Chapter Two! Don't have too much to say about this one, so yeah. Enjoy and please review!

Chapter 2

White.

All Starfire could see around her was white. Her eyes opened wider, allowing them to adjust to her new environment. There were metal medical devices scattered along a blue tray that was sat on the table next to her. Scalpels, needles, bloody gauzes. X'hal, Starfire could barely even stomach the sight of blood right now. She turned her head away and sat up from her laying down position.

She wasn't wearing her own clothes, but some very baggy sweatpants and a loose shirt. She glanced around the room in attempts to spot her uniform, but didn't see anything out in the open. She swung her legs around and let her feet rest on the cold tiles below her before feeling a dull pain coming from her stomach.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A young man was leaning against the door frame, looking the princess up and down. "You got it pretty bad, lost a lot of blood."

Starfire was so confused. Who was this? "Why am I here...who are you?" These were the only words Starfire could get out in her frazzled state, but in her mind she had so many more questions.

The dark-haired boy walked over to Starfire and guided her legs back into the bed, wanting to be sure she followed his instructions. "A friend, I guess you could say that. I'm with the big bad Bat-well, my mom is at least. He keeps a close eye on you Titans, you know. He tried to intervene when your friends got taken, but someone hacked into our surveillance system and we couldn't help until it was too late."

"Batman?" Starfire whispered under her breath. "Why would Batman care?"

"You really don't know?" he laughed obnoxiously. Starfire raised an eyebrow. "Robin...Batman? "Golly gee, Batman!" he mocked. "Really, never?"

Starfire was growing impatient and was not fond of his attitude. "If I would have already known the answer, why would I have asked you?" She snapped back.

"Chill, alright?" The boy raised his hands up to her and continued. "Batman is Robin's father-of course he cares."

Starfire was surprised, but not as much as you might have thought. Robin had confined in her many stories about Batman, including details simple bystanders or the readers of magazines wouldn't know. She just never thought that he was, well, Dick Grayson.

"So...you are Catwoman's son? I was not aware she had conceived with Bruce…"

"Is he not my age?" Starfire thought. "He can not be Bruce's, unless he is Robin brother….but then he would have also fought alongside Bruce…" Starfire's confused train of thought got cut off.

The brunette just cringed in an awkward(and slightly dramatic) way. "No, God no! Don't even say that, okay?" Starfire looked at him with wide, apologetic eyes. "Just, ew. I'm her stepson. Bruce just kinda has to deal with me for right now until my dad gets back from a work thing in London."

"I am sorry if I have angered you! I feel 'stupid' in the asking of that question." Starfire blushed furiously out of embarrassment.

"Hey no, it's okay." He cocked her head at her. "Not very good at picking up at sarcasm, are ya?"

"Please?"

"I was joking." he said, cracking a smile. "I'm Xander. And you are Starfire."

"Greetings." she said with a typical Starfire-smile on her face. She extended her arm out towards him to shake his hand, but quickly retracted it in pain.

"Oh! Careful." Xander reached over, starting to unwrap the bandage that was on her right arm. "Stitches. On your arms and your stomach. Can't be too rough with them or they'll break open."

Xander finished pulling off the gauze and stared in bewilderment. "How in the hell?" he said, looking closer. The wound seemed to have healed so much just in the past few hours. Of course, the stitches would still be needed for a few days, but that cut was deep. "Aliens must heal quickly, I take it." he said with a smile.

Starfire nodded. "We are a warrior people. We must be able to fight and heal quickly from whatever injuries that may occur."

He nodded and started to pull at the hem of Starfire's shirt, which caused her to blush and push his hand away quickly. "May I?" he asked with annoyance in his voice. He quickly calmed his temper, however. "Look, your worst injury is on your stomach. I need to see how it's healing up." he smiled gently. "Plus it's my shirt." he added quickly with a wink.

Starfire was hesitant, but then allowed him to pull the shirt up just enough for him to check.

The boy used a gentle touch to pull up the bandage, trying not to hurt the girl too much. Starfire tried to read what he was thinking, but his frown said enough. "Seems infected, possibly." Xander reached over to the bedside table with the many instruments and poured some liquid onto a rag before cleaning her wound. Starfire winced, but allowed Xander to do what he needed to do.

"This'll definitely take a lot longer to heal." he said finally.

"I do not understand, I have never had 'the infection' before. Tamaraneans don't normally get those."

"It's a real bad cut though, Star. Can I call you that?"

She immediately thought of Robin and became pained at his nickname for her. "No."

"Alright then, princess." he rolled his eyes and pretended to bow. Starfire just glared. "Look, whatever was on the wire that cut into you must have infected the wound. The wire cut deepest into your stomach-I'm not surprised."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, neither of them looking at each other. Finally Xander decided to break the silence. "Why did you do it?"

Starfire looked into his brown eyes with a confused expression on her face. "Do what?"

He looked at her quizzically. "Nearly kill yourself for people that may not even be alive. You didn't wait for help to come or spend time thinking of a way to break the restraints without getting hurt. You just did it. You could've gone straight to the clinic like any sane person and would've been better sooner, and yet you stopped to check in for your friends when you knew nobody was there." She opened her mouth to stop him, but he cut her off first. "And don't tell me you didn't know the building was empty. You said it yourself-you're a warrior. You knew it would be a waste of time, so why?"

Starfire thought for a moment before took a deep breath. "Because it was not a waste of time. They are my friends, and I am here to protect my friends." she frowned suddenly. "And I have failed them."

Xander put a finger under her chin to allow her eyes to reach his. "Nearly bleeding to death trying to save someone doesn't sound like failing to me." he smiled. She held eye contact with him for a minute, and in one swift movement stuck a needle into her skin.

"What the….ah!" she screamed, causing him to laugh. Oh, she was furious all right. "You little glirpstench! How DARE you-"

"Cut the 'royalty standards' crap thing. Okay? I know it hurts and I'm sorry; I figured putting it in without you knowing would lessen your anxiety." He said in a cool voice, but Starfire was still ticked. "Now, you're gonna hate me for this, but I injected a serum that will temporarily take away your powers." Starfire's jaw dropped. Did he just?! "Your body is putting too much energy towards strength that you won't be using right now. The medicine will merely allow your body to heal the infection-a thing it's not used to doing. So no starbolts, your super strength-"

Starfire cut him off, obviously fired up. "What do you mean, 'energy I will not use'? My FRIENDS are in danger!" Starfire smacked the needle out of his hands and stood up abruptly. It hurt like hell, but she didn't care at this point. "I need to help them!"

Starfire ripped the IV out of her hand and started to walk towards the door. Xander was standing in her way in attempts to get her to sit down, only made the tamaranean angrier. She threw a punch, only to be caught by his hand and he grabbed her by the waist, pushing her down onto the bed.

"Let me go!" Starfire commanded; she hated being weak-she hated that this asshole was stronger than her. It infuriated her.

"Not a chance!" he said, waiting for her to stop her effortless squirming.

It took a minute, but Starfire gave up, lying helpless on the bed. She tried to keep tears from falling down her cheek, she really did. But one fell after another, and soon she was sobbing into her pillow.

"I am a weakling, I am helpless and I could not even fight you off!" she cried, causing Xander to feel a pang of guilt that hit him square in the stomach(and offense that she called him weak. He was fit...right?). "I will not be able to help my friends now...and I have only three days…"

Xander sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hand(the only thing he thought of to do because he sucked at comforting people).

Her cries turned into muffled squeaks, and soon, silence.

"Listen," Xander said quietly. "Your body needs to heal. Batman read the note, okay? He's got this...you have to rest. And you can do without your powers for a week, just long enough for your wound to heal. Once it does, the medicine injected into you will react with the healed tissue cells and transform into a type of common-cold viral form that you body will kill off. Bada bing bada boom, your body naturally uses your energy to fuel your powers again." he smiled, trying to show the Tamaranean the bright side.

Spoiler alert: it didn't work. Starfire sighed. "The man called Jack wants me, and I will not be able to fight him off now. Not even the Batman can save them alone."

Xander frowned. She was right, and felt like a jerk. But he also had a good point. "Listen, you wouldn't have been able to fight anyways. With that infection, you would've gotten even worse."

Starfire didn't respond for a while, simply staring at the ceiling, trying to avoid noticing her own negative thoughts. "Where am I?" she said finally. "Robin said Mr. Batman lives in a cave, I believe?"

Xander laughed lightly. "Not quite. He spends a lot of time down there, though. You're at the estate in Gotham."

"The young man is correct." A tall man dressed as a butler walked through the door, a glass of water on a tray of his. He set the glass down on the table nearest to the door and stood looking at the two. "I am Alfred." He said with a smile. "Happy to be of service, princess."

Starfire became confused yet again. "Xander, you are of Royalty? You have servants?"

Alfred laughed at the innocent girl's comment. "Not quite, although I do believe master Bruce thinks of himself as king sometimes." he said with a smile.

Starfire's eyes lit up as she smiled warmly back. "Thank you, sir Alfred."

"Just Alfred." he assured her. "It's what my friends call me."

"Glorious." she responded. "Thank you, friend Alfred."

The butler appreciated the young girl's kindness, and nodded on his way out. "Oh," he remembered. "Master Bruce would like to speak with you as soon as possible, miss... Koriandr, I believe your file said."

Xander scrunched his nose in confusion about who he was referring to, but Starfire just smiled.

"Starfire." she said with confidence. "Just Starfire. It is what my friends call me."