I am not certain. You would have to ask an expert on the matter." There was silence on her end for a moment. "I only hope it is long enough for us to think of something."
Red Star nodded, blowing out a deep breath. "Indeed." He looked around the pod absentmindedly, his eyes eventually settling for gazing at the stars that surrounded them. "So," he began, bringing his eyes down to Starfire's pod, "what do you want to talk about while we wait and think?"
Starfire was silent for a moment. "Pantha?"
He could practically see the grin on her face.
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He was stuck in a tree.
Not that this wasn't something unheard of for him; when he was a kid, he always used to climb too high in the trees. But this was different.
This tree was blue. And it also made disturbing gurgling noises. Hot Spot wasn't sure whether to panic, blast the damn thing, or simply wait for the others to find him. If the others were even alive, that is.
He hated waiting. Actually, strike that. He didn't mind waiting under normal circumstances. If he was honest, he wasn't easily bored. Hot Spot could sit around for about an hour doing nothing and feel perfectly normal. What other people called boring, he called relaxing.
But while he didn't hate waiting, he did hate waiting when he was trapped in a tree that could potentially swallow him whole as a midmorning snack. His mind briefly flitted back to Charlie Brown and the kite eating tree. He probably would have laughed…
"…if I wasn't about to be eaten by some alien tree!" he said aloud in frustration, slamming his fist against the glass covering of the pod. He had no idea what Cyborg had made the stuff out of, but he certainly couldn't blast it open. And he was pretty sure the pod was airtight, so he didn't want to waste oxygen trying to melt it.
He sighed and rested his head on his hand. He resumed his random button pushing, hoping that one of them would open the glass covering.
Hell, he'd settle for an ejector seat.
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The Boy Wonder rubbed his head and groaned as he came back to the land of living. He blinked as he realised he was upside down. Pulling out a small device in his belt, Robin found that the air outside was breathable.
"Huh."
Reaching down (or up, in his case), he pushed the necessary button combination to open the hatch.
Nothing happened. Robin tried the combination again.
Again, nothing happened. The Titan leader frowned in thought, then realised something.
That Gordanian weapon… it must have shorted out the power.
He frowned as he considered the fact that the Gordanians attacked them out of nowhere. It was like they knew they were going to be there. Almost as if it were a trap. Robin cursed his ignorance. In his haste to get to Tamaran, he didn't even bother to check whether the transmission was genuine. Conceivably, anyone who had knowledge of Starfire's lineage would be able to set such a trap. He put those thoughts aside for the moment; right now he needed to concentrate on getting free.
He pushed up on the glass, but quickly gave up after he remembered the long and sprawling show that Cyborg had put on for them to demonstrate how indestructible the glass was. At the time, he had been rather impressed.
"Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, can get through this baby," Cyborg had said, grinning ear to ear as he patted the glass.
Now Robin hated him for it. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a small electricity birdarang from his belt. Delicately taking it apart, he managed to hook the power from the small weapon into the pod. It wasn't much power, but it should be enough to pop the hatch and capsize the pod back up the right way. He hooked in the birdarang, and pushed the hatch release button.
Or… not.
He sighed as nothing happened. He pulled out his other electric birdarangs and hooked them up. He pushed the button again. The hatch opened, and the pod tilted onto its side, slowly rotating until it landed with a crash, hurtling Robin back and forth inside the cockpit.
As he rubbed his sore shoulders, he wasn't sure whether to be grateful or frustrated at how well the seatbelts held. Grumbling incoherently, he pulled himself out of the pod and leapt onto the ground.
"Well… this is different."
He allowed his cape to drape over his shoulders and arms as he took stock of his surroundings. A barren wasteland as far as the eye could see, the ground dry and cracked. Although, curiously enough, the air wasn't chafing his throat or stinging his eyes. In fact, he would almost call the air… moist. Not an unpleasant feeling, but it wasn't exactly a wonderful one either.
The sky was a deep pink, and Robin wondered what time of day it was on this planet. If this planet was inhabited by anyone who even kept time. As he turned full circle he noticed a plume of smoke in the distance. He sprinted off in the direction of the smoke, praying that whoever was inside was still alive.
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"How are you feeling?"
Argent smiled. "I'm okay. A little double vision never hurt anyone."
Robin let out a small laugh, letting his gaze remain on her. "You scared me for a bit there."
She nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. "How d'you mean?"
"Well… it would have been a shame for you not to know how I felt about you."
Argent blurted out a short laugh, and Robin smiled handsomely.
"You've got a nice laugh…" he leant forward, brushing some hair from her face. He leaned closer…
"Wait, Robin; what about Starfire?"
He smiled. "What about her?" he whispered.
He leaned ever closer…
"Argent? Can you hear me?"
The pale skinned Brit scrunched up her face, not wanting to open her eyes. That would mean admitting that what just happened was a dream.
Nope. She wasn't going to go there.
Hold on to the illusion… it's much better than the reality…
"Argent?"
Bugger.
She slowly opened her eyes, revealing the blurry image of Robin leant over her, his brow creased with worry. He let out a breath as her eyes adjusted to the light. As the blurriness faded, she could make out the Boy Wonder smiling.
"How are you feeling?"
She sat up, putting a hand to her head. "I'm okay. A splitting headache never hurt anyone."
Robin smiled. "You had me worried for a bit there."
She cocked an eyebrow, getting a strong sense of déjà vu. "How d'you mean?"
Bloody hell. Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it was a premonition.
"Well, when I found you, you were out cold and trapped in that pod."
Guess not.
"Oh… right."
Robin stood and offered her his hand. She took it gratefully.
"Thanks." A frown crossed her features as she looked around the barren landscape. "Where are we?"
Robin shrugged. "No idea. I'm not too sure of the names of these planets."
Her eyes widened. "We're on another planet?"
The eyes of his mask thinned as he looked around. "Yeah." He pulled out his communicator, flipping it open. "Calling any Titan; please respond. Can you read me? Hot Spot? Red Star?" He paused. "Starfire…"
Argent debated whether to put a supportive hand on his shoulder. She didn't really know him that well. But then again, any comfort might be considered good at this point. After taking in the look on his face, Argent decided to leave it alone. He looked like a strange mixture of anger, frustration and sadness.
Suddenly, the communicator beeped, and Argent looked up to the heavens, thanking God for the interruption. Robin frantically pushed the receive button.
"Starfire?"
"Sorry, no; it's Hot Spot."
"Hot Spot - Where are you? Are the others with you?"
"I don't know… and I don't know. I can't really see anything besides this man-eating tree."
Argent frowned, and turned to Robin.
"Man-eating tree?" she mouthed. Robin shrugged.
"Hot Spot… did you say a man-eating tree?"
"Yes, and I'm pretty much stuck, so I would enjoy any help you could offer."
Robin frowned and nodded. "All right; we're on our way." A small smile crossed his face. "Just stay put."
Hot Spot let out an ironic laugh. "The sarcasm? Not appreciated."
The Boy Wonder pushed a button on his communicator, activating the tracking system inside. He pointed to his right.
"That way."
He started walking, leaving a dumbfounded Argent looking from him to the crashed ship, and back again.
"Uh… what about…?"
He threw a quick cursory glance over his shoulder, then turned back. "All of the ships are out of power. We'll have to come back for them. Right now, the other Titans are the priority."
She paused momentarily, then nodded. "Right."
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The double doors slammed open, and Cyborg leapt through, striking a pose as he landed.
"Oh, yeah! We kicked his butt in record time!"
"Gnarrk."
He nodded in agreement with his cave man friend. "Good point. It is pretty quiet. Robin and Starfire must have taken everyone with them. Still, I would have thought someone was here. Beast Boy, Raven and Bushido are supposed to be back by now."
Kole walked over to the comm system on the wall and pushed the button for the common room.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
The half metal giant shrugged.
Jericho tapped his shoulder, following up with a whole serious of complicated hand gestures. As soon as Cyborg had realised that there would be a whole host of people from different ethnic backgrounds, he had gone to work downloading different languages into his personal database, and that included sign language. It enabled him to understand and respond in kind. His robotic eye took in the gestures and translated them into text.
"They're probably out eating pizza."
Cyborg nodded, his shoulders slumping. "What do you suppose the odds are of them bringing some back for us?"
Jericho's eyes closed halfway as he used his fingers to make a zero shape. Cyborg didn't need his cybernetic components to translate that.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
As they walked through the doors, Gnarrk ran forward and jumped onto the sofa, still finding such bouncy seats a novelty. From his life in that underground world, Gnarrk was only used to leaves as cushions and tree stumps as chairs. He wasn't used to something soft and comfortable.
Cyborg, meanwhile, was in the mood for some bacon. And with no Beast Boy in sight, it seemed his choice would go by with no protest.
"Who wants bacon?"
Kole raised a hand, as did Jericho. Gnarrk just looked up questioningly. "Gnarrk?"
The pink haired girl smiled. "It's that pink stuff we had before, Gnarrk."
He nodded in comprehension. "Gnarrk…" He turned to Cyborg, giving him a thumbs up. "Gnarrk!"
A grin spread across Cyborg's face. "Well all right!" And with that, he got to his cooking.
Kole turned to Jericho. "So, what do you want to do?"
The mute blond cast his blue eyes upwards for a moment, then raised a finger in an 'I've got an idea' gesture. He jumped up off the sofa and left the room, removing the smile from Kole's face, and replacing it with disappointment. She turned to look at the other occupants of the room. Gnarrk was wrestling with something in his ear with his little finger, while Cyborg whistled happily to himself as he fried his precious bacon.
Kole cocked an eyebrow at that. She had never understood why Cyborg getting to have real meat was such a big deal to the android.
"Hey Cyborg?"
"Yes, Kole?" he asked, his voice full of cheer.
"Why's having bacon such a big deal?"
Cyborg's demeanour darkened. "Just wait until Beast Boy's here. Then you'll understand."
Kole slowly turned back around, not wanting to push the issue further.
O…kay.
Jericho returned and sat down next to her, his guitar in hand. The pink haired Titan's face brightened as he returned, a smile crossing her delicate features. Returning the smile, he pointed to Kole hopefully, then gestured to his mouth. She frowned as she tried to understand.
My mouth… his mouth…
Her eyes widened and a blush crossed her face.
"Um… uh, well… I…"
He frowned slightly, then blushed himself. He frantically waved his hand out in front of him as he shook his head, an embarrassed smile on his face. He looked downwards in thought. She smiled, half relieved and half… something else.
What? Disappointed? No, that can't be right.
She studied the pondering face of Jericho. Saw the thoughtful eyes; the open smile.
Then again…
He looked over at her and gave a small wave to get her attention. First, he pointed at her mouth. Then, he put his hand in front of his mouth, then brought it outwards, spreading his fingers outwards as he did so. It reminded her of the gesture that top chefs made when they were particularly proud of a dish. He repeated the gesture and Kole smiled apologetically.
"Um… you want me to… throw up?"
He grinned good-naturedly. If he could speak, Kole assumed that he would be laughing right now. He repeated the gesture, going slower. Cyborg's booming voice interrupted the conversation from the kitchen.
"Hey Jericho, what's the problem?"
The mute looked over at the hulking half robot man and spoke in his own language. Cyborg nodded along as Jericho 'spoke'.
"Uh huh… I- oh." He smiled and looked over at Kole. "He wants you to sing, Kole."
She looked over at him in surprise, blushing furiously. "Uh, you want me- I- sing? I haven't really… I mean-"
He put a finger to his lips, that same genuine smile on his face. He strummed the guitar, then frowned. Reaching up, he tuned the guitar, becoming totally engrossed in the instrument. Kole's mind wasn't really paying much attention.
Me? Sing? I can't sing. I mean, I haven't tried, but still…
Jericho finished tuning, and strummed his guitar. Obviously satisfied, he nodded and looked over at Kole. He plucked a string and then extended his hand to her, obviously an invitation for her to sing the note.
"Uh… I-"
"BACON!"
"Gnarrk!"
The caveman excitedly leapt from the sofa and bounded over to the dinner table, where Cyborg was setting down a huge mound of bacon on the table. Kole looked over to Jericho.
"I guess we'll have to do this later."
His eyes lit up hopefully. She already knew what he was saying.
So you want to do it?
Kole frowned slightly. Had she just heard that? In her head? She shook her head and smiled.
"Yeah, sure. But…" she looked over to the table where Cyborg and Gnarrk were already scoffing down the bacon. She leant closer to whisper to him. The way he put his ear forward so earnestly made her want to laugh. "…could we do this somewhere else? I haven't sung before, so it'd be kind of embarrassing."
He cocked an eyebrow and smiled.
I don't see how you singing could be embarrassing.
He shrugged.
But, okay.
He pointed to the dinner table with his thumb. Kole hid her frown and nodded.
Am I hearing his voice in my head now? Is that one of his powers?
A loud beeping from the control panel at the front of the room interrupted her thoughts. Cyborg looked up from a handful of bacon. And a mouthful of bacon, come to think of it.
"Couldth you get thath?" he managed.
Kole nodded and went to the computer screen. Raven's hooded visage appeared.
"Hey, Raven."
"Uh, hi. Is Robin there? Or Cyborg?"
"Robin's away, and Cyborg…"
"HEY! I COOKED IT, THAT LAST PIECE IS MINE!"
"GNARRK!"
Raven sighed, her eyes resuming their half closed state. "Let me guess: bacon?"
Kole smiled and nodded as Beast Boy's voice came over the intercom. "Is Cyborg eating REAL bacon? Dude!"
"Thorry BB!"
Raven rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. "Anyway… I wanted to tell you that you've got some visitors coming your way."
"Like what? Bad guys?"
"Not exactly. Melvin, Timmy and Teether are coming over to stay for about a week. I was supposed to be back by now, but this mission's taking longer than I thought."
Kole cocked a pink eyebrow. "How come?"
A vein pulsed on Raven's temple. "Because someone thought it would be a good idea to shove Overload into a river."
"Hey! I thought it would work!"
"Not when the river powers a turbine for a power station!"
Beast Boy's voice lowered to something much less than a mumble. "Yeah, well… you're stupid too…"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that for now. But when we get home, you're open game."
Kole raised a hand to interrupt the conversation. "Uh… when are the kids getting here?"
"In about a day."
An electronic beeping noise indicated that someone was at the door. Everyone looked at Raven accusingly. She let out the hint of a nervous smile.
"I may not have taken the time zone difference into account."
Beast Boy's voice once again came over the intercom. "Told you you were stupid!"
Raven scowled. "I'll disengage your pod right now. I'm not kidding."
Cyborg approached the monitor, the top half of his usually shining metal smeared with bacon grease. "And how long are you going to be?"
"It's hard to say. A few days at most, but that's just a guess."
Kole smiled brightly. "It's no problem. I'm fine with kids anyway."
Raven sighed. "Okay. Thanks. I'll see you later."
The empath signed off and Kole sighed. So much for her singing lesson with Jericho. She pushed some buttons on the control panel and activated the comm system to the entrance. On the screen appeared Melvin, Timmy and Teether. Not to mention a huge teddy bear stood behind them. Resisting the urge to react strangely, she smiled as sweetly as she could manage.
"Uh, hi. I'll open the doors, and you guys can make your way up, okay?"
The small blond girl raised a hand.
"Yes?"
"Um… where's Raven?"
"She's away on a mission that's taking longer than she thought. She says she's sorry."
The red haired boy instantly burst into tears. "I want Raven! I want Raven! Raven! Raven!"
This, in turn, set of the baby, who let out a similarly eardrum bursting scream. The Titans covered their ears, and Kole sighed.
It was going to be a long day.
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The pod crashed to the ground loudly and anything but gently. But, at least he was out of the man-eating tree. He saw red energy slide its way underneath the hatch, gradually pulling the glass upwards and the metal of the pod downwards. Eventually, there was enough room for Hot Spot to slide through. He bounced to his feet quickly, enjoying straightening his spine out and stretching his legs out.
"Ah, that's-" he looked around the barren wasteland surrounding them. "-not what Earth looks like."
Argent smiled. "We're on another planet."
Normally, that would have freaked Hot Spot out. It was amazing what being attacked by alien spaceships, crash landing because of aforementioned attack, and almost being eaten by a tree could do to one's outlook on a situation.
"Oh," he answered simply, not having the energy or inclination to become agitated. He looked over at Robin. "So what now?"
He looked down at his communicator. "I'm not picking up Starfire or Red Star's communicator. So either they're out of range, or-" he cut himself off and closed his eyes. "Never mind."
Hot Spot looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the glaring sun with his hand. "How are we going to get back?"
"The ships are wrecked. We'll have to find some other way off the planet."
"So? Which way?"
Argent pointed over his shoulder. "That way."
Hot Spot and Robin looked over to see a spaceship taking off from some unseen location on the horizon. Robin nodded resolutely. Hot Spot frowned.
"Am I missing something? It's just a spaceship taking off."
"It took off from somewhere on this planet. That could mean there are other ships. We could hitch a ride."
"Oh, okay."
The Boy Wonder looked over at Argent. "Good job, Argent."
She winked at the compliment. "Thank you, Robin."
Robin blinked beneath his mask. He obviously wasn't too sure how to respond to a wink.
"Uh… let's go."
As the Titan leader led the way with the adoring Argent in tow, Hot Spot couldn't help but let out a weary sigh.
"I want to go home…"
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(A/N: I know, I know… I copped out by skipping the space battle. But let me explain. I can't write space battles too well – or even aerial battles, for that matter. Mostly because I don't find them that interesting in prose unless they're done incredibly well. I can't visualise them in my head (in any interesting way), and that's where I do most of my fight arrangements. So, instead of boring both myself and you, I thought it best to skip it.
For those who might think that Red Star and Starfire's section was quite short, don't worry; they'll both be getting plenty of attention in the following chapters. Maybe not next chapter, but a large chunk of this story will be about Starfire, so fear not.
And yes, that's a Kole/Jericho pairing. An official comic pairing, and I see it working with their show counterparts too.
Since I haven't read them, I'm not sure what Argent's crush on Nightwing was like in the comics, so I had to put my own spin on it. And since we haven't seen a girl confidently going after Robin in the show (besides Kitten, of course), I thought it'd be interesting to see his reaction to those kind of advances. That'll get stronger in later chapters, too.
And, reviews? Them good.)