Chapter 10: Starfire's condition

(At Jump City's union hospital)

The Titans were waiting in the surgical waiting room. They were firmly clinging to hope that Starfire will recover from the poison dart. They don't want to imagine their innocent, carefree, alien friend to die at a young age.

"Come on...Starfire...you can make it...!" Robin quietly said. He was looking at the red-colored surgical sign, hoping it will turn off quickly. So he can run towards her and give her a big hug. The other Titans also thought the same thing. Once Starfire recovers from her operation, they will buy her a one year stock of bottled mustard and some new dresses. Though the boys know nothing about girls' fashion. But, if they want to make Starfire happy then they are willing to take the "risk" to go to the girl's store to buy one. Including Raven. Her fashion taste is different from Starfire's fashion taste because of their polar opposite personality. However, she cares deeply about the alien princesses like a family, which is the most important thing in her life.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

All they can hear is the heart monitoring sound. It comes from the surgical room where Starfire is. It ensures the Titans that she is still alive. But they can not be so sure about it whether or not she will make it.

Cyborg, the mechanic friend looked at the boy wonder with a sense of concern. He knows how close the two's relationships are. They might not have reached a "lover" relationship, but telling from their face, they are already more than friends.

"Hey, Robin? You okay?" He asked as he grabbed the boy wonder's shoulder gently.

Robin looked at his close friend and nodded sadly. "Yes...I'm fine...Don't worry about me..." He then looked away from him.

Cyborg knew this reaction will come as he heard the sad tone coming from Robin's mouth. Robin's mental health is an unstable one. Even since he encountered with his arch-enemy Slade, a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator, it sometimes clouds his judgment on taking down villains.

There was a time when Robin had to work as Slade's apprentice. Cyborg learned it later that Slade's crouton detonator was a bait to lure Robin into Slade's hideout. At that time, when Robin was busy confronting Slade, Cyborg and the other Titans were doing their best to stop the detonator. However, they soon realized that the detonator was a fake. They tried to call Robin to warn him, not to fall in Slade's trap. But it was too late.

Their body got implanted with a billion numbers of Nanoscopic probes by a weapon behind them. They were defenseless when they just discovered Slade's plan. Slade had the higher ground to kill all the Titans unless Robin obeyed him as his new master. It must have been a difficult decision for Robin; Knowing that he can not risk his friend's life. So he obeyed Slade for awhile and later broke free from Slade's manipulation with his friend's help. But Slade's mastermind continued to haunt Robin to this day.

Cyborg firmly tightens his grab on Robin's shoulder to get Robin's attention. Robin looked at his Cyborg again and saw his friend's questionable face.

"Are you REALLY sure you are okay...?" Cyborg asked.

Robin sighed deeply and shook his head. "No...Cyborg. I'm not okay. But I can not show my weakness to everyone...A leader should be strong...not matter how tragic the situation is..." He looked down to cover his insecurity.

"I know Robin...but there is no need to cover your anxiety to us. We are your friends. You can depend on us if you need help. I mean there is no perfect human on Earth right? Remember the day you cheered me up to lift up those heavyweights?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, since then, I always push my limits. A hundred and ten percent. A hundred and eleven percent..."

"What does it have to do with your exercise, Cyborg?" Robin asked. He found it odd to talk about Cyborg's physical exercise in this situation.

"I'm trying to tell you I also have a weakness. I always thought I was a machine, not fully human. When I lost the fight against Atlas, I nearly gave up. I almost considered Atlas to be a better robot than me. But your word; 'You still can.' made me realize that I am neither machine or a human. I am BOTH. It was an excuse to tell myself that I can not win. If I knew it sooner that I am a hybrid of machine and human, I could have saved you guys quickly."

He closed his eyes and slightly nod his head. "You see Robin. I also need help. I need friends to encourage me that things will be better. Like you believed me I could defeat Atlas. So, don't hesitate to ask. If you need anything, ask me or BB or Raven."

Cyborg pointed at the other two Titans as he looked back at them. Robin sees Beast Boy sleeping on the chair as Raven keeps reading her spellbook. The green mutant snores like a pig, which irritates Raven a lot.

"Yeah...tell Robin that Beast Boy can be a reliable friend...in his sleep..." Raven sarcastically said. She brings out her earplugs so she can concentrate on her reading.

Cyborg felt a cold sweat coming down from the back of his head. "R-right..." He replied. He coughed a little and looked back at Robin. "But you get the idea right?"

Robin chuckled a little and appreciated his mechanic friend. "Yeah, I guess...Thanks, Cyborg."

"Don't mention it, buddy." He smiled back at his leader.

Then suddenly, the surgical doctor came out from the operating room. Cyborg saw him coming out first. He soon got up and told Beast Boy to wake up. Robin heard the door being opened and approached to the surgical doctor by grabbing the white coat's collar.

"DOCTOR?! IS SHE GOING TO BE OKAY?! WILL SHE MAKE IT?!"

Raven heard Robin raising his voice and moved her attention from her spellbook. She stood up from her seat and removed her earplugs. The doctor was taken by surprise from the boy wonder's grasp. But he remained cool and explained the consequence of the surgery to the Titans.

"The operating was a success. We managed to remove all the poison from her body. We were just in time to prevent the poison from attacking her neural system. If we were a minute late, she would have spent her entire life in a wheelchair."

"That serious?" Raven asked.

The surgical doctor nod. "Yes. I have never seen such poison that spread quickly like a virus. You all should be grateful to bring her in a nick of time"

Beast Boy sighed of relief as he comically let go off the air from his mouth like a balloon. "Phew...Thank god we saved her."

"So...can we see her?" Robin asked.

The doctor replied "Yes" to them but gave them on one condition. "Try not to disturb her sleep. She needs some rest to regain her strength."

The Titans all nodded to the surgical doctor's request as they walked slowly into the operating room. Inside the operating room, they saw Starfire sleeping peacefully on her bed. Her heart rate beeps in a steady tone. She has an oxygen mask strapped around her face and an intravenous drip injection in her left arm.

Robin walked to her and whispered into her ears. "Starfire...we are here...we are happy to know that you made it..."

Starfire didn't reply to his whisper. Instead, she smiled weakly as a response.

Robin saw her smile and stroke her beautiful long red hair gently. All he wishes for is to put the Mandalorian behind bars and to hug Starfire once she recovers from her operation. He hopes everything will be alright.

If it was only that simple...