The Coolest Thing To Happen:

The Teen Titans/DragonBall Z Crossover

By

Teen Tyrant

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Interlude

Starfire in Z World

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Three days had passed since Starfire had become trapped in their world again. Those three days were the most exciting that Trunks had experienced in a long time, not counting that day that he and his friends had spent over in her dimension. He had been able to introduce Starfire to some of the wonders of this world, which was very different from the Earth she had become used to.

Since she had arrived near the end of the week, Trunks, Goten and Marron had only had to deal with one more day of school before being able to spend the rest of the time with Starfire. They had been able to really show her around the Capsule Corporation, explain the function of the capsules, show her some of the technologies that did not yet exist on the Earth of her dimension, and reveal a few other wonders that she had not been able to experience during her first brief visit, such as the dinosaurs that still roamed this world, which were extinct in her own.

After gathering and examining the remains of the three robots that Slade had created, Bulma had determined that the machines had not been designed to open the dimensional portal deliberately. It seemed that they just happened to have the right energy charge and type to open it, and had fired into the air around Starfire very near to where the portal had originally opened four months ago. Bulma had agreed to try and create a device that could open the portal again and send Starfire home. However, the type and magnitude of energy that was required to open it had altered again, as it seemed to do every time the portal was opened. Each time the vortex was formed, it became more difficult to recreate it again. Bulma had explained to Starfire that the time may come when there would be no way to open it again, unless a way could be found to perpetually change energy frequencies for portal formation.

Studying the Slade robots, taking notes from what Starfire had told her about how Cyborg had been able to open the portal to send the children home, Starfire's knowledge of the space-time continuum, and adding her own knowledge on top of it all, Bulma set about the creation of a portal opener that could serve their purposes. She had made it clear that creating the device itself could take some time, as well as the search for the right energy frequency to open the portal, but she was confident that she could succeed. Starfire showed endless gratitude for Bulma's assistance. In the meantime, Starfire had opted to spend as much time with her adorable young friends as possible.

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It was now late afternoon, and Trunks was about to finish his daily training session with Vegeta. While his father lifted specifically designed weights that weighed roughly seventy tons each in this two-hundred and fifty times enhanced gravity, Trunks was practicing his punching techniques. He continually thrust his fists through the air, hitting invisible opponents. Sometimes his imaginary target was Majin Buu, sometimes it was Frieza, sometimes it was Slade; it all depended on his mood. For the three days that Starfire had been staying with them, he had felt really good, like having Starfire here, sharing this world with her in a situation that did not involve battling super-psychos, was giving him a feeling of accomplishment. As such, he was imagining he was fighting Frieza, as their ultimate victory over him had given that same feeling. If he was feeling like he couldn't help Starfire get home, he usually imagined Majin Buu, to reflect his failure at being able to beat him. If he was feeling angry because of Starfire's sadness at being cut off from her friends, he imagined he was fighting Slade, as he was the one responsible for her being here again. While he and the others were glad that she was here, it was tragic that it was against her will.

Looking over at the digital clock set into the control console in the center of the room, Trunks saw that it was only two minutes until his usual time was up. Guessing that his father was too busy with his own training to notice him stopping a little early, Trunks walked to the room's central core and turned the gravity off with the temporary pause button, which would allow him to exit the room and then reinstate the gravity once he left.

After pushing the button and picking up his towel that he set on the ground near the door, Trunks wiped his forehead and his neck with it, and then reached for the button to open the door.

"You've stopped early." Vegeta said, still lifting weights, not bothering to turn around and look at his son. Trunks stopped and turned around to look at him for a moment.

"It's only two minutes. It won't hurt my training too much, will it?" he said, trying to persuade Vegeta to allow him to leave early. Vegeta was silent for a moment, before answering.

"You are getting lazy. You spend too much time with your new friend." Vegeta said, in a dare-to-argue-with-me tone.

Trunks shrugged. "She's cool. We've been through a lot. Until she can go home, I want Starfire to be as happy as she can be. She's my friend." he said, in a similar tone to his father's, but less confrontational. When Vegeta did not answer after a moment, Trunks figured that was the end of the conversation. Reaching for the button again, Trunks pushed it and began to step out of the gravity room, when Vegeta said his final words on the subject.

"I don't know why you want to be friends with that strange-talking freak."

Trunks stopped and turned around to glare fiercely at his father's back. He frowned deeply at Vegeta's remark. His father was a mean, anti-social guy, he knew. The only people he respected were Bulma, Trunks, Goku and Gohan, and he hardly ever had a kind word even for them, at least whenever prying ears were around. It was no surprise that he would have an unkind word about Starfire, but Trunks was glad that she was not around to hear the rude comment.

Suppressing his momentary anger with his father, Trunks decided not to press the subject. He exited the room and the door slid closed behind him.

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In the Capsule Corp. kitchen, Starfire was aiding Bulma with the preparation of the evening meal. Bulma was wearing her favorite short green dress, while Starfire was wearing an exact copy of her usual uniform that Bulma had made for her, so that she would not need to wear the same one day after day.

The two had gained a respect for one another in the three days since they had met. Starfire's innocent and naïve attitude reminded Bulma of Goku when she had first met him, and she could certainly see the similarities in her meeting with Goku and Trunks' meeting with her. But Starfire was like the female Saiyan that she had never met and wished she had, being really strong and being able to consume a lot of food. That, and she was not much better at cooking than Bulma herself, and she welcomed the strange food suggestions that Starfire gave her. Anything new to appease Trunks and Vegeta's monstrous appetites was welcome.

Starfire was holding a bowl of salad in one arm, while using a pair of tongs in her other hand to grab a handful of salad, raising it above the bowl and release it, only to repeat the process over again.

"Tell me, Bulma Ma'am, why is it that I must toss the salad?" Starfire asked, curious with her task.

Bulma smiled and laughed inwardly. "Starfire, again, you don't have to call me Ma'am. Just Bulma. And you toss the salad so that all the different ingredients of it get mixed in, so that nobody gets a big helping of a single vegetable in one bite." she explained. Starfire nodded, now seeing the wisdom in performing the tossing of vegetables.

Trunks entered the kitchen, still dressed in his green gi that he worked out in.

"Hey mom, hi Starfire." Trunks said to them, as he entered.

Starfire smiled at him. "Good afternoon, Trunks. How has your training been?" she asked, curious.

Trunks shrugged. "Eh, same stuff, different day." he said.

Starfire giggled that wonderful giggle of hers. "Your father has very strict training schedules. Much like… Robin." she said, her face drooping a little at the name. She had allowed her thoughts to go to him, reminding her once again that she had been separated from Robin and the other Titans for days now. She did not know what may have happened to them in that time, and they did not know what had become of her.

Trunks noticed her become saddened by the mention of Robin, and tried to cheer her up. "Well Star, if you're done here, you wanna go outside? You can try and find me again, while we wait for Goten. He should be here in a while. What do you say?"

Starfire looked at Bulma, seeing if she had anything else that she wished Starfire to help her with. Bulma nodded and waved a hand.

"I'm fine from here, Starfire. You go on. Trunks is going to be going to school tomorrow, so get as much playtime in as you can; he'll be gone most of the day."

Starfire set the salad bowl down on the kitchen counter and turned to Trunks.

"Very well. Let us play the 'hide and go seek' until Goten arrives. I will find you this time, Grakooachi." Starfire said, competitively.

Trunks grinned mischievously. "Not a chance, Grempnen." he said, racing Starfire to the living room and the front door.

Bulma watched them go, smiling at how unusual it was to see her boy having such a close bond with such a strange person. True, she had befriended Goku, and he had certainly been very strange. However, after hearing the children and Starfire tell the story of their first encounter all those months ago, she knew that the bond that had grown between all of them was a bit more intense than that.

Trunks especially had a close bond with Starfire, considering the bizarre events that had transpired during the alliance between the three children and the Teen Titans. Those words that Trunks and Starfire called one another were a testament to that. She had asked Trunks what they meant and why they called each other by those names. Trunks had told her that they were just words from Starfire's language that meant "unusual friend".

Bulma knew that "unusual friend" was an understatement, from what she had heard of the experiences that Starfire had been through with Trunks in particular. The battle with Frieza, the fusion, their journey through a place called Nevermore (which, according to Starfire and the kids, was actually inside the mind of Starfire's friend Raven), and the memory exchange that had passed between the two as a result of those events. No wonder Trunks considered someone he had known for only one day as a friend; when you and that person had almost died together and had ended up having the memory of every moment of your lives inside each other's minds, it was just natural that a friendship would be formed.

Goten and Marron had a strong relationship with Starfire too. Starfire called Goten the "spiky-haired one" and she and Marron referred to each other as the sisters that neither had ever had. Although, now that Bulma thought about it, Marron had seemed a lot less happy when hanging around with Starfire yesterday.

------

Goku pulled the car into the Capsule Corp. garage and turned off the engine. He stepped out of the car, as Chichi stepped out of the passenger door. Inside the back seats, Gohan and Videl exited the car. Goten, who had been sitting between the two, got out of the car on Videl's side.

"Mom, I think I saw Trunks around the side of the building. Can I go find him?" Goten asked, not wanting to bother with the obligatory greetings and just get to hanging out with Trunks and Starfire.

Chichi thought about it, and then said, "Very well. But don't get yourself too dirty. Bulma invited us to dinner and as a guest, it would be rude to dirty her house." Chichi said sternly, although she knew that she couldn't keep Goten from being Goten with all the stern lectures in the world.

Goten grinned and ran out of the garage, around to the side of the building where he though he had seen Trunks.

"Thanks mom!" he called out as he ran.

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At one side of Capsule Corp.'s circular perimeter, Trunks was now hovering in the air, scanning the area for Starfire. He had been hiding from Starfire for a while, but when a long time had gone by and she had not even approached his hiding place, he'd figured she'd either wandered far away from his position, or had given up in trying to find him and had immediately gone into hiding herself. Trunks had come out of hiding to see what the deal was, but so far he hadn't found so much as a single red hair, and since he had agreed to not use his ability to sense her power level during this game, it was really proving difficult.

Suddenly, Trunks felt strong arms encircle him, trapping his own arms at his sides. Gasping in surprise, Trunks heard Starfire's playful laugh in his ear.

"I have caught you, Trunks!" Starfire giggled triumphantly. Trunks struggled to break free, but without increasing his power, he was not at the right level of strength to break through her boundless confidence.

"Hey! Starfire, that's cheating! You are supposed to actually find me!" Trunks shouted, not really mad at her, but feeling tricked all the same.

"You did not say that I could not wait for you to come out of your hiding place in order to find out where it was. Now, I have caught you away from cover. I told you I would win, did I not?" she said, cheerfully.

Trunks laughed and kicked his legs in the air, still unable to break free from her arms wrapped around his torso, but unwilling to spoil the game by powering up.

"Come on Star, let me go!" Trunks yelled in obvious fake anger, as he continued to laugh at his own folly, and Starfire's genius tactic.

Starfire then felt a tapping on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Goten now floating next to her and Trunks. He tapped her shoulder again, the leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Hey Starfire," he began, then pulled back and raised his voice to a shout. "You're it!" He then turned in the air and flew away laughing. Surprised and unsure, Starfire let go of Trunks, who turned around and, continuing to laugh, backed up Goten's claim.

"Yeah, you're it, Starfire. You got to catch me or Goten now!" Trunks then flew off after Goten. Starfire remained where she was for a moment, before her emerald green eyes began to sparkle again at the prospect of a new game. Laughing as well, Starfire gave chase, persuing the two young boys through the air, then eventually along the ground when they realized that they were not supposed to be flying.

------

Hearing a knock at the front door, Bulma ceased her conversation with Chichi and moved to answer it. Opening the door, she saw Krillin and Number Eighteen standing outside the door, with little Marron in front of them, Krillin's hands on her shoulders. She had invited them for dinner as well.

"Hey there everyone." Bulma said to the family of three.

"Hi Bulma. Thanks for inviting us over." Krillin answered his old friend.

Marron smiled up to Bulma. "Bulma, are Trunks and Goten nearby?" she asked. Nodding, Bulma pointed her thumb over her shoulder towards the back of the house.

"They're both outside playing with Starfire." she answered. At that, Marron's bright smile seemed to shrink, now looking more like it was just there for manner's sake.

"Of course. I forgot, Starfire is always playing with them since she's been stuck here." the girl said. Her parents and Bulma looked at her, then at each other, raising their eyebrows. Marron's comment was… unusual. It was true, yet Marron seemed to be saying it in a way to indicate that it was not favorable.

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Finally catching up to the two boys, Starfire lunged forward and tackled them from behind, knocking them both to the grassy ground where the three aliens rolled for a moment in a tangle of arms and legs. When they came to a stop, the three sat up, all laughing hysterically at the joy of the game and the bizarre finish to it that had just occurred.

"Having fun?" said a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice. The three turned to see Marron standing a short distance from them, her hands on her hips, staring at all of them as if she was trying to look like she was glad to see them. However, like her voice, her facial expression seemed to hold a hidden message of disapproval.

Not liking this very much, as he had noticed it in the last few days too, Goten tried to make it seem like everything was great.

"Yeah, it's real fun playing keep away from Starfire. Wanna join, Marron?" he asked, smiling too widely, hoping that his friend would let go of whatever was bothering her and have fun with them.

Marron smiled again, but a bit icier than before. "That's okay. I don't want to mess up the game that you already have going. As long as Starfire is staying happy while she's here, then that's fine for me. We'll play something else, after dinner." With that, Marron turned around and headed back to the house.

Starfire tilted her head, wondering what that was all about. Her non-blood little sister seemed to be troubled by something, and her words made it seem like she was the cause of it. Starfire wondered what she had done wrong. Trunks wondered what Marron's deal was too, but didn't give it much thought. She was probably just feeling left out since Starfire was staying here, meaning that she didn't get to spend much time with Starfire when she wanted to.

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After dinner later in the evening, the whole group of friends and family gathered in Bulma's living room. Trunks and Goten were both telling the story of how the whole thing with Starfire had taken place four months ago.

Everyone was listening intently, with the exception of Vegeta, who really didn't care one way or another and was only still remaining there because Bulma had demanded that he try to appear courteous and listen. Although they had heard a basic summary of what had happened before, the boys were now going into much more detail. Starfire sat with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands, listening to the retelling of that fateful day.

When Trunks began to describe the exact moment that he had met Starfire, rescuing her from the mutated dragonfly, Marron had interrupted with a not-so-quiet remark.

"Wasn't that a great moment, rescuing the damsel." she said, a slightly bitter edge to her voice, looking at Starfire while she said it. Everyone looked at her, and Marron blushed lightly, realizing that she had said that louder than she had meant to, but not taking it back. The adults were confused by what she was getting at.

Videl leaned over and whispered in Gohan's ear, "Marron's trying to aggravate Starfire." Frowning, Gohan nodded and whispered back.

"Goten said that they hadn't been getting along quite as well the last couple of days. He hoped it would clear up." he said, wondering what was going on.

Not sure what to think about the remark, Trunks stared at Marron questioningly for a moment.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." he said, giving her a "what are you doing" look. Marron simply crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat on the couch.

Trunks continued to tell the story, with Goten filling in a few bits that Trunks might have dismissed as unimportant and did not include. Goten didn't want any part of the story to go untold. Well, except for a few parts, but that was much later on in the story.

"Then, while we were waiting for Dende, Starfire told us about herself and the Titans, and we told her about us." Trunks informed the adults.

Starfire nodded. "And ever since we shared our life stories with one another, we have all been close." she said, smiling.

Marron huffed. "Don't see how we couldn't be. Your sob story really went to Trunks' head. No wonder he spent every moment that we were in that other world trying to make everything happy for you." she said, not disguising her bitterness at all now.

Everyone turned their heads sharply to look at her. Trunks and Goten's eyes had widened, and before Trunks could say anything about Marron's comment, Starfire stood up and confronted the girl.

"What is wrong with you, Marron. I thought you were my friend." she said, hurt. Marron looked up at her, her face gaining an angered expression. She got up and stood in front of Starfire. Around the two, everyone else also stood up, not understanding the escalating hostility between the two girls.

"I thought we were friends too! But you just have to keep on being so precious and helpless, making everyone around you do everything for you! We bent over backwards to help you out last time, and now you are doing it again, getting Bulma to make you a portal opener, and having Trunks and Goten baby-sit you all the time!" she shouted at the older girl.

Starfire glared back at the noseless girl. "I am not trying to get anyone to do anything for me. I simply wish to return to my own world, so that I may rejoin the Titans. That is my only wish." she said, trying to make her young friend understand. Marron crossed her arms again and turned around, showing Starfire her back.

"Well then I wish you'd hurry up and do it. Everything was fine before you came back." she responded, really trying to lay on the hurt.

Trunks stepped around Starfire and approached Marron, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Starfire didn't ask to come here, Marron. She got sent here. I want her to go home." he said, wanting to end this whole argument here and now.

In sudden, unexpected anger, Marron turned on him. She spun around, knocking his hand away from her shoulder and bunched her hands into fists, glaring at him accusingly.

"No you don't, you want her to stay! Just admit it Trunks; you don't want her to ever go back… 'cause you're still in love with her!"

Trunks recoiled like he'd been struck, his face contorting with an expression of horror as he took a step back from Marron.

"Marron, stop it! That's enough!" Krillin shouted at his daughter, unable to take this anymore. He'd let it go as long as it had in the hope of finding out what had his daughter so upset, but now he wished he had stopped her sooner, as Marron had taken it too far.

Marron looked back at her father for a second, his interruption penetrating through her anger and bringing most of her mind back to the moment. Turning her head to look back at Trunks, Marron realized what her father knew; she had stepped over the line. Way beyond the line.

Trunks stood there looking at the ground, visibly shaking. His fists were clenched tightly, as were his teeth, and his eyes were twitching. Marron couldn't tell if he was going faint, cry… or punch her in the face. He looked like he wanted to do all three.

All around them, the adults' reactions to Marron's words were finally setting in. Bulma put a hand near her mouth and gasped. The eyes of all the parents went wide and their mouths fell open in shock. Nobody said anything; the room was dead silent for several moments.

Oddly enough, it was Vegeta who broke the silence. Vegeta was the only one who did not react to what Marron said; he simply looked from Marron to Trunks, to Starfire, back to Trunks, back to Marron, then back to Trunks again, and then said a single sentence. He was not trying to say it out loud; it was more to himself really. But in the complete silence of the room, everyone heard him clearly.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." he whispered, disbelieving.

Trunks slowly raised his head to glare at Marron, his eyes beginning to take on a glassy look as tears of shame threatened to flow over at any moment. His face began to turn red with anger and embarrassment. He turned away from her and took a single step towards the stairs.

Marron put out her hand, as if to put it on his shoulder.

"Trunks, I-", but before she could say anything more, Trunks bolted for the stairs, running away from Marron, from Starfire and from the gawking, disbelieving eyes staring at him from seemingly everywhere.

As he ran up the stairs to his room, Bulma began to run after him.

"Trunks! Trunks wait!" she yelled as she followed her son up the stairs, leaving everyone else behind to think what they would of the situation.

Goten slapped a hand to his forehead. "Here we go again." he moaned, suddenly afflicted with a case of déjà vu.

Starfire continued to stare in the direction that Trunks had run, before turning back to Marron with a look in her eyes that was not anger, but a much worse expression: disappointment.

"That was cruel of you, Marron." Starfire said firmly.

Marron looked from Starfire back to the stairs Trunks had run up.

"I-I didn't mean to say it like… it wasn't suppose to…" but she was at a loss for words, just as she had been at a loss for control a minute ago, and the result was to hurt her very best friend, and to possibly make an enemy of another.

"Marron, come on. We're leaving." Krillin said, looking to his wife for any objection. But Number Eighteen had none. The cybernetic blonde thought that leaving was exactly what they should do, considering Marron's less-than-polite behavior.

Marron lowered her head in guilt. "Yes, daddy." she said, in no mood to defend what she had done, as she knew there was no defense. Looking one last time at Trunks' path of retreat, she said softly, "Trunks, I'm sorry."

Turning away, she began to follow her parents to the front door. Stopping for a moment, she turned and looked back up at Starfire. While her expression remained neutral for a second, it soon changed to an expression of anger and resentment towards the Tamaranian princess. Marron then turned and exited the house with her parents, prepared to take whatever punishment they meant to give her. Her feeling of guilt at the look on Trunks' face would be a much worse punishment than whatever they had in mind.

As the door closed and Krillin's family left, Goku decided to be the one to break the silence among the rest of them.

"Well, that sure was… unexpected." he said, trying to smile and lighten the tense mood.

Videl nodded in agreement with her future father-in-law. "It sure was. Who would have guessed." she said in bewilderment.

Vegeta uncrossed his arms from their usual position and stepped in front of Starfire.

"You mean to tell me that Trunks has developed feelings for you?" he demanded.

Starfire lowered her head, feeling sorry for what Trunks would be facing, now that his deepest secret had been exposed. She nodded to Vegeta's question.

"Yes, it is true. I had thought that perhaps our time apart had allowed him to get over those feelings, but-" she paused, looking at the stairs that led up to where Trunks' room was located. "Clearly I was wrong." she said, sadly.

------

"Trunks, open up." Bulma pleaded softly, knocking again. She had not even tried the knob. She didn't know if Trunks had locked himself in or not, but it didn't matter. She wanted Trunks to let her into his room on his own. She'd stand outside his door and knock all night if she had to, but they had to talk face to face. She tried again, knocking on his door.

"Trunks, please open the door. I don't want you hiding from me." she said, trying to sound as much like the comforting voice that he needed to hear as she could. A clicking sound told her that Trunks had unlocked his door. The knob turned and he opened it, looking up at her. She was surprised to see that he had not been crying, and that he seemed to have composed himself rather quickly from the incident downstairs.

"It's not you I'm hiding from." he said simply, letting go of the door knob and walking back into his room, leaving the door open. Taking that as a sign that he was allowing her in, Bulma stepped into his room and closed the door behind her.

"Starfire, or Marron?" she asked, wanting to know which one he was trying to hide from, and which one he wanted to talk about first.

Trunks turned back around and stared off into a corner of the room, not looking right at her. His arms were crossed angrily and a deep frown had settled on his young face.

"Marron, to keep from yelling my head off at her for betraying me like that. Starfire, because…" he looked up at her, his face softening a little. "Well, you know why, don't you." he said, somewhat bitterly. Walking over to his bed, Trunks sat down on it and place his hands on his knees, lowering his head and closing his eyes.

"Now everyone knows why. I've never been so embarrassed." he finished.

Bulma shook her head. "Trunks, I know you kids had this whole thing with Starfire a secret, but this one surprised me more than the first one did." she told him.

Trunks turned his head away from her. "It's so stupid. I know that she's a teenage girl from another dimension and I only knew her for one day, but… I really have gotten to care about her as more than just a friend." he admitted.

"But, Marron said 'love'. Surely that's an exaggeration. Are you sure this isn't just a case of a school-boy crush?" Bulma asked.

Trunks looked up at her. "Believe me mom; I've had four months to think about this whole thing. Trust me, it's not a crush. It's serious." he said.

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "So, Marron was right? You are… in love with Starfire?" she questioned, still not quite believing it.

Trunks looked up at her for a moment, opening his mouth to say something, but he paused. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes and lowered his head again, nodding.

"Head-over-heels. Knee deep and sinking fast." he confessed, feeling embarrassed to be finally getting the truth of the matter out.

Bulma's eyebrows went up and she gasped in amused surprise. She gave him a smile.

"Well, that doesn't exactly make for the easiest situation in the world, does it?" she asked.

Trunks crossed his arms bitterly. "More like an impossible situation. What was I thinking? Starfire doesn't belong here and I'm just a kid to her. But having her around for the last few days has let me conveniently forget that little fact."

Bulma moved closer to the bed and sat down next to him on his left side.

"Trunks, you're a young boy who's only a few years away from adolescence. I would expect you to form a crush at some point. Or, even young love." she said, still amused and not quite able to accept it yet. "But, Starfire's a little too out of sorts for you, isn't she?"

Trunks signed. "You mean a little too old for me? A little too taken with another guy? A little too out of my dimension-ish? Yeah, she's a little too out of sorts for me." he said, seeming to verbally smack himself with the words.

Bulma ran a hand through his purple hair. "Well, you certainly had me fooled. I'm your mother; I should know you better than anyone. But I couldn't tell that you had any such feelings for Starfire. I didn't have any clue at all. You were really good at hiding it." she admitted.

Trunks shrugged. "I didn't want anyone teasing me about it. I'm not really proud of the whole thing. It's not like it would have done any good anyway. Like I said, Starfire's too old for me. It's not like I had any real chance." he crossed his arms and closed his eyes again.

"I guess in the end, Robin really is the best guy for her. She already likes him. Even if it wasn't a problem that she's four years older than me, she wants him. And he can't even bring himself to respond to that." he sneered.

Deciding to pry a little further, Bulma asked him, "Trunks, what is it that you love about her?"

Trunks looked up at her, shocked that she would ask. "Jeez, mom. I don't know."

Bulma frowned. "Come on, Trunks. You've never had a problem saying exactly what you thought about anyone or anything, and now one of the most special things that can happen to someone has happened to you, and you can't even tell me why?" she asked, frustrated at his lack of cooperation.

Trunks shrugged. "I don't know what to say."

Bulma sighed in exasperation. "Tell me why you care about her! When did it happen?"

Trunks also sighed, in defeat. "I don't know. I've thought about that myself and I can't be sure. I might have already liked her a little after I saved her from the bug and made sure she was okay when it knocked her out. I knew she was different, that she was special somehow, but I didn't really think about it at the time."

He paused, and Bulma nudged him to go on.

"Then, there was when we fought beside each other, the fusion, the memory exchange, everything that happened. I think that by the time we got out of Nevermore, I just… knew." he said.

Bulma smiled. "And? What was it about her that was so special to you?"

Trunks thought about it for a moment. "Everything about her. She's beautiful." he looked up at her, trying to get his point across as strongly as he could. "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And that's only the beginning. She so nice, she likes having fun and playing around. She's really strong and a great fighter. And she's smarter than you would think. She knows things. Special things. It's just, everything about her is so… perfect."

He looked up at his mother and a slight smile appeared on his face. "That's the word I'm looking for. Perfect. She's just perfect." he said, certain beyond any doubt about it.

Bulma chuckled, shaking her head, her short blue hair waving lightly.

"Oh yes, you're definitely in love. There's no question about that. I can see it on your face and hear it in your voice, now that you're not hiding it. You've got it bad."

Trunks turned away from her again, blushing. "Yeah. Too bad that there's nothing I can do about it. Starfire thinks of me like a little brother or something." He sighed. "That's why she's the Grempnen, and I'm the Grakooachi." he said in a regretful voice.

Bulma thought for a moment. "Trunks, what do those words mean? What do they really mean?"

Feeling like he might as well admit everything now that he had come this far, Trunks decided to tell her.

"They're Tamaranian words. I picked them out of Starfire's memories. Grakooachi means 'the unfortunate one who desires that which he cannot have'. And Grempnen means 'the desired one'."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Starfire knows the way you feel about her?" she asked, surprised.

Trunks shrugged again. "I don't know. She might. I know that she thinks I have a crush on her, but I don't know if she can tell that it's more than that." he looked up at his mother, who was looking at him, questioningly. He grinned sheepishly. "I kind of let it slip when I was over in her universe. It was right after we finally got Robin back from Slade's layer. I got jealous and lost it, pretty much like how Marron did back there."

Now realizing something, Trunks groaned. "I guess now I'm going to get a lecture from dad." he complained.

Bulma frowned. "What lecture?"

"Oh, you know. How such a weakness can lead a warrior to death when in battle or some stupid stuff like that." he responded.

Bulma laughed without humor. "Let me tell you something, Trunks. When I was pregnant with you, it was the proof that your father had succumbed to his feelings, instead of his warrior's instincts. If he really believed all of that bluster, he'd have had no choice but to kill me before you were born, so that nobody would ever know that he was capable of feeling. But he couldn't do it, because he really did love me, even though he denied it as much as he could. If he gives you a hard time about Starfire, he'll be hypocrite of the worst kind, because you are the evidence of his own feelings, and he'd be telling you not to follow yours. Trust me, you're not going to have any problems with Vegeta." she finished.

Trunks relaxed at that. "Well good. That's one headache I can avoid at least." Then there was a knock at the door, and he and Bulma both looked up. "Come in." he said.

The door opened slightly and Starfire stuck her head in. "I am not interrupting?" she asked, hesitantly.

Trunks shook his head. "No Starfire, it's alright. You can come in."

Starfire opened the door all the way and stepped further into the room, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Marron has been taken home by her parents. I thought that you should know, before she left, she uttered an apology for her behavior, and for what she said. I felt that I should tell you, since Marron is not here to tell you herself." Starfire informed them.

Trunks let out a long breath, then smiled a little. "Okay. I'll accept Marron's apology from you Star, until she can give it to me herself at school tomorrow."

Starfire nodded and continued to stand there awkwardly, not sure what else to say. Trunks stared back at her for a moment, before turning to look up at Bulma.

"Mom." he said to her.

Bulma nodded, knowing what he meant. She stood up from the bed.

"I'll be in the living room, if you want to talk some more later." she said. As she walked passed Starfire to the door, she stopped for a moment and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. They looked each other in the eyes for a moment, a look of friendly understanding passing between them. Then, Bulma removed her hand and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Trunks and Starfire remained where they were, not moving, only looking at one another for a few moments. Then Trunks broke eye contact and looked down at the floor.

"Seems like we've been here before, huh Star?" he asked, a little amused.

Starfire nodded. "Yes. I believe the correct Earth phrase is déjà vu?" she asked. Trunks nodded that she got the correct phrase. There was more silence for a moment. Then, Starfire moved closer and sat down next to him in the same spot Bulma had.

"Trunks, I am… touched that you still have these feelings for me. Though, they seem to be somewhat stronger than I recall." she said, sounding almost like she meant it as a question. Trunks closed his eyes, sighed and shook his head.

"No, they're the same as they always were." he told her. Seeing Starfire look at him questioningly, he continued. "I tried to hide it as best I could. It was embarrassing enough just letting you think that I only had a crush on you. I wasn't ready for you know how much you… really meant to me." he said, blushing and looking away.

Starfire looked a little sad at that. "I understand. I am sorry that I cannot return your feelings, Trunks. Even if I could, it would not be appropriate."

Trunks nodded again. "Yeah, I know. I hope that you weren't too embarrassed about everyone finding out. Marron might as well have shouted it to the rest of the world while she was at it." he said angrily.

Starfire shook her head. "I was not embarrassed. I was worried about how your family would react. I am not ashamed that you admire me so." she said softly.

Then she asked him, "Trunks, why do you think Marron is angry with me?"

Trunks thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense." Thinking for a moment longer, he uttered a bitter chuckle. "Maybe Marron has a crush on me and she's jealous of all the attention I've been giving you. Oh, wouldn't that be the mother of all ironies." he said, obviously joking.

Starfire's eyes looked down as she thought about it.

Trunks looked up at her. "Starfire? Um, this isn't going to ruin anything, is it? We're still going to be friends, right?" he asked, a worried look in his blue eyes.

Starfire smiled down at him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, drawing him to her in a hug while she giggled.

"Of course we will. We shall always be friends, Trunks. We have been through too much for that to change. And it is nothing new for one of my friends to think… amorously about me." she said cheerfully.

Unable to resist, as she was pressing him against her side with the hug, Trunks wrapped his arms around her midsection and leaned into her, hugging her back strongly. He laughed a little himself at his relief that Marron's outburst had not spoiled anything. As they held on to one another for a few more moments, Trunks began to chuckle louder, until Starfire looked down at him in curiosity.

"Please, what is it that you find so humorous?" she asked, drawing a blank at what could possibly be making him laugh.

Taking in a breath, Trunks hugged her a little tighter, resting his head against her side.

"It's just funny. All my life, I've never tried to be anyone else. Everyone was always jealous of me. Everybody thought I was the coolest person around, and they all tried to be like me. I've never once wanted to be anybody else except myself." he said, looking up at her.

"But right now, I really wish I was Robin." he finished.

Starfire blushed a little, since it had only rarely been pointed out that she and Robin had a special connection that went beyond friendship. Realizing what he meant by wishing that he was Robin, Starfire could not help but laugh a little herself. They hugged each other once again, both of them now chuckling at the irony.

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Okay, we've finally reached the end of the part of the story that is more DragonBall Z based. We will now start moving into a more Teen Titans based story, and all but the interludes will take place in the Titan world from this point until the end of the story.

This first interlude was a scene that I have had in my head since mid-January, and I have gone over it in my head hundreds of times since then, perfecting every little detail until I could finally write it down. Looking back on it now, I think I've done a fine job of capturing the vision that I was trying to achieve.

This story will be on a temporary hiatus so that I can get some other fanfics done, but with the next chapter, the Teen Titans and the young Z-Warriors will finally meet face to face, and the name of this whole story will make sense at last. Starfire and the Z-kids will aid the Titans in the fight against the super Slade bots and Frieza, and the action part of this story will commence. I hope all those who have read up to this point will stick around, because it will finally start getting serious from here on out. See you with the next update, whenever that may be!