Sorry I haven't updated! I'm insanely busy this week...and next week...
Disclaimer: I don't own TT
Starfire bit her lip, opened her mouth, and closed it again. She'd been repeating this ritual for a while, now. Nightwing was oblivious, thoughtfully staring into space and occasionally shifting the arm he'd wrapped around her waist. Starfire could tell something was bothering him, but knew he'd probably tell her if he wanted her to know. And besides, she had a different question for him.
"Nightwing?"
"Hmm?"
Bite lip. Open mouth. Close mouth. "Um..."
"What's wrong?"
Bite lip. Open mouth. Close mouth. "I..."
"Star, if there's something you need to say, you don't have to hide it if you don't want to."
Again with her ritual. But then, it burst out. "Who are you?"
"Huh?" he asked, obviously not expecting that. Starfire receded into an embarrassed silence. "What do mean, Star? I'm Nightwing..." He suddenly realized what she was asking, but she spoke it out loud anyway.
"No...who are you? When you're not Nightwing?"
He didn't answer for a moment, and her heart sank. "I'm sorry, Star. I can't tell you that."
"Yeah, I figured," she muttered quietly, bringing her knees to her chest. His grip tightened.
"It's not that I don't trust you, and you know that. It's just...if someone found out, then I'm out of here. I'd have to go back where I came from, and that..." He shuddered. "That's out of the question. I wouldn't be able to see you again." He smiled sadly at her.
"I know, I understand, I guess...if someone found out who I really was, I would be in jail..." She sighed quietly, but Nightwing said nothing. An unspoken agreement was settled between them. They wouldn't try to find out, they'd be content with each ther right now. After all, there was still so much they didn't know about each other, so many things they could talk about. It didn't matter, at least not yet.
Starfire rested her head on his shoulder, and he chuckled. "If it's any help, I was wondering the same thing. But I figured if you wanted me to know, you wouldn't wear a black shower cap every time you see me."
Starfire shoved him playfully, which turned out to be a lot more than a light push because of the strength she didn't know she had. After she was done apologizing for the bruise he was sure to have in the morning, she argued, "It is not a shower cap!"
Kory received a note almost as soon as the bell for first period rang.
Hey, Kory. You okay? After yesterday and everything. What happened?
-Dick
Kory didn't look at him as she wrote her response.
I apologize for worrying you. I was merely ill, though I feel much better today. I would much rather not have up the thrown all over yourself.
-Kory
Dick grinned at her as he received her answer, and scribbled a couple last words on there.
You mean 'thrown up'? Yeah, I wouldn't have liked that much either. Glad you're feeling better.
Kory nodded and smiled at him, looking away in case he saw through her lie.
As soon as passing period came around, Dick wasted no time in talking to her. "Are you sure you're all right? You could always come over to Gar's today, and Mrs. Dayton could check and see, although you'd probably die from the stink first, I almost did--"
Kory giggled softly. "That is truly not necessary, Dick, but thank you." She kissed him on the cheek and left before her heavy blush began to show.
"Mr. Roth," came the smooth, dangerous voice that was Slade's. "I have news."
"Come in," Tristan called gruffly.
Slade did so, his expression unreadable, as always. He closed the door behind him and locked it firmly. "May I use your laptop?"
Tristan agreed reluctantly, and Slade started the computer, taking out a silver disc from his back pocket and slipping it in the CD drive. "What is that?" Tristan asked, but Slade shook his head. For once, Tristan listened and remained silent, intrigued.
Playing on the screen was footage from a rather grainy tape. "Security camera," Slade explained. This particular camera was overlooking a large rectangular prism, what Tristan assumed to be a safe.
A dark anthropoid form walked in, and stopped in front of the safe. Then, the strangest thing began to happen. A greenish light emitted from what looked like the figure's hands, and the metal of the safe melted away. The figure reached in and grabbed whatever was inside, ad quickly made an exit. The tape stopped playing.
Slade turned to Tristan, waiting for the CEO's outlook on the event. "What was that?" Tristan spluttered.
"You have just witnessed the security tape playing at the home of a certain client of mine. This safe contained valuables unknown to myself, but that is not the point. This was a heist made by the infamous thief Starfire."
Starfire...why did that name ring a bell? "Sounds familiar."
"It should. She was the one I framed for Chang's murder."
Tristan frowned. "What is the green?"
"We thought it was a glitch in the camera, but it turns out that it actually happened. That is a radioactive substance, whatever she blasted from her hands, and obviously of very extreme temperatures, to melt metal. This woman is not a woman at all. Or rather, she used to be." Slade's voice grew lower. "She is a mutant."
And it hit Tristan like a train to his brain. "My experiment!" Slade nodded. Tristan did some quick thinking, and finally came up with a solution. "I want her out of the way. Gone. Permanently."
"Dick! What is this wonderful substance?" Kory asked him as they rode from school on Dick's motorcycle. He slowed down. A light snow was falling, and Kory was mesmerized by the swirling patterns of white. Dick frowned, but then remembered. If she'd come from a tropical island, then of course she wouldn't know what snow was.
"It's called snow. Not supposed to happen in California, but I guess, since we're north of Los Angeles, we might have it every once in a blue moon...you've never heard of snow before?"
"Snow..." Kory murmured. Dick had completely stopped, now, and was watching her with amusement as she stared up at the sky. "I have heard of such a thing. In books. It is glorious."
Dick stuck his tongue out to catch a snowflake. Kory giggled at his childish manner, but then tried it herself. "Aw, you just missed one. Listen, if more than five inches falls, why don't you come over to Gar's tomorrow? There's a lot we can do with snow, things you couldn't even imagine." Kory was hooked.
"Of course! What kind of 'things'?"
Dick grinned. "You'll just have to find out."
"Sometimes...sometimes I wonder who I am..." Starfire admitted to Nightwing. It was a safe topic, at least, in the way she was approaching it.
"You're Star. And whatever your alias is, right? Or did you forget your name?" Nightwing teased.
"No. I just...I was barely alive for so many years, Nightwing, and I don't know what happened to me during most of my life."
Nightwing's smile faded. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
Staarfire sighed, sure she'd relieved the memory quite enough in her head, thank you very much, but Nightwing deserved to know. "When I was five, my parents died. I don't really remember how. That's all blurry and confused. But a man came to my house and forced me into a car. They took me to a lab, under a big Roth Industries factory, and..." Starfire shrugged. "I can't remember anything until I landed somewhere around here. Apparently, the factory blew up, and the only reason I survived was because I was like...this."
"Roth Industries?" Nightwing asked, furrowing his brow.
Starfire shuddered. "Yes. I'm always afraid they'll come back for me again..." Nightwing pulled her into his embrace, kissing her cheek softly.
"Don't be."
"But still...I want to know what happened during all that time that I was comatose. Obviously something did, because I am the way I am...and I want to know what happened to my parents. But I don't know where to find the answers."
"I'll help you, Star, I promise. You know I'm here for you, whenever."
She smiled and pecked him on the lips. "Thank you."
And a huge explosion nearly knocked them off the building.
I think this is going to be the last update for a while from me...at least until I get my schedule back in order...it's been a looooooong week.