Chapter 16: Jailbreak

Sitting quietly in this prison cell became harder after the news. I want to be doing something, helping Starfire rescue the team, or finding out why Slade is working with the Citadel. Despite all the drama and everything that has happened, it's difficult knowing that our closest friends are in danger. Being confined in this cell didn't make this situation any better.

Slade had given her the options, but it's a lose-lose situation. There's option A: save the team by turning herself in, or option B: escape the citadel in exchange for their lives. If only there was an option C: for everything to go back to normal. When Starfire and Robin were happily dating, When Beast boy and Cyborg fought over breakfast every morning. When Raven told them to shut up ten times a day. Where's that option?

Starfire and I sit for a long time in silence. There's nothing left for us to do but wait. We both know that anything could happen, and I didn't foreshadow a happy ending to this situation. Is this really it? Had Starfire given up? Was she going to allow the Citadel to enslave her?

I look over at the alien princess who didn't utter a single word since Slade threw us back in here. She had this…odd expression on her face and I couldn't tell if she was angry or scared. She's been sitting there for hours, hugging her knees, and staring at the dark wall across the room. I tried capturing her attention several times, but she wouldn't stop starring at that wall.

Heavy footsteps descended towards our cell and the door opened to reveal two Slade's robotic goons. Why are they coming in here? I don't even want to know. Slade probably sent them to torture us or something. My vulnerable self scurried behind Starfire for protection. I know that they were mainly here for Star but Slade threatened to hurt me as well. Perhaps he was joking about the meal thing earlier…but what if he wasn't?

They came closer, and closer, and my heart raced faster. One of the minions reached down and laced their fingers around her arm. They were attempting to escort her out of the prison cell.

And then suddenly…something in Starfire snapped.

She sprinted up, punched him in the face and attacked the other one by throwing star bolts at him. She slammed their bodies into the wall, making sure they didn't have the opportunity to fight back. Both of the minions malfunctioned and collapsed to the ground below her. Blue sparks emitted from their damaged armor. They were nothing but two robotic corpses now.

Before I had time to react, a pair of hands lifted me from the ground. "Let's go, Silkie" Starfire said as she carried me out of that dreary cell "It's time to get out of here and save our friends!"

Her green eyes lit up and started blasting robots in the hallways. They pulled out their laser guns and open fired. Starfire tried to dodge them, but unfortunately she was hit. The impact had left her with a severe wound in her shoulder. She quickly retaliated by firing star bolts back at them. One by one, the robots were knocked down. After defeating the first wave of minions, she winced at the pain in her shoulder. It seemed pretty bad but there was no time to rest. This was our only opportunity to escape, and we needed to take advantage of it.

From the corner of my eye, I notice another wave running towards our direction. With a loud snarl, the alien princess warmed up her hands and threw as many star bolts as she could.

Seeing Starfire attacking Slade's minions reminds me of that one night when they invaded our home several years ago. There were hundreds of them, truckloads of them, and the team struggled to eliminate all of them. I was hiding underneath Beast boy's bed at the time, but I'll never forget how terrified I was. Beast boy was nowhere to be seen that night. I think he was out on a date with that blonde chick that used to live with us.

It took the titans all night to destroy every single robot that stepped foot inside the tower. I'm quite surprised to see that Starfire is managing to fight them by herself. All those long years of training with the titans must have paid off. I sure hope that everything goes back to normal soon. Robin…Cyborg….Beast boy….Raven. We're coming for you! After we get out of here, we're going to make things right again.

After several minutes of fighting, we eventually made it to the main entrance. Starfire looked back, to make sure none of Slade's robots remained standing. She leans against the wall to rest, examining the shoulder wound from earlier, She was bleeding a bit, but it didn't seem to serious. Being a powerful alien granted her immunity from these things.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall "Its hurts so bad" She moaned. Hearing this, I reached up and tried to lick the wound better for her. My kind gesture earned me a soft smile from her lips. "Thank you Silkie" She whispered.

I looked into Starfire's face, and sadness overcame me. It seems as if someone took a vacuum cleaner and sucked the life out of her. I'm looking into the face of someone who's depressed, lost, and in desperate need of medical attention. The Starfire I know and love was never like the person I'm looking at right now. The Starfire I know is powerful, brave, and optimistic. Wait a sec, maybe she isn't here! Maybe someone replaced Starfire with this person while I wasn't looking. Because there was absolutely No way this person could be Starfire.

Sigh…Well, as much as I don't want to accept the truth, this is Starfire. Some terrible things happened these past couple days, and it almost seemed like she lost all hope.

But she was now starting to fight back to make things right again. Right now, we are trying to escape to save her friends (and ourselves) from the bad guys. No matter what happens, I always need to be there for her. The good guys should always win in the end.

She sits there for a few more minutes, trying her best to nurse her wound. Without the luxuries of bandages and Raven's healing powers, the best thing she could do was to wait till the bleeding stopped. I would try to lick it better some more, but her blood doesn't taste too good. I'm afraid that if I start liking it, then I'll turn into one of those vampire guys. I would rather not risk it, and let the wound heal on its own.

"Well, well, well, what do you think you're doing, my dear?"

That voiced pierced my eardrums. It belonged to the sinister man who captured us. Lo and behold, there he was, staring down at us with his 1 eye. Star and I didn't know how to react. The last thing we needed was to encounter this psychopath again. She was too weak, too frail to handle another attack right now. Can we just call it a day Slade?

Starfire struggled to stand up, warming up her starbolts in her palms. "I thought about what you said" She said "and I made the decision to leave."

Slade walked over to the front door and locked it "Sorry, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"You lied!" She shouted "You said that I was allowed to go in exchange for my friends lives!"

"Oh dear, I don't have time to play silly games" He said "You're not just going to let them die. I've known you for too long."

Slade completely read her intentions like a book. Her plan to escape and rescue the team was way too obvious for him. Starfire was now caught off-guard, not knowing what to do next. Slade approached us even closer; thirsty to attack "I thought you were going to be a good little girl and stay put" He said "If you don't want any more trouble, I suggest you go bac-

She punched him in the corner of his eye, leaving him flying across the room. She sprinted towards the closest window and blasted her star bolts through the glass. Millions of pieces shattered everywhere, and then she attempted to climb out the window. Slade rushed over and grabbed a hold of her waist, pulling her back in before she tried to escape.

"Let go of me!"

She tried to wrestle him but he was too powerful. He was about to attack her again. Without thinking, I jumped up, and bit him as hard as I could on the arm.

"OW!" He yelled as I sunk my teeth into his limb. I was giving Starfire an open opportunity to run, but I couldn't see what she was doing because my eyes were squeezed shut. He tried shaking me off, but I held on tight, I wasn't going to allow him to hurt my alien princess.

I held on as long as I could before he finally yanked me off with his free hand "You conniving little rodent" He sneered, throwing me across the room. I landed against the wall, and he kicked me with his foot.

Then everything went black after that.