Author's Note: Apologies, again. Seems I'm always apologizing for long waits between chapters. Oh well. Hopefully I'll get another chapter out faster this time now that I'm on Spring Break.

Thresholding by CidGregor

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

This story is dedicated to Post, for all he has contributed to its existence. (Warning: MD Spoilers! -not really-)
Chapter 30

Robin guided his borrowed Tamaranian transport to a landing at Area 51, and the first thing he noticed, to his unsettlement, what how empty the place had become. Most of the ships and planes once docked outside were gone, and those that were still there were already in the process of leaving. The Justice League ships were already gone as well, though he did catch sight of the T-Ship not far from his own landing spot, and his teammates huddled beside it.

Or at least, most of them. Where was Terra?

He leapt out of the transport and hurried toward them. "Titans! What's the situation?"

Cyborg turned grimly toward Robin. "Sorry, Rob…you're a bit late to the party."

"You said Slade was here. What happened?" Robin demanded. "Where's Terra?"

"You're not gonna like it, Rob…" Cyborg murmured.

"The Gordanians landed four very large chunks of moon rock on the planet, filled with their own troopers," Raven summarized. "The Amazon, Italy, the Middle East, and the ocean near Australia. And they've built some kind of tower at each site. We don't know what they're for, but we're pretty sure we need to strike fast before whatever those towers are supposed to do starts happening. Problem is, General Lambert doesn't have enough forces to cover all four landing sites. Even with Aquaman and Atlantis taking care of the underwater site, and even with the Justice League's help, we only had the firepower to cover two of the three sites left. Most of the League is going to be tied up protecting civilians in Italy, and Lambert's forces are focused on the Gordanians both there and in the Amazon."

"What does that have to do with Slade?" Robin pressed.

"He offered to help," Cyborg went on in Raven's place. "He offered to use his army of robots to beat down the Gordanians in the Middle East, where Lambert couldn't afford to send any more forces. But Slade didn't have enough forces either, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless he tunneled underground to ambush the Gordanians without them seeing him coming," Raven finished. "But…he needed someone to actually do the tunneling…"

Robin caught on instantly, and a look of horror crossed his face. "No."

"He took Terra…" Beast Boy murmured, somewhere between sad and angry. "He took her again…"

"How could you let this happen?.!" Robin nearly exploded in fury.

"Hey, I'm not happy about it either, alright?.!" Beast Boy snapped back. "But we didn't have a choice!"

"He's right, Rob," Cyborg admitted. "We need all the help we can get, and Slade's just as interested in preventing this invasion as we are."

"Only if it means he can twist it to his own advantage," Robin growled. "How could you guys possibly trust Slade? And with Terra on top of it?.!"

"We didn't," Raven said simply. "Batman went with them."

Outwardly, a slight widening of his eyes was all the reaction he gave, but inwardly he was frozen with surprise, and just a hint of relief. Of course, he realized. Of course Batman would go with them. He wouldn't trust Slade with a candy cane, much less Terra. He probably wouldn't trust the geomancer, either, but that was nothing new for Batman. Terra would just have to deal with it. There was no better choice to keep her safe from Slade. Batman might not have the personal experience fighting Slade as Robin himself did, but that wouldn't slow Batman down a bit, and he knew everything Robin did about the megalomaniac. That would be enough to keep Slade in line.

He hoped.

"Alright," Robin said aloud. "I guess there's nothing more we can do about that, then. You guys stick to the plan you made with Lambert and the League. I'll speak to Lambert myself and see what I can do to help--"

"Hey, hold on, aren't you supposed to be up there helping the Tamaranians?" Beast Boy interjected, pointing skyward.

"Yeah, where's Star?" Cyborg added, grinning suddenly. "Married yet?"

The barest of hesitations. "That's not important right now. Galfore has things under control. Just concentrate on fighting the Gordanians here."

He ignored the strange looks the two boys gave him at that, and completely avoided Raven's piercing stare. She knew what was going on. He didn't know how, but she knew. She always knew. And she would chew him out about it sooner or later unless he pre-empted her.

"Look, Starfire's fine," he finally added. "I don't have time to explain everything right now, so just worry about what need to be done here--"

A ringing from his communicator interrupted him. He grabbed it with a frown and opened it, but instead of the face of his caller, a small PDA map appeared, with a pair of tracer signals marked on it. One was a bat symbol, heading east across the North American continent, its trajectory aiming it straight for the Middle Eastern region. The second blip, however, had stopped about a hundred miles southeast, near the Mexican border. And this blip was marked with a stylized 'S' logo Robin knew all too well. Slade was there.

A bat-tracer… Robin thought with a smirk. Thank god for your tricks, Bruce…

"What is it?" Raven interrupted his thoughts.

"Batman managed to plant a tracer on Slade's craft. He made a stop a hundred miles southeast of here near the border," he explained, marking the spot on the map permanently. "I'll bet anything he has a hideout there. And where there's a hideout there might be clues to exactly how he's planning to fight this war and stab us in the back in the process."

"That's a bit of a leap, Robin, Slade's not that stupid," Raven countered.

"He's not infallible. He may have left some kind of trace, made some mistake somewhere. That's more than enough to be worth checking out."

"Even if you're right, though, we can't exactly shoot off on a side mission, Rob, we've got a war to fight here!" Cyborg argued.

"I'm not asking you to. I'll go myself."

"You're gonna try to infiltrate one of Slade's hideouts alone?.!" Beast Boy said. "Dude, are you nuts?.!"

"I don't trust Slade's motives. Not one bit. He's planning something, I know it. Something he's going to use to probably wipe both us and the Gordanians out in one blow. And if he's planning something like that, Terra's liable to be the first victim."

Beast Boy instantly tensed. "……but…Batman's with her…he'll protect her…right?"

Robin held his gaze evenly. "…Batman's not infallible, either."

Beast Boy shuddered at that.

"I'm not going to let that happen if there's anything I can do to stop him. And that means checking out this lead. You guys do what you have to do. Leave Slade to me."

"Robin…are you absolutely sure that's wise?" Raven added one last argument. "You know how you can get about Slade."

Robin stood unfazed. "That's exactly why I'm the one who has to do this. I know him, I know how he works. I can find clues no one else can."

No one replied. They knew he was right.

Good.

"Keep me posted on the war effort," Robin said, turning back toward his transport. "…and don't get yourselves killed."

"Back at you Rob," Cyborg said.

Robin nodded tightly, hopped back in his transport, and fired it up. He quickly keyed in the location of Slade's stopping point; the blip marking Slade himself was long-gone, back on trajectory toward the Middle East, which likely meant Robin wouldn't find much at that hideout, if that was what it was. But he couldn't risk not investigating it anyway.

"Slade…what are you planning…?" he murmured. He knew Slade wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to destroy anyone that might have opposed him in the madness and confusion of the war. It would make it effortless for him to seize control in the aftermath. It was foolish to think the man just wanted to help. A betrayal was coming. He was sure of it. The question was how…where…and when.

His eyes drifted skyward suddenly. The Tamaranians didn't know. They didn't know about Slade, or what he was capable of, or even what his role was in the conflict. They might even be one of his targets, he realized. He had to warn them.

And as that thought passed through his head, he realized with some pained tension that it meant calling Starfire again.

He hesitated for a handful of moments, but ultimately forced himself to punch in her frequency and hope she'd realized by now what their duty truly was.

"Princess Koriand'r?"

Starfire barely acknowledged the Captain's presence. Her gaze was locked on the blue planet below them as she stared out the windows of the Echo'r bridge, no less depressed than she'd been the moment Robin had…

…why has he rejected me…? she thought miserably. She'd thought…well, hoped, really…that those days were at last behind them…that he was done pushing her away, that they could finally be close and let nothing stand between them. But she'd been wrong. It was never going to end…and really, she'd been foolish to expect anything else. This was Robin, after all…no matter what, duty always came first…

Until that duty involves being with me, the bitter part of her mind grumbled. And the rest of her couldn't help but agree at least somewhat. Duty called for their bond to be sealed, and he had refused it…she'd been ready to give herself to him, and he'd rejected her…she couldn't deny that had hurt…

…but was he really wrong? Were her people's ways and traditions simply…too flawed to continue? Was it truly a good idea to slip away from a war that people were fighting and dying in, simply to partake in physical pleasure, no matter how vital it was to their traditions…?

"…Princess?"

Starfire jolted from her thoughts; she's almost forgotten Tromand'r had entered. "Y-yes, Captain?"

"I came to inform you that so far our blockade of the Terran moon is holding. The Gordanians have made no attempt yet to break it. The humans on the surface are mobilizing as well to stop the Gordanians that landed in the lunar rocks. All potential Gordanian threats have been accounted for…save for one."

"And that is?"

"…your sister."

Starfire tensed again. Blackfire…she'd nearly forgotten. Her sister was indeed still at large, somewhere among the Gordanians, plotting who knew what sort of revenge against her yet again. This time, though…how far she had fallen…to throw in with the mortal enemies of her people…did Blackfire's hatred of her truly run that deep…?

"Princess…forgive me for touching upon such a sensitive subject, but I am duty-bound to ask…if there is anything you know about your sister that may help us to discover what her role is in the Gordanians' current maneuvers…"

"I wish I did, Captain," Starfire said sadly. "I wish I knew why she hated me so much that she would be willing to ally with them to get to me…"

Tomand'r bowed his head. "Forgive me, Princess. I shall not speak of it again."

"It is alright," she said quietly.

"…again, princess, I apologize, but I must ask…are you quite sure you are well? You have not been yourself for several hours. Surely your husband's absence is not the sole cause…?"

"You do not need to worry, Captain. Everything is…fine."

From the way Tormand'r held his tongue and watched her with a critical eye, Starfire doubted he believed her. But he didn't press it further, for the moment.

"Skknnt—Starfire? Are you there?"

Starfire's head whipped around toward the sound: Robin's voice, crackling through the static of her communicator. "I wish to be alone, please," she said breathlessly to Tromand'r, hurrying to pick up the device and cup it in her palms. It was a handful of seconds before Tromand'r broke his careful, studious stare and left the room with a silent bow.

"Starfire? If you're there, pick up, it's urgent."

Starfire clicked the device open the moment Tromand'r was gone. "Robin…?"

Robin's face appeared onscreen, his expression all-business. "We have a problem. Slade's involved himself in the war."

For a moment, Starfire forgot their earlier fight as he eyes flashed. "Slade?.!"

"General Lambert doesn't have the forces to fight the Gordanians himself, so Slade offered to help. Needless to say, his motives are suspect."

"General Lambert trusted that madman?" Starfire said disbelievingly.

"He didn't have much of a choice BUT to trust Slade, at least a little. But he's already taken Terra to help him. That doesn't sit well with me at all. I wouldn't put it past him to have a plan to kill both the Gordanians and us in one fell swoop."

"Nor would I," Starfire agreed.

"I'm working on a lead right now. Hopefully it'll give me some clue exactly what Slade's planning. I need you to warn the Tamaranians about Slade. Let them know exactly what he's capable of, and warn them that they may be one of his targets."

"Of course," Starfire said. "I will let them know immediately."

"Thanks. Robin out--"

"W-wait!"

Robin stopped.

"…Robin, we must speak, about the ritual--"

"We don't have time for that, Star, I told you. This fight has to come first."

"Robin--"

"It's my duty to protect people, Starfire! That's infinitely more important than--"

"Than what?" Starfire interrupted him. "Than your duty to me?" Why was she saying that? Why was she fighting with him?

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Robin, do you realize the position I am in? The completion of the Ritual of s'lor is integral to the survival of this peace agreement! I have defied millennia of tradition, I have lied to effectively my entire people…I have lied to the man who raised me from infancy, all for you, Robin…"

"Do you realize what would happen if they discovered the ritual was not completed?"

"I don't care about how much of a tradition it is, Starfire! It's completely outdated and counterproductive!"

"But Robin--!"

"We're not fighting about this again, Starfire. We'll talk about it AFTER we save the planet from a hostile invasion."

The line went dead. Robin had cut the connection.

No matter. He had all the information he needed.

Tromand'r clicked a button on his control console and killed the pirate signal, a hard look in his eyes.

So I was correct…the princess' woe is far-reaching indeed… he thought, quiet fury building in him. Robin…How I thought you had changed…

His fists clenched as he whirled around and marched to the shuttle bay. In a matter of moments he had launched, screaming down to the surface.

You will not disrespect the princess like this again, Robin…by X'Hal, I will not allow it…