Thresholding by CidGregor

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

This fic is dedicated to Post, for all that he has contributed to its exisstence. (Now it's MY turn for an anniversary!)
Chapter 18

Robin followed Galfore's quick and steady stride into the bridge of the Echo'r, where Captain Tromand'r was again waiting for them. The Emperor excused himself from Robin for a moment, who stood off to one side as the two Tamaranian men conversed rapidly in their own tongue.

As he waited, Robin tried to imagine what the second Trial could possibly be like. The previous one had been the Trial of the Body, and he'd been forced to put every ounce of his physical ability to the test. This time, it was a Trial of the Mind…and he was almost positive that meant he was going to be facing an intense mind game. He didn't know how dangerous it would be by comparison – though he found it hard to think of something more dangerous than facing those enormous Zhanghut jaws unarmed – but at the same time he couldn't imagine it being very challenging if it wasn't also dangerous.

Again he scratched at the shoulders of his temporary uniform. God, it was annoying him. How did these people stand the itch? Or was it just him? He glared at the violet leggings and the sleeveless shirt of the same color which exposed the fairly pale skin of his arms. He couldn't stand this color on himself. It was Starfire's style, not his…

Uh-oh. Bad move.

Suddenly the alien girl filled his mind, smiling her rich, sincere smile and flashing him those brilliant emerald pools she had for eyes. He almost smiled, but it fell away a moment later and a sharp wave of misery struck him. God, how could he possibly be missing her this much already? It had barely been a few hours since he'd seen her last; he'd been separated from her for much longer periods before this.

Because you can't just drop in and see her whenever you please anymore, his rational mind answered. Because you still have two Trials to get through, with no idea how long it will take. And, oh yeah…because you love her.

Robin shook his head to clear it. I'm gonna develop a split personality if I keep that up, he thought to himself. He had to stay focused. If he got through the Trials, he'd get to see Starfire again; that was what he had to focus on. That was his goal. Simple.

And then Starfire floated to the front of his brain again…those dazzling teeth…the innocent, almost childlike face…the modest but generous curves of her hips and her--

Robin shook his head again, stopping the thought before his libido could take it any further.

Sure. Simple. Right…

"Robin."

The Boy Wonder's attention turned to the two Tamaranians. They were looking at him gravely, and Robin narrowed his eyes, thoughts of Starfire and the Trials mercifully leaving him. "What's wrong?"

Galfore shook his head. "Though it pains us to admit it, we are not sure…"

Robin's eyes narrowed further. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We have been getting…unusual signals from our scouts keeping watch over the Gordanian fleet," Tromand'r said.

"You think it might not be them?" Robin guessed.

"Nothing so serious," Galfore answered. "All the clearance codes are correct…it is WHAT they are reporting that is strange. The Gordanians are not making a move."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "You mean they're just sitting there? Why?"

"We do not know," Tromand'r admitted. "Their forces are gathered…by all rights they should have made their move by now. But according to our intelligence they continue to bide their time. It does not make sense."

"No, it doesn't," Robin agreed. "You're sure your intelligence is reliable?"

"Of course," Tromand'r said, sounding slightly offended.

"Let's hope you're right," Robin said. "If that's the case, then the Gordanians are planning something. Something big. They know you're defending this planet now, and they have to be aware of the possibility of Earth's own forces fighting back as well, if not with technology then with sheer weight of numbers. Which means if they're holding back still, they're planning something that can counter both."

"Why do you say 'if'?" Tromand'r demanded.

"I'm not ready to dismiss the possibility that the reports you're receiving are being falsified. And don't get all insulted," he added quickly as Tromand'r opened his mouth to protest. "I'm not trying to demean your forces, I'm just covering all possibilities."

Tromand'r bit back his intended words and simply nodded instead.

"We shall make every effort to prepare our defenses in the meanwhile," Galfore cut in. "We hope to deal with most of the fighting in orbit, but it is unlikely that ground warfare will be avoidable. We will leave that to your people, Robin. I suggest your team return to the surface to begin coordinating your planet's military forces."

"That won't be easy…" Robin admitted. "Some parts of the world…aren't exactly on good terms with each other. It may be difficult to persuade them to unify."

"But for the greater good, it must be done," the Emperor said, and Robin knew he was right. "Now, come…it is time for you to bear witness to your Second Trial."

Robin's mind shifted back toward the Trials again, and the unusual transmissions issue was logged away in a back corner of his mind for the moment. "All right. Lead the way."

"All right, you've got it so far, girl…now slowly reconnect the yellow and the red wires, and then lock the firing shaft back into position by twisting it clockwise…"

Terra nervously fiddled with the tiny wires through her gloved hands, twisting the metal conductor cores around each other before sliding the yellow and red coverings back over them. "Yeesh…I feel like I'm disarming a bomb or something."

"Don't worry, nothin's gonna blow up," Cyborg assured her. "C'ept maybe the power core..."

Terra gritted her teeth as she lifted the…the whatever-it-was…up into its proper place. "Reeeeeally doing a good job of calming my nerves, there, Cy."

"Heh…sorry, girl," Cyborg answered, working a wrench in the heart of the bright orange craft. "Now pull the configuration disk and check it for scratches."

Terra glanced into the exposed guts of the craft. "Oooookay…and what does a configuration disk look like?"

"What do you mean, 'what does it look like?' It's a configuration disk, they all look exactly--" he stopped himself, and switched gears. "It's the eyeball-pizza thingie."

Terra brightened. "Oh! I see it!"

Cyborg rolled his non-robotic eye. "Yep…you and BB were definitely made for each other…"

Terra ignored him, pulling the configuration disk from its slot and checking it for any scratches. When she found none, she quickly slipped the device back into place. "All clear."

"Cool. I really appreciate you offering to help me out, Terra. These repairs on the T-Ship will go a lot faster this way, and well, you know how time's of the essence and all that…"

"No problem," Terra replied. "BB said it'd probably be good for me, y'know? Take my mind off…well…"

Cyborg stopped working to look down at her sympathetically. "I know what you mean. Scary stuff's comin'. No gettin' out of it, though, not in the superhero gig…"

Terra nodded. "Yeah…I know…"

Cyborg brightened. "Listen, girl, don't think about that right now. C'mon, we've just got a few more parts to fix…"

At that moment a green mouse emerged from an open hatch in the side of the T-Ship, dragging a tiny screwdriver with its teeth. Both toppled to the ground, and the green mouse grew into a green elf a moment later. "I guess mice CAN work a screwdriver!" the green Titan said. "The brain box is all screwed in, mon-capitan!"

"It's called the autopilot hard drive, BB," Cyborg corrected him automatically.

"Boooooring," he replied. "'Brain Box' sounds cooler!"

Cyborg rolled his human eye again. "Whatever…long as it's screwed in, I don't care what you call it." He made a quick tweak with his wrench. "Aight, kids, that should just about do it…can't do anything about the scorch marks without my workshop, but she'll fly as good as ever…"

"Cool," Terra said. "Now what?"

Cyborg returned the wrench to its toolbox. "Now we just gotta make a few last tweaks, and we should be good to--"

A beeping sound from his forearm stopped him mid-speech; it was his communicator, signaling a call from Robin.

Cyborg punched a button. "Cyborg here. What's up, Rob?"

"We've got a potential problem," the Boy Wonder said, not wasting any time.

Cyborg stiffened. "What is it?"

"Galfore's scouts keeping tabs on the Gordanian fleet made a strange report. The fleet's not moving at all; they're still holding their position at the edge of our solar system."

Cyborg frowned. "Why would they be doing that?"

"Unless they have some secret weapon that would make the delay worth it, they wouldn't, it'd just be wasting time."

"And if they do have one?"

"It's possible…but it's just as possible the reports are being falsified, and that could mean any number of things. I want you to gather the rest of the team together and head back to Earth. We need Earth's armed forces to start coordinating in case the attack comes sooner than we'd like, and that's not going to be easy considering how hostile some of the world is right now. You and the rest of the team need to do everything you can to help."

Cyborg looked skeptically at the headshot of his leader on the screen. "And just how do you expect four of us to handle coordinating the whole world's military forces?"

"…I want you to get in contact with the Justice League."

Cyborg's human eye bulged. "Say what? The JUSTICE LEAGUE?.!"

Beast Boy's and Terra's heads shot up, instantly intrigued, their repair work forgotten.

"You heard me. Consider this my last order as leader of the Titans. Contact the Justice League and update them on anything they don't know. Though, all things considered, they're probably well aware of what's going on."

"How do you figure?"

"Because Bru…Batman is one of the senior members. And J'honn Jones, the Martian Manhunter. Nothing gets past those two. They may even know things that we don't. Once you're all on the same page, start working on pulling the world governments together and preparing our defenses. With any luck, the threat of another invasion like the Thanagarian War will spark them into action."

"And how do you suggest I contact them? They ain't exactly listed in the phone book."

"Raven can probably get in contact with J'honn with a mental link. But I'm also sending you a special transmission frequency. This goes straight to Batman, and it's only intended for emergencies. I'd say this qualifies."

Even as he spoke, Robin was punching in the numbers for this special frequency, which was automatically logged into Cyborg's communicator. Cyborg stared at the number in slight awe. He had a link to Batman…THE Batman…

"Duuuuuuuude, Batman's personal line…" Beast Boy suddenly said from Cyborg's side, grinning. "First Area 51, now this? How cool are we?"

"It's not a toy, Beast Boy," Robin replied. "Cyborg…from now on, you're calling the shots. You ready…ready to…to…"

Cyborg frowned at his screen. "Uhh…Rob? You kinda trailed off there."

"…………"

Cyborg scratched the human side of his head, confused. "Rob? …Robin? Everything all right there?"

"…………"

"Weird," Beast Boy muttered. "That's not like him…"

"I know," Cyborg agreed, tapping on the screen. "Hey, Robin, snap out of it! Talk to me, what's the deal?"

"……I'll have to get back to you……"

Click. The line went dead.

Cyborg stared. "The hell was that all about?"

"I don't think we have time to worry about it," Terra said. "You heard him, we gotta talk to the Justice League."

"…Yeah, you're right." Cyborg took a breath. He was in charge now. It was time he started acting like it. "Terra, go find Raven and then both of you get back here pronto. We gotta get back down to the surface. BB, gimme a hand with these last few tweaks, and double-checking the communications systems. Once we get moving, we'll talk to Batman and J'honn."

"Got it," Terra said.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Beast Boy mock-saluted him.

"All right then…" Cyborg said. "Guess there's nothin' left to say but…Titans, GO!"

Terra sped off, and Beast Boy leapt up to the top of the ship. "So what's left to check?"

"Just the emergency supplies," Cyborg said, sliding open the compartment in question. He took a quick mental inventory, and everything seemed to be in place: spare power cells, food rations, four emergency spacesuits…

Cyborg frowned at that last. There were supposed to be five suits, one for each of them. He'd made them shortly after building the T-Ship, though he hadn't known at the time that Starfire would never have need of it. Which made it particularly odd that hers was the one that was missing.

He scratched his head. "The hell…?"

Robin stared.

And stared.

And stared.

And finally turned to Galfore, his expression one of sheer disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me."

"There is no joke," Galfore assured him. "What you see before you is the Second Trial."

Galfore was gesturing to the window of the main hangar bay of the Echo'r, which Robin had been peering out of a moment earlier and which he peered out of again, staring in awe once more at the sight that had made him cut off contact with Cyborg just so he could give it his undivided attention, to make sure it was real.

Connected to the front of the Echo'r's main hangar bay and suspended in empty space between it and a second Tamaranian battle-cruiser…was an enormous metal cage. No, that wasn't quite right, Robin amended, because on further inspection, he saw that the enclosure's interior was made of rows and columns of metal bars that subdivided the larger cage into dozens and dozens of smaller ones, save for small, man-sized doorways in seemingly random places in the walls, floors and ceilings. He wasn't just looking at a cage…it was a three-dimensional maze, only twenty feet wide but half-a-football-field long.

"This is the Trial? A giant maze?" Robin said skeptically.

"It is not as simple as it would appear, young one," Galfore said simply. "This is no ordinary maze. It is the Dakataan, a marvel of Tamaranian technology and engineering, a puzzle that has challenged even the greatest minds of our planet. For the Dakataan holds a secret, and it is only by discovering that secret that you will find the end. Come, this way."

Robin hardly heard him as they started walking again. They were underestimating him if they thought a simple maze would give him any trouble after fighting for his life against the Zhanghut. This would be almost too easy…

Galfore seemed to be reading Robin's mind, however, because he chuckled down at the Boy Wonder. "You seem to be forgetting the obvious, Robin."

Robin turned to him. "What's that?"

"The Dakataan is suspended in the emptiness of space."

"And?"

"The last time I checked, humans were not capable of breathing in space."

Robin stiffened as Galfore stopped near a door, though Robin couldn't understand the Tamaranian script upon it. "…Are you saying you're not giving me a space suit?"

Galfore actually smirked. "What use would Tamaranians have for them? We can survive in space on our own. Space suits are useless to us. We have never carried them on our ships."

Robin blanched. "Just how the hell am I supposed to get through this maze, then?"

Galfore laid a hand on his shoulder in a rather fatherly fashion as, behind the Boy Wonder, the door slid open. "Your one and only clue is this: to pass through the Dakataan…the breath of your beloved is all you shall ever need."

Without warning Galfore's hand shifted from Robin's shoulder to his chest…

FLASH!

A small burst of star-bolt energy flung the boy wonder backward through the open doorway, and hardly six feet in he crashed up against a second, much thicker door and landed on something soft.

"The Trial of the Mind!" Galfore's voice reverberated through the halls. "For the heart of the beloved, prove you possess the wisdom to guide her!"

The doors slammed closed with a loud hiss, and red lights flashed in the Boy Wonder's face.

"Threttana!" a cool female Tamaranian voice suddenly boomed. "Devespata'n en tercin seta'nus."

Robin's eyes narrowed, not sure what was being said, but he didn't like the tone of the voice at all. He felt underneath him for the soft object he'd landed on and found an orange jumpsuit, completely seamless save for the open, elastic neck hole, with a metal box mounted to the back of it and a control panel of some sort on the front. Lying next to that was a clear glass helmet, looking by all rights like little more than a fishbowl were it not for the air hose connecting it to the box on the back of the jumpsuit.

Robin stared at the items with a rush of relief; it was one of the emergency space suits Cyborg packed with the T-Ship. But the relief evaporated into horror a second later as he realized where he must then surely have been: the airlock.

"Since you are not versed in out language," came Galfore's voice over the intercom, "I should inform you that the warning a moment ago stated that the airlock will depressurize in thirty seconds."

Robin's eyes bulged. Like a bolt of lightning he was on his feet, wriggling into the jumpsuit as fast as he could manage.

"Devespata'n en dircin seta'nus."

"Twenty seconds," Galfore offered helpfully.

One leg was in the suit. Another great shove and his other leg sunk into place. He pulled the opening up around his middle and slid his arms down inside, at the same time fitting the neck hole in place.

"Devespata'n en cin seta'nus."

"Ten seconds," Galfore said.

Robin snagged the fishbowl helmet, plopped it over his head, and snapped it securely in place. Now all he needed was to find the button that would activate the airtight seal between the suit and helmet…

"Devespata'n en cinti seta'nus."

"Five," Galfore murmured.

"Four," Robin grunted, scanning the control panel at top speed.

"Treci," the intercom rang, and he found the button.

"Two," Galfore said, and Robin pressed the button.

"One," Robin murmured as the seal activated, and for one horrible second he feared he was too late, as he suddenly could no longer breathe.

But then there was a slight breeze, and Robin realized the air was only just now being sucked from the tiny room. Was the air supply malfunctioning?

Maybe you didn't even turn it on in the first place, hm? Some part of his mind suggested. And sure enough, Robin looked at the air release valve, and found it completely closed. He opened it just a little, and a merciful flow of oxygen reached his lungs.

That settled, he glanced to the outer door, which was just starting to open. Beyond it was a short walkway made of metal bars, leading into the top left corner of the enormous Dakataan. There must have been at least a hundred small "rooms" caged within the maze spread across five levels, eventually leading to the exit that he could just make out in the opposite corner at the top right.

Robin glanced down at his control panel again and checked his displays. The emergency suit held an hour's worth of oxygen…that didn't give him a lot of time to screw around. He had to move fast.

Just before he looked away, however, his eyes fell on a name, elegantly engraved in the corner of the panel…

Starfire.

This was her space suit. He was breathing her emergency air supply. Not that she'd ever need it…

"The breath of my beloved," Robin repeated the words with a cynical chuckle. "Cute…"

He stepped into the boundaries of the maze…and the airlock door slammed closed behind him.

Author's Notes: Today marks the 1-year anniversary of my fic writing career. To celebrate, I have prepared a DOUBLE update for you. Expect yet another thrilling update later today!

-Cid