Chapter 10: A Fling in the Forest

Frostbite takes Starfire to the location of the T-shaped portal.

"Here we go." Frostbite is ready to toss her in, when he notices something wrong with the portal. "Hmm… that's odd." He notices something is coming out. "What in the Ghost Zone?"

Suddenly, the object from the portal flies out and knocks Frostbite away, causing him to let go of Starfire.

"So, this is where she was?" A female voice, deeper than Starfire's, spoke. Frostbite finally notices that it's another Tamaranian, one with black hair, violet eyes and a costume in a black and silver color scheme. "I'm here for my sister, got it Fuzzball?"

"Who are you?" Frostbite demanded to know.

"Name's Blackfire, and I'm here for my useless little sister."

"To bring her home?"

"No!" She scoffs. "To get payback. I had to make a deal with some sorcerers to get to her. The prison I found myself stuck in made it difficult to reach her." She looks around. "Where am I?"

Recognizing Blackfire is a threat, Frostbite answers. "You will not be around for long to know!"

Frostbite fires a blast of freezing energy towards her. Blackfire fires her purple starbolt in response, blocking the energy.

At this moment, both Frostbite and Blackfire notice Starfire, still unconscious, drifting away.

"Excuse me!" Blackfire quickly says. "This is a family matter!"

Blackfire flies down to get her hands on her little sister, only for Frostbite to respond.

"Stop, villainess!" Frostbite creates a large snowball and throws it at Blackfire.

By the time Blackfire finds her sister, the snowball hits them, sending them both careening towards a portal not too far from them.

Frostbite is too late to react.

This isn't good…

Danny and his friends have decided to call it a night. He gets back to his room after seeing them off and only sits on his bed.

He thinks back to her… Starfire.

"I hope she's home and safe…"

Danny thinks of how she was pretty and her rather broken way of speaking was rather adorable. She did make him uncomfortable, but he blamed that mostly on his ghostly energy affecting her.

I still kissed her.

He kissed her at the Eiffel Tower. Why, he wasn't sure. All he knew is that at that moment, he wasn't afraid to be around her anymore. She did help him save civilians, so maybe that was him thanking her? He wasn't sure.

Suddenly his ghost sense went off, alarming Danny.

"Great One!" Frostibite phases through Danny's floor.

"Frostbite?!" Danny says after he was surprised by his friend's appearance.

"We… have a problem."

Somewhere in the world is a forest. What isn't known at the time they arrived, all they know is that it's midday and Starfire and Blackfire ended up here; Danny and Frostbite must find them.

"So, how do we find them?"

"I believe they will find us." Frostbite answers.

Both of them look around and start flying.

"So, what do we-"

"Demons!" They both look behind at the ground and see an archer. "More demons like the last two!" He aims his bow and arrow at them.

"Whoa, wait!" Danny calls out before the arrow is launched. Thanks to his quick senses, Danny manages to avoid the arrow. "Just stop! We're not-" Suddenly, a shock from behind goes off, zapping him. Once it's done, he scowls. "Don't tell me, the arrow hit my dad's gadget?"

Frostbite looks back and winces. "Okay, I won't… even though that's what happened." Danny groans. "Why do you even still have that thing?"

"I have no idea!" Danny says defensively. "Forget about that, let's just get away from that guy." They both fly away.

"Away with you, monsters!" They hear him calling out.

"He said there were two others. Perhaps the sisters are here?"

"I guess we will be seeing them sooner than we thought."

Starfire has been awake for the past hour. She has no idea where she is, only that this is not Titans' Tower.

"Hello?" She calls out. "Phantom?" She hears nothing. After scratching her head, she remembers something. "Perhaps my fellow Titans can aid me?" She reaches for her communicator, only to find it missing. "Oh, did I not remember to take it with me? Perhaps I was the too impulsive?"

It looks like Danny's energy is starting to wear off on her, she's thinking clearly again.

Perhaps I must find my own way home.

She flies.

Blackfire, having been knocked out by the snowball, has been roaming the forest since waking up.

"I didn't bust out of prison for this!" She screams as she knocks down a tree in rage.

Danny and Frostbite have been flying for 10 minutes, looking for the alien girls.

"We gotta find Starfire and get her home!" Danny says with a concerned look.

"And her sister."

"Y-yeah…" Danny says.

"You seem fixated on just the first one for some reason."

"Huh?" Danny asks.

"We were watching you from Clockwork's lair. We saw it all… including the kiss on the Eiffel Tower."

Danny halts suddenly.

"What?!"

"I am getting the feeling…" Frostbite says with a smirk as he pauses to speak. "You are growing fond of her."

"N-no!" Danny is defensive. "I mean… sure, she's pretty and cool… but she has no sense of personal space!"

"So why kiss her like that?" Frostbite's smirk became a grin.

"Uh…" Danny blushes. "I was just… thanking her for helping me save those people!" Danny says more to convince himself than Frostbite. "Yeah, that's it!" Frostbite's grin shows he's unconvinced. Danny gets annoyed. "Let's just find them." Danny flies on ahead.

Frostbite smiles and shakes his head.

"Teenagers." He follows.

Danny crosses his arms and mutters in an annoyed tone.

"Hmph… nosy yeti. What does he know?" Danny looks around, now concerned. "Where are you, Starfire?" He worries more. "Maybe I should tell her I'm not like her."

Danny flies into the trees, looking into the branches, hoping she's possibly sitting in them or resting at the ground level.

As he continues, Starfire is flying in his direction.

They both stop once they're about 2 feet apart.

"Phantom!" She greeted with a smile.

"Starfire!" Danny says. He smiles, but then looks concerned. "I am so sorry, a friend offered to take you home for me but… obviously you're not home."

"I forgive you and this friend you speak of!" She answered.

Danny sighs in relief. He then looks behind Starfire, only for her to move her head in his field of view. He tries looking back from the other side, only for her to do it again.

"Um… I was told your sister got involved."

"My sister?!" Starfire says worried. She then gets angry. "Blackfire is not the nice! She is the mean!" Her eyes glow a bright green. Danny is genuinely startled, as he's never seen her angry before. "She is not nice at all!" Her fists start to glow as well.

"Whoa! Starfire!" Danny calls out. "Don't worry, we'll deal with her later! Let's just get out of this forest!"

Starfire's bright fury fades as her smile returns. "Okay!"

Danny is startled to say the least, since her sudden mood swing implies his presence is affecting her again.

"Great One! You found her!" Frostbite arrives.

"Monster!" Starfire calls out as she raises her arm and charges a starbolt.

"Wait!" Danny calls out and blocks her. "That's Frostbite, the friend I was talking about!"

Starfire lowers her arm and smiles. "Ah, I apologize."

"We should go before your sister arrives and attacks us." Frostbite says.

The three then begin flying, but before they go past the trees, Danny notices how close Starfire is and stops.

"Okay… you want to go in the front?" Danny asks, motioning to the front. "Go ahead."

"Oh no…" Starfire then gets closer. "I wish to be close to you."

Danny blushes as Frostbite chuckles.

"It seems she wishes to close to you, Great One."

Danny looks back at Frostbite, but when he faces Starfire again, she's in his face. Reacting to this, Danny lightly pushes her back with his hands on her shoulders. Starfire then grabs his shoulders in response.

"Is this more of the dancing?" She asks. Danny immediately lets go and gets Starfire's arms off of him. Starfire smiles at this. "Oh, you are still the shy?" Starfire puts her hands on his face. "You do not need to be this, though I admit it is the cute."

Danny tries to get her hands off him, but Starfire immediately grabs his hands and places them on her own face.

"Any chance you want to step in, Frostbite?"

Frostbite chuckles. "I fear that would not be a good move, Great One."

"Why?!" Danny asks, only for Starfire to hug him tightly.

Though unable to go intangible, Danny does break free of her grasp as he flies behind Frostbite for cover. He looks behind Frostbite's right shoulder, but Starfire goes to face him.

"Well, would that not be a moment killer?" Frostbite smiles. Danny moves to the yeti's left, but Starfire goes to him again. "It would appear there is some level of affection going on?" Starfire then chases Danny, the two of them circle around the yeti ghost, who chuckles. "I believe I should stay out of this."

Once Frostbite flies out from between the two, Starfire pauses and turns. She hugs her Phantom tightly once more. She flies to a tree branch, she keeps hugging him until he breaks free.

"Wait for me!" Danny calls. He tries to fly away before Starfire grabs his leg and pulls him in. "Frostbite!" Starfire, now standing, hugs Danny around the neck, her arm blocking his mouth. "Frostbite! Help!"

Frostbite is standing on a different branch, leaning into the tree as he takes an apple.

"I am sorry, Great One." He smiles. "I fear even my powers can't save you from this." He chuckles.

Starfire hums happily as she nuzzles Danny's cheek. Danny finally is able to get out of her grip and look to her.

"Look, I'm not really a-" Danny remembers the look of rage she had earlier and pauses.

"What is it, Phantom?" She asks as her hand comes to his face again.

"I'm not…" He thought of a good response as he takes her hand away from his face. "I'm not sure I'm good boyfriend material."

"I disagree…" She smiles as she moves in closer and places the hand back.

"No, seriously!" Danny moves back while holding her back by the shoulders again. "I'm not-"

"Allow me…" Starfire then takes Danny's face in both her hands and looks into his eyes. "To share with you my opinion of the boyfriend status."

A quick pause.

Starfire quickly kisses Danny on the lips, causing his eyes to widen. After that, she kisses him again, now Danny closes his eyes. She then kisses him a third time, this time longer than the others. Once it's done, the two blush and smile. After a second, Danny realizes what he's doing and rubs his mouth, trying to get this out of his system.

"I…" Danny tries to say something as Starfire then bats her eyes in a flirtatious manner. "I gotta go!" Danny flies away, the force of his sudden burst of speed causes Starfire's hair to fly in her face.

Starfire chuckles as she moves her hair out of her face. "So the adorable…"

Frostbite finishes his apple as Danny comes to his ally for help.

"Frostbite! You gotta help me! I think she's-" He fails to finish as Starfire flies into him and causes him to go off his feet. "Whoa!" Danny's hovering allows him to avoid falling off the branch as he notices Starfire is in his face.

"I am the into you!" She answers happily.

Frostbite chuckles.

"I'm afraid you're on your own with her, Great One."

"Why do you call my Phantom "Great One", Mr. the Frostbite?" Starfire asks.

"He saved our realm from a terrible enemy, my dear."

Danny gets up, scratching his head in slight embarrassment and concern for Frostbite trying to make him more impressive to his alien admirer.

"Is that true?!" Starfire asks giddily.

"Um… yes." He answers.

"Glorious!"

Starfire hugs him tight again. Danny barely manages to squirm out as he whispers in Frostbite's ear.

"You know that I'm not what she thinks." He says in a concerned tone.

Frostbite takes his non-ice arm and whispers back. "Yes, but she doesn't know that. All she knows is you're a boy and she likes you."

Starfire pulls him back in and hugs him again. After Danny squirms out again and looks to Frostbite, thought Starfire quickly nuzzles into him again. Danny blushes and tries to push her away, only for Starfire to turn and lean her back into him, taking her arms and wrapping them around her.

"Is this not the nice?" She asks. Danny has difficulty speaking, as he's flustered. He tries to get away again, but Starfire then grabs him by the face and smiles. "Wait here! I must locate a place for water! I am the thirsty!" She flies off.

Danny looks in her direction before panicking and hiding behind Frostbite.

"I gotta hide!" He then curls up and hides into Frostbite's cape.

Frostbite chuckles. "I fear that is not the proper reaction, Great One. Why not tell her you are not a Tamaranian, like herself?"

"I saw her get mad when I mentioned her sister. Plus, you yourself said her emotions are stronger when I'm around."

"I have found a stream!" Starfire says as she flies in. "I am no longer the dehydrated." She looks for Danny. "Where is Phantom?" Frostbite points to his cape with his thumb. Starfire giggles. "Your hiding is most adorable!"

Starfire pulls Danny out and nuzzles him again. Danny manages to get out of her grip and hold her back. He smiles, but Starfire quickly gets out of her grip and kisses him on the lips twice. Danny barely had time to react before she did so. He blushes and attempts to fly away. Starfire outflies him and blocks his escape. Danny tries to go the opposite direction, but Starfire blocks his way again, this time with a hug.

Frostbite laughs. "If you two lovebirds need me, I will be taking a nap." He flies off.

Danny tries to get away from Starfire, but she yanks his leg to pull him back into her embrace. This time Danny is able to pull his leg out and manages to fly away. Unbeknownst to him, Starfire is flying above him. He looks back and sees her gone, he then pauses. Looking forward again, Starfire is in his face with her smile.

"Playing the game of being difficult to have again? I am liking this game!"

"Uh…" Danny barely has time to answer properly as Starfire's bone-crushing hug happens again. "Not again!" Danny flies out of her release and flies away again.

Danny looks around and sees the stream he heard Starfire speak of. Eager for cover, Danny flies into the river. Seconds later, Danny bursts out, something in the water scaring him. He flies away and Starfire comes out, looking longingly at him.

"He found me and now he panics? Perhaps he has plans of some kind?"

Danny finds an old tree with an opening big enough for him. Flying into it, Danny looks out and pants. He doesn't notice a second pair of green eyes are in the trunk, now looking at him.

"You know, on Tamaran, we are of the legal age for you to marry me…" Hearing her voice, Danny looks to the eyes and panics before leaving the tree. Starfire comes out and rests her elbows on the opening as she questions Danny's actions with her chin resting on one of her hands. "Perhaps he feels the pressure of such an idea. Very well, I will let him know there is no rush for the actions of that."

Danny flies and looks back.

"She wants me to marry her?!" He says concerned.

"Darling…" This catches Danny's attention. "I apologize for the sudden information." Danny looks ahead and sees Starfire in front of him again. "I do like you the very much…" Danny panics and flies around her. "But marriage is too sudden, I did not mean to make you the nervous!"

"Good to know!" Danny says, still looking at her.

"Watch out!" Starfire calls out as Danny looks ahead.

He is too late as he collides with a branch and he falls into the stream. There, a bear is trying to catch a fish as Danny's sudden splash distracts the bear and lets its meal escape. Angry, the bear tries to attack Danny, but he is able to fly away and heads into the trees on the other side of the stream. After flying as fast as he can, Danny sees another large tree and hides in the hole on it. Once the bear is nowhere in sight, Danny remembers Starfire and looks around.

"Where did she go?"

"I am here!" Starfire says, coming in right next to him in the tree.

Surprised, Danny tries to get out, but Starfire pulls him back in as they go deeper in the tree where she smothers him in kisses again. After a moment, Danny finally gets free and gets out, though Starfire is still holding onto his foot. Danny notices she's hanging on when he looks back. Starfire tries to hug him again when they hear something.

"Oh, sister!"

Anyone remember the part with the squirrels in The Sword in the Stone?

Who doesn't love that part? When I was deciding where the story goes next, I remembered that part and decided to have them in a forest.

Also, Blackfire is here. What will she bring to the story?