Chapter 4: Happiness (Beast Boy x Starfire)
A certain alien was currently zapping through the hallway of Titan Tower, having been indirectly challenged to a race back to their home after they had defeated Mad Mod.
And the only one who actually was enthusiastic enough to race all the way from the other side of the city was a certain shape-shifter who chased after Starfire in hawk form.
The alien suddenly stopped in front of her door, realizing that her mutant pet might be hungry and Beast Boy flew past her before he morphed back.
"You're disqualified for not flying all the way to the kitchen," he said before he broke out in a huge grin. "And that means that I'm the winner and you'll have to try some of my tofu for dinner," he smirked but Starfire didn't care for earthly vegetarian nutrition.
She still stared confused at the empty room that faced her.
Where was Silkie?
She remembered that he had been napping in her room when the crime alert rang.
"Anything new from him?"
She turned around, hearing the worry in Cyborg's voice.
"No…but I really have an uneasy feeling, seeing Robin so eagerly lock himself up in the evidence room again."
Raven and Cyborg passed the alien before Raven murmured the next words.
"But then again…you can never be too careful with Slade."
Starfire's eyes opened wide, hearing of Robin's arch-nemesis…and that Robin might already be planning to take him out again.
Even Beast Boy stopped in his tracks and turned around when he heard Starfire gasp. His eyes lowered to the floor as images of Slade in the 'House of Mirrors' flashed in front of him – images of his bestial side emerging after Slade had muttered something he denied to this very day.
"She never liked you…"
Images of Terra flashed in front of his eyes and his hands clenched to fists, wondering if Slade tried to get back at Terra for causing his demise.
He looked back up, forcing his thoughts into the background but saw that Starfire passed him without saying a word, apparently already forgetting about her mutant pet.
But her lowered gaze suggested she took the news to heart before she disappeared behind the doors of the common room.
The changeling stared at the closed doors at the end of the hallway, hoping they would open again and Starfire would come floating back in with a smile on her face as she went on about how good they did 'the kicking of the butt' today.
But the doors remained closed and he sighed.
The least he could do…was to take her mind off the masked villain.
And he knew exactly how to do that and morphed into a Labrador. Meanwhile the alien went to the kitchen, trying to still her noisy stomachs – and it wasn't normal for all of her 9 stomachs to start grumbling at the same time. Cyborg shot her a confused and uneasy look from behind the couch. "That sounded like Plasmus with a common cold. Are you ok, Star?" he asked worriedly.
Starfire tried to hide her blush by cowering in front of the opened fridge. "T-that was just…the gas that leaked from my vocal chords," the red-head replied in a low voice, hoping to have convinced the half-robot that it wasn't something embarrassing.
"You mean…like a 'burp'?" Starfire flinched behind the fridge, realizing that she only made it worse. "I…believe so."
Her eyes wandered over the contents and stopped on a yellow bottle.
But with what to eat her favorite food?
Her eyes wandered over the contents – spaghetti, eggs, peperoni.
But nothing appealed to her and with a sigh she took out the mustard and closed the fridge. She decided to just make a mustard sandwich and poured the thick sauce between two slices of bread.
But her thoughts about Robin wouldn't leave her alone.
What if Slade did really return?
What if Robin was already planning to go against him?
Images of Robin aiming his thermal blaster at her flashed in her mind and her gaze lowered to the floor.
What if Robin is falling back into Slade's grasp?
Her eyes wandered over to the half-robot who was watching TV.
But Cyborg said that Slade didn't appear anymore after Raven had defeated Trigon.
There was only one way to find out if this was true.
With a sudden surge of determination and hope, she strode out of the kitchen and through the hallways and stopped in front of the evidence room, hearing the shuffling of feet.
The extraterrestrial took a deep breath, hoping that her assumptions of Robin were wrong and slowly lifted her hand.
"Don't you run from me! I give you a home and that's how you repay me?"
She turned around only to see Silkie crawling hurriedly towards her, followed by an angered Beast Boy.
"Silke!" Starfire cried happily, her eyes turning to pink hearts and she spread out her arms to hug her beloved pet.
She was dumbfounded to see that the mutant worm just crawled past her and she fixed her stare on the changeling who stopped in his tracks. "Why is Silkie doing the running from you?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Uh…you're asking the wrong person. I found him in my closet and all of a sudden he started running from me," the changeling explained himself.
"And do you perhaps know what was his business in your wardrobe?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm not a silk worm. How do I know what he was doing in there?"
Starfire turned back to her pet and floated after her worm and scooped him in her arms.
"Oh, Silkie! You smell worse than a Tamaranian 'Klurblof'."
"A what?"
"What have you been collecting in your closet, Beast Boy?" she cried.
"Duh, clothes?"
"Then why does Silkie do 'the smelling horrible'?"
"I guess…there were one or two clothes due for some washing," Beast Boy mumbled and Starfire shot him an angry look.
"Then I think it is the time for a nice bath of bubbles," she smiled and flew into the bathroom, leaving Beast Boy standing behind confused.
"Once she is angry and in the next moment she smiles like nothing happened. Are all aliens like that?" Beast Boy mumbled and turned away before he felt something sliding against his foot.
He glanced down and saw with surprise that Silkie had attached itself to his shoe and he lifted his foot in annoyance. "What is it now? Still not happy after I had to chase you all around the Tower? Do you hate me that much?"
Silkie stared back in anticipation and he heard Starfire behind him.
"I do not believe so. I am quite positive that Silkie misses you."
"Huh?" Beast Boy turned to her in confusion.
"Is it not possible that Silkie did the hiding in your closet because he wanted to see you?" she asked and somehow it seemed to make sense to the changeling. "And when he saw that you were angered, he had done the running away?"
"And how do you know this?"
"It is the bond of parent and child that brings forth deep understanding and affection."
"You are not its mother, Star."
"What makes you think this way?"
"Because first of all he's a mutant larva and you're not…and second…that would mean that Killer Moth is your husband!" he shouted and Starfire smoked with anger at that comment.
Killer Moth was a horrible father!
"A mother and father shower their child with love and care and Killer Moth certainly did no such thing!"
Starfire smiled at the changeling. "Unlike you, Beast Boy."
"What? Me?" he asked confused pointing at himself like other people were present in the hallway.
"You were the one that brought Silkie to a better home – a home where he is loved and not treated like 'the experiments'."
Beast Boy felt a smile spreading over his face and he took the worm in his arms without it trying to run. "Is that really what you think, little fellow?"
Silkie just stared back at him.
"I think he agrees. He knows that you wish for his happiness and that he wants nothing else for you."
Beast Boy broke out in a huge grin, hearing those words and went with his little silk worm towards the bathroom.
"Thanks, Star," the shape-shifter mumbled. "I really needed this after-"
He stopped, seeing that Starfire was still back where she was. She stared at the evidence room before she faced the changeling with a slightly troubled expression. "Do you think…Slade has come back?"
That question caught him off guard and he wanted to tell her that Slade was gone…but her eyes told him that she wanted an honest answer.
"I'm not sure where he is or what he's doing…" the changeling said, images of his meeting with the Slade replica flashing in front of his mind. "…but when he really comes back…"
Starfire remembered the fight on the roof of Wayne Enterprises and she felt her heart sinking, knowing that if Slade managed to get Robin, they were forced to fight him as their enemy.
"…then we will do anything to stop him!"
Starfire looked up at Beast Boy and he flashed her an encouraging smile. And she suddenly realized that just like her who refused to give up on Robin, he was the one who brought back their trust in Terra. Beast Boy never lost faith in Terra even after she had attacked them on her own will so why should she lose faith in Robin?
She smiled at him. "I believe the last person to arrive at the room of the bath has to try some of the victor's preferred dish."
"What?" he asked confused only to see Starfire already floating past him and he turned around with a smile of his own. "Not if I can do something about this. And you still need to try my tofu!" he called after her before he rushed after her in cheetah form…unknown to them that the door of the evidence room opened and a smiling Robin watched the two joyous Titans sprint through the hallway.
A certain alien was currently zapping through the hallway of Titan Tower, having been indirectly challenged to a race back to their home after they had defeated Mad Mod.
And the only one who actually was enthusiastic enough to race all the way from the other side of the city was a certain shape-shifter who chased after Starfire in hawk form.
The alien suddenly stopped in front of her door, realizing that her mutant pet might be hungry and Beast Boy flew past her before he morphed back.
"You're disqualified for not flying all the way to the kitchen," he said before he broke out in a huge grin. "And that means that I'm the winner and you'll have to try some of my tofu for dinner," he smirked but Starfire didn't care for earthly vegetarian nutrition.
She still stared confused at the empty room that faced her.
Where was Silkie?
She remembered that he had been napping in her room when the crime alert rang.
"Anything new from him?"
She turned around, hearing the worry in Cyborg's voice.
"No…but I really have an uneasy feeling, seeing Robin so eagerly lock himself up in the evidence room again."
Raven and Cyborg passed the alien before Raven murmured the next words.
"But then again…you can never be too careful with Slade."
Starfire's eyes opened wide, hearing of Robin's arch-nemesis…and that Robin might already be planning to take him out again.
Even Beast Boy stopped in his tracks and turned around when he heard Starfire gasp. His eyes lowered to the floor as images of Slade in the 'House of Mirrors' flashed in front of him – images of his bestial side emerging after Slade had muttered something he denied to this very day.
"She never liked you…"
Images of Terra flashed in front of his eyes and his hands clenched to fists, wondering if Slade tried to get back at Terra for causing his demise.
He looked back up, forcing his thoughts into the background but saw that Starfire passed him without saying a word, apparently already forgetting about her mutant pet.
But her lowered gaze suggested she took the news to heart before she disappeared behind the doors of the common room.
The changeling stared at the closed doors at the end of the hallway, hoping they would open again and Starfire would come floating back in with a smile on her face as she went on about how good they did 'the kicking of the butt' today.
But the doors remained closed and he sighed.
The least he could do…was to take her mind off the masked villain.
And he knew exactly how to do that and morphed into a Labrador. Meanwhile the alien went to the kitchen, trying to still her noisy stomachs – and it wasn't normal for all of her 9 stomachs to start grumbling at the same time. Cyborg shot her a confused and uneasy look from behind the couch. "That sounded like Plasmus with a common cold. Are you ok, Star?" he asked worriedly.
Starfire tried to hide her blush by cowering in front of the opened fridge. "T-that was just…the gas that leaked from my vocal chords," the red-head replied in a low voice, hoping to have convinced the half-robot that it wasn't something embarrassing.
"You mean…like a 'burp'?" Starfire flinched behind the fridge, realizing that she only made it worse. "I…believe so."
Her eyes wandered over the contents and stopped on a yellow bottle.
But with what to eat her favorite food?
Her eyes wandered over the contents – spaghetti, eggs, peperoni.
But nothing appealed to her and with a sigh she took out the mustard and closed the fridge. She decided to just make a mustard sandwich and poured the thick sauce between two slices of bread.
But her thoughts about Robin wouldn't leave her alone.
What if Slade did really return?
What if Robin was already planning to go against him?
Images of Robin aiming his thermal blaster at her flashed in her mind and her gaze lowered to the floor.
What if Robin is falling back into Slade's grasp?
Her eyes wandered over to the half-robot who was watching TV.
But Cyborg said that Slade didn't appear anymore after Raven had defeated Trigon.
There was only one way to find out if this was true.
With a sudden surge of determination and hope, she strode out of the kitchen and through the hallways and stopped in front of the evidence room, hearing the shuffling of feet.
The extraterrestrial took a deep breath, hoping that her assumptions of Robin were wrong and slowly lifted her hand.
"Don't you run from me! I give you a home and that's how you repay me?"
She turned around only to see Silkie crawling hurriedly towards her, followed by an angered Beast Boy.
"Silke!" Starfire cried happily, her eyes turning to pink hearts and she spread out her arms to hug her beloved pet.
She was dumbfounded to see that the mutant worm just crawled past her and she fixed her stare on the changeling who stopped in his tracks. "Why is Silkie doing the running from you?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Uh…you're asking the wrong person. I found him in my closet and all of a sudden he started running from me," the changeling explained himself.
"And do you perhaps know what was his business in your wardrobe?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm not a silk worm. How do I know what he was doing in there?"
Starfire turned back to her pet and floated after her worm and scooped him in her arms.
"Oh, Silkie! You smell worse than a Tamaranian 'Klurblof'."
"A what?"
"What have you been collecting in your closet, Beast Boy?" she cried.
"Duh, clothes?"
"Then why does Silkie do 'the smelling horrible'?"
"I guess…there were one or two clothes due for some washing," Beast Boy mumbled and Starfire shot him an angry look.
"Then I think it is the time for a nice bath of bubbles," she smiled and flew into the bathroom, leaving Beast Boy standing behind confused.
"Once she is angry and in the next moment she smiles like nothing happened. Are all aliens like that?" Beast Boy mumbled and turned away before he felt something sliding against his foot.
He glanced down and saw with surprise that Silkie had attached itself to his shoe and he lifted his foot in annoyance. "What is it now? Still not happy after I had to chase you all around the Tower? Do you hate me that much?"
Silkie stared back in anticipation and he heard Starfire behind him.
"I do not believe so. I am quite positive that Silkie misses you."
"Huh?" Beast Boy turned to her in confusion.
"Is it not possible that Silkie did the hiding in your closet because he wanted to see you?" she asked and somehow it seemed to make sense to the changeling. "And when he saw that you were angered, he had done the running away?"
"And how do you know this?"
"It is the bond of parent and child that brings forth deep understanding and affection."
"You are not its mother, Star."
"What makes you think this way?"
"Because first of all he's a mutant larva and you're not…and second…that would mean that Killer Moth is your husband!" he shouted and Starfire smoked with anger at that comment.
Killer Moth was a horrible father!
"A mother and father shower their child with love and care and Killer Moth certainly did no such thing!"
Starfire smiled at the changeling. "Unlike you, Beast Boy."
"What? Me?" he asked confused pointing at himself like other people were present in the hallway.
"You were the one that brought Silkie to a better home – a home where he is loved and not treated like 'the experiments'."
Beast Boy felt a smile spreading over his face and he took the worm in his arms without it trying to run. "Is that really what you think, little fellow?"
Silkie just stared back at him.
"I think he agrees. He knows that you wish for his happiness and that he wants nothing else for you."
Beast Boy broke out in a huge grin, hearing those words and went with his little silk worm towards the bathroom.
"Thanks, Star," the shape-shifter mumbled. "I really needed this after-"
He stopped, seeing that Starfire was still back where she was. She stared at the evidence room before she faced the changeling with a slightly troubled expression. "Do you think…Slade has come back?"
That question caught him off guard and he wanted to tell her that Slade was gone…but her eyes told him that she wanted an honest answer.
"I'm not sure where he is or what he's doing…" the changeling said, images of his meeting with the Slade replica flashing in front of his mind. "…but when he really comes back…"
Starfire remembered the fight on the roof of Wayne Enterprises and she felt her heart sinking, knowing that if Slade managed to get Robin, they were forced to fight him as their enemy.
"…then we will do anything to stop him!"
Starfire looked up at Beast Boy and he flashed her an encouraging smile. And she suddenly realized that just like her who refused to give up on Robin, he was the one who brought back their trust in Terra. Beast Boy never lost faith in Terra even after she had attacked them on her own will so why should she lose faith in Robin?
She smiled at him. "I believe the last person to arrive at the room of the bath has to try some of the victor's preferred dish."
"What?" he asked confused only to see Starfire already floating past him and he turned around with a smile of his own. "Not if I can do something about this. And you still need to try my tofu!" he called after her before he rushed after her in cheetah form…unknown to them that the door of the evidence room opened and a smiling Robin watched the two joyous Titans sprint through the hallway.