I'm giving up, I'm giving up slowly
I'm blending in so you won't even know me
Apart from this horror that shares my fate
This one last boat you mentioned
It's my one last shot at redemption
Cuz I know to live you must give your life away
-- Be My Escape by Relient K
Starfire stood stalk still as the two strangers' eyes traveled her being. Their inquisitive and cold stares sent chills up the alien girl's spine. These were not kind people.
"You're Starfire of Tamaran, are you not?" The blond called Minette eyed her inquisitively.
"…Yes…" Starfire had never felt so uncertain of herself. The boys had all turned to look at her, identical faces of disbelief plastered on their faces. Disbelief of what? Minette continued.
"Then, under the powers of the American Government and the Jump City FBI Homicide Department, you're officially under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can and will be used against you-"
"What?" Starfire's emerald eyes had gotten enormous. "I am unsure of what you accuse me of, but I assure you I am innocent!"
"Not by our books, love." Sasha's grim smile almost held a tinge of mirth, and Starfire suddenly felt very uneasy about her surroundings. Something didn't feel right. "We have evidence that you and Miss Raven Roth are members of the guilty party, and thus we have the right to take you in for questioning. I'm afraid if you resist, we'll have to use force…"
"Of what guilty party to you speak? I assure you, friend Raven and I have no alliance to them!" The alien princess was near frantic now.
"What kind of evidence?" Robin stood up, his expression hard.
"Video evidence." The room fell silent as Minette, who'd obviously chosen to answer only Robin's question, spoke. "There was a surveillance camera at the scene, and, despite the darkness, the figures are obviously of Starfire and Raven."
"Show us the tape." Now Beast Boy was standing. "You're not taking Rae and Star based on some phony story about video evidence."
"Yeah, and who knows what you could do once you have them." Cyborg looked just as defiant as his two male teammates.
"They never mentioned anything about a video on the news report…" Robin eyed the newcomers coldly. Both Minette and Sasha let out highly exaggerated sighs.
"The FBI is still investigating, so we haven't released it to the press, but if you really want to see it…" The brunette pulled a tiny laser disk out of her pocket and handed it over to Robin, who popped it purposefully into the main computer. There was a hush that fell over the room as the machine processed the new information, partly from fear and partly from expectancy. Finally, the screen flickered to life, and the picture that appeared was more terrifying than anything that anyone present had ever seen.
Starfire took one look and let a high pitched scream erupt from her mouth.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Raven looked at the mysterious girl called Chase skeptically.
"No," Chase admitted with hollow eyes, "I'm not. I don't even know if we can get her out alive. The least we can do is try. Please," the azure haired girl gave Raven a pleading stare, "you have to trust me."
"How do I know this isn't a setup and that you're not working for whoever's down there with Star? How do I know that there's someone even down there right now? Maybe you're just trying to distract me from something else…"
"You're running out of time!" Chase's voice was so pained that Raven was inclined to do exactly as she'd commanded moments earlier, but falling for an act was not something Raven was about to do. "Save her!"
"I want proof." The empath remained a staunch cynic. "I want some way to tell you're not lying." Chase let out an aggravated moan.
"Fine, fine, but if your friend dies, it's her blood on your hands, not mine." But the azure haired girl's eyes were still urgent. Quickly, she pulled off the black gloves that she wore, exposing both her wrists. "There's your proof." Raven peered closer, and one brief look made it obvious what Chase was trying to show her. On her wrists were two identical scars that took the shape of flowers, but not of any breed that the empath had ever seen before. They almost resembled something that would come from Starfire's garden.
"What…?"
"They're hydrens," Chase clarified before Raven could complete her question, "flowers of sleep and…and of nightmares."
"What do they mean?"
"We don't have time for botony lessons right now!" Raven gave Chase a skeptic glare, and with a frustrated scream the newcomer explained. "They mean that I was tricked by those two witches down there, it nearly killed me, and your friend is about to become another one of their victims if we don't help her."
"I…" Raven bit her lip worriedly.
"Stop hesitating and DO something! Your friend is going to die!" Chase's eyes were brimming with tears. "I swear I'll explain to you later. Just please…save her." Against her better judgment, Raven crumbled.
"I'll be back." And with that, the empath sunk into the floor. As she slowly disappeared, Chase pulled her hovering device from her chained silver belt and fired it up.
"I'll be watching."
"Starfire? Are you okay?" Robin's expression contorted at his friend's sudden outburst. There was no doubt about what was on the screen. The undeniable figures of Starfire and Raven, one standing and one kneeling. In between them was a frightened looking girl. It was the exact way they'd been in her dream.
"I…I am…well…I simply…I…" Starfire willed herself to stay calm. Her warrior's sense was going insane, buzzing angrily at the base of her skull. There was something very wrong with this whole situation. "I am simply…terrified that Raven and I could be implicated with such an awful thing, and to have someone set up a video…"
"Set up?" Minette laughed, her voice airy and fake. "I don't believe you understand the implications of this tape, which was found in the surveillance camera outside the convenience store."
"You're under arrest." Sasha stood and pulled a pair of threatening looking handcuffs from her inner jacket. "Now, whether you come peacefully or forcibly…that's up to you."
"I shall…I…" Starfire was all too aware of the male Titans' careful eyes, watching her intently, when her expression suddenly changed altogether. She seemed oddly alert and, as anyone would be in such a situation, particularly afraid. "I…am in need of using the restroom. Yes, that is what I need. I will…willingly go with you, if you merely wish to question me…but I really must take care of…natural business. I am quite sure you understand." Starfire attempted to look pleasant, smoothing her purple skirt and tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear.
"Of course! That's only normal. Studies show that stress and…guilt often cause your bladder-"
"Sasha." Minette shot a dark glare at her partner, clearly telling her to shut up. The blond laughed uneasily and composed herself.
"However, I'm afraid I'll have to escort you there and back, to make sure you don't try to…escape." Sasha scratched delicately at her cheek with one of her crimson talons, somehow managing to leave her foundation intact.
"Very…very well." Starfire inhaled deeply, then began to walk to the hall door. She turned back to find Sasha slowly following. "It is this way."
"No need to prompt, love. I'm coming." With what seemed to be an out of place hesitation, the FBI agent followed Starfire through the door.
The boys were left to stare after her in disbelieving awe.
"Are you two sure that the tape is reliable?" Robin's tone was critical, almost to the point of admonishment. His mind simply would not allow himself to accept the images on the screen.
"Quite sure. Our detectives found it there this morning. There is no doubting this tape." Minette absentmindedly played with her hair as she spoke, as though apprehending world-renown superheroes was part of her daily schedule.
"Could it have been planted?" Beast Boy sat rigid, his eyes alert. He knew Raven was up on the roof but he wasn't exactly willing to give up his girlfriend's location to these…people.
"We've had all the top forensics labs run tests on it." Minette's voice was pressing. "It's authentic."
"Can I see it?" Cyborg moved to take the tape from the FBI agent's tapered fingers, but she rapidly drew it close to her chest in a defensive motion.
"Absolutely not!" She slapped away his outreached hand. "This tape is FBI property and-"
"If you want to know where Raven is," Beast Boy challenged, his eyes pained, "then give Cyborg the tape. We're not handing our friends over without real proof."
"Oh…" Minette glowered at the three boys in front of her.
"We've handled government evidence before," Robin pointed out, "and nothing's ever gone wrong. So if your tape is authentic and you have nothing to hide, then let us have it."
"Something to hide…?" The blond laughed heartily, and rather unconvincingly. "Why on Earth would you think that?"
"Then hand over the tape." Cyborg, who had spoken, rose to stand beside his two friends who had formed something of a barricade before Minette.
"…Fine. Fine. Look all you want, but I assure you you'll find it to be credible evidence." The cybernetic man shot a look over his shoulder as he strode to the computers.
"We'll see about that."
Starfire's head was pounding and thoughts were swirling, and only half of it had been caused by seeing that terror of an act again, performed by herself, of all people. The other half, coincidentally, had muddled her senses and confused her. What exactly had been done to cause such perplexity?
Well, the voices in her head, for one thing.
As soon as she's calmed down from seeing the tape of the killing for the second time, she'd heard a monotonous voice in her head, slowly and carefully spelling out instructions to her.
You have… get to…bathroom, Starfire. Go to the bath… Whatever it takes… must make it there, or else...will die.
Such thoughts continued to captivate her mind, repeating the same warning and instructions over and over. It was as though the connection between this voice and her head, however, was not as good as one would have liked to think, as words seemed to be missing from each sentence. Starfire got the gist of it though.
Get to the bathroom, now, lest you suffer a terrible fate.
But then Starfire was forced to question her sanity. Had the situation pushed her mind over the edge? She'd read about such things happening to humans when stress was built up, but she had no idea that it could happen to aliens as well. Perhaps she'd missed that part in the reading?
Then again, human books didn't speak of alien psychology all that much.
The same message kept replaying over and over again in Starfire's head.
Get…bathroom. Trust…Star…you're in…Get out…It's Raven, an-
Starfire's breath had caught in her throat when she heard that. Raven was messaging her telepathically! But…her empathic friend was powerful enough to teleport, so how was it that their mind link was so weak? No time to question it now. It appeared that Starfire was going to have to abandon everything and just go with the voice in her head.
And so here she was, having a lovely stroll with an FBI officer who Starfire was extremely suspicious of to the main bathroom on that floor.
"Look, before you go in, there are some security measures we have to take." Sasha had pulled out a bulky metal hoop and a square device, attaching the object to Starfire's wrist before the Tamaranian princess got a chance to protest. It fit perfectly, as though it had been tailored to fit her. "Now this is going to sting a little…" Starfire felt a sharp pain scurry up her arm and throughout her entire body, but she held in the squeak that had built up in her throat. She was not about to give in to this woman. "There. It's a tracing device, so if you run we won't be far behind." Sasha's sweetly spoken words were laced with venom. "So my advice to you is simple: don't run. You won't like the results, I promise." The boxy device in her hand beeped, almost smugly, and read out in a mechanical voice:
"Download complete. Princess Starfire of Tamaran registered." With a nasty smile, the FBI agent crossed to the other side of the hall to wait.
Starfire entered the bathroom with slight hesitation, as would you if you'd followed the advice of a voice in your head. The area seemed empty enough, until Starfire felt someone slap a secure hand over her mouth and pull her away from the closed door. Starfire tried to scream, but it came out inaudible.
"Shut up!" The voice of Raven entered Starfire's ear in a hissed whisper. "It's me. Relax." Starfire's tensed body loosened at the familiar monotone and her friend released her.
"Raven, what is it that is happening? And why have you summoned me to a restroom facility? And why is it that the connection between us was considerably weaker than it usually is? And why-"
"Hush!" Raven directed a silencing glare at Starfire and the alien fell silent. "Listen carefully to me. A girl approached me on the roof and…"
"I…I can't believe it." Cyborg stepped back from his computer, stunned.
"Can't believe what? The fact that we were right?" Minette rolled her eyes and pushed back her hair. "As if that surprises me."
"What'd you find, Cy?" Robin neared his half robotic friend with a curious yet anxious expression. Beast Boy was not far behind.
"I've run every test and scan I could possibly think of on this thing, and it's come up clean." Cyborg sat back in his chair, the tape in his one hand and his head cradle in the other. "Dawgs…this tape is the real deal."
"So you're saying that…?" Beast Boy's eyes were enormous.
"Yep. That's exactly what I'm saying."
"She's flown the coop!" Sasha barreled into the room at an inhuman speed, drawing the gun from her hip holster.
"Sasha!" Minette barked at her partner, drawing her sidearm as well. "Remain calm! Did you get the…tracer on her?"
"Yes!" Sasha pulled a tiny, square device from her pocket and it to Minette. "There."
"Excellent." Minette looked as though she couldn't be more pleased with this latest occurrence.
"What happened?" Beast Boy bolted forward, "What's going on?" The other two boys were close at hand.
"Your innocent friend Starfire…" Minette grinned in such way that it sent shivers up all the Titans boys' spines, "She's just escaped the Tower."
"And you truly trust this girl? Raven, I am surprised at you! How is it that you lay your conviction in this stranger?" Starfire looked appalled as her friend attempted to roughly explain what was going on to the best of her ability.
"Shush!" Raven's eyes darted fearfully toward the door. "We can't afford to be overheard."
"But…this is quite 'insane' as you humans say! First I am being arrested for a crime that we did not commit, and now an utter stranger wishes to help us?" Raven hadn't seemed to have heard Starfire's rant; her gaze was focused on the silver hoop that encircled her alien friend's wrist.
"What is that?" The empath pointed at the unfamiliar device.
"A tracer of sorts, the one called Sasha had told me." Starfire whispered back, raising her wrist to eye level for further scrutiny.
"We're going to have to get rid of that." Raven reached out to touch it and, in turn, deactivate it with her powers.
"Don't touch it!" There was a large blast and a large portion of the wall quite literally fell away, revealing the sunset drizzled ocean an azure haired girl on a hover board. It was too late, though; Raven had already clasped the silver object in both hands. Before anyone could react, the hoop beeped thee successive times, somehow managed to widen, and slid right onto Raven's waiting wrist, shrinking again to fit the width difference. The empath groaned as she felt a sharp, stinging pain beginning at her wrist and crawling its way up her arm and throughout her body. Two seconds later, she'd fallen to the ground, out cold.
"What has happened?" Starfire's eyes were wide and frantic, "Why has she fainted! I did not faint when…"
"It's because that thing was made for aliens. Her human half probably couldn't take the charge. She wasn't supposed to touch the tracer…" the azure haired girl rapidly landed on the ground, using the large chunk of missing wall as an entryway into the tower, and slid to Starfire's side before the princess had even gotten the chance to ask how she'd known that Raven was only half human. "Give me your wrist."
"What is it that you ask?" Starfire was now frantic and utterly confused.
"Give me your wrist!" The girl grabbed it before the alien girl even had a chance to agree or disagree. "Dammit…" the newcomer whispered, and Starfire gasped as her eyes fell on a design carved into her skin, sluggishly bleeding now that it had been uncovered, of a plant only too familiar to her.
"The hydren? The flower of nightmares? What…how…?"
"Shut up! There's no time to explain! Take this!" the girl shoved a hovering device similar to her own at Starfire's hands. As Starfire looked it over, the newcomer pulled out a small device and jammed it into the metal hoop on Raven's arm. The entire gadget danced with electric sparks before it shorted entirely and fell off of the empath's wrist.
"But…I am not in need of such innovations. I assure you that I am able to fly-"
"Not anymore you can't." The new girl hefted Raven into her arms and hopped onto her hover board and rose into the air.
"What do you mean, I cannot fly?" Starfire was utterly befuddled. This was simply too much for one day.
"I mean that you can't fly." The azure haired girl's eyes softened at the stricken look on Starfire's face. "See that hydren on your wrist?" The Tamaranian princess' gaze drifted downward to look at the fresh wound in her skin, still slowly dripping blood. "Trust me when I say that it means that you no longer possess the ability to fly."
"But…" The pretty redhead felt so overwhelmed, she could scarcely breathe. Tears were ebbing at her eyes, but before any of them could spill, the new girl lowered her hover board and pulled Starfire to her feet.
"My name is Chase, and right now, I need you to trust me." And as the Tamaranian slowly took the hand that was offered to help her up, she noticed an identical design on this newcomer's wrist, only hers had healed and become a scar. Without saying another word to one another, both mounted their hover boards and took off out the gaping hole in the wall, Raven still hanging limply in Chase's arms.
Sasha grinned widely when she'd heard the explosion. It was exactly as Minette had said; at least one of them would try to escape. Good thing they'd programmed the power-absorbing bands to wait six minutes before draining the wearer of their special abilities. It made framing these girls so much easier. Without bothering to check the bathroom, the blond FBI agent broke into a run, speeding through the door to the recreational area with her gun drawn.
"She's flown the coop!"
"Sasha!" Minette had sent her a sharp glare, reminding her to act professional. "Remain calm! Did you get the…tracer on her?"
"Yes!" Sasha yanked the tiny square device from her suit pocket and tossed it to her partner. "There."
"Excellent." Whenever Minette was happy with recent development, she practically purred her words. Right now, she was purring.
"What happened?" The little green boy had approached the pair of FBI agents with his friends trailing behind him, "What's going on?"
"Your innocent friend Starfire…" Sasha allowed herself a smile that would have intimidated most professional wrestlers, "She's just escaped the Tower."
"That's preposterous!" Minette suddenly whirled around, the small, square device in her hands. "Her…tracer isn't moving from the bathroom. What are you talking about, Sasha?" The set death glare Minette told the brunette that she'd better have an explanation, and fast.
"I don't understand!" Sasha snatched the boxy device. Indeed, the tracer dot that indicated Starfire was still positioned in the bathroom. "I heard an explosion and…"
"Did you check the bathroom?" Minette's glare was pure ice.
"N…no…I simply assumed…"
"The first rule of life in the crime world," Robin stepped forward, his voice stony, "is to assume nothing."
"Yes but…"
"C'mon, y'all!" Cyborg charged for the bathroom, and soon the entire group was running in a clumpy race to see who would reach the vicinity first.
Sasha and Minette got there first.
"Look," the blond pointed to the floor, where a shiny metal object lay, belching tiny clouds of grey smoke. Sasha bent down and carefully picked it up, muttering obscenities to herself as she went about her work.
"What…what is it?" Beast Boy was the first to have recovered from the sight of the gaping hole in the wall, though the two FBI agents didn't seem to be surprised in the least about that. Their astonishment seemed to be aimed at the bulky silver hoop.
"It's…it's a...tracer…" Sasha's eyes were wide, "They're impossible to get off without the right equipment…" The shock the two partners shared slowly became sinister smiles.
"It seems that this girl has had…assistance."
"What about Raven?" Cyborg demanded, passing off the brunette's comment with a wave of the hand.
"What about her? She's still under arrest, whenever we find her." Minette's gaze panned the room to survey the damage. Suddenly, a shrill beeping noise emitted from the tracer device in her hands. A mechanical voice spoke:
"Download complete. Raven Roth of the dimension of Azarath registered." A silence settled on the room, but Minette did not like silences.
"Well," she said, obvious annoyance crossing her brow, "it seems that both of your…friends have escaped us."
Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy inwardly wondered why the escape of Starfire was almost like an extra slice of cake to this woman, but the escape of Raven disturbed her.
We were supposed to get one of them! Sasha and Minette both internally reprimanded themselves. Now they have them both!
The only comfort that the two girls had was that both their victims had become just as powerless as all the others.
Love,
SushiChica
SUSHICHICA'S MASS UPDATE LIST:
Teen Titans:
-Faith: Sequel to ExBoyfriend (Romance/Drama; seventh chapter) updated.
-When They Were Bad (Action/Adventure/Drama; fourth chapter) updated.
-Fly (Romance oneshot) posted.
-The Fight for Starfire (Humor/Romance oneshot) to be posted.
-Documentary of Titans Tower (Humor/General oneshot) to be posted.
Code Lyoko:
-One of the Boys (Romance/Drama; first chapter) to be posted.
-Ringing in the New Year (Romance/Humor oneshot) to be posted.
Get moving people! You've got a LOT of reading ahead of you!
XD
Kidding.
Read what sounds interesting to you.
And have FUN everyone!
