Chapter 3

Disguise

"Raven, how do you control your emotions?" … She really wanted to know how she would be able to not allow Raven to enter her mind and see her emotions.

The empath narrowed her eyes a small amount as if it would help her see if she was telling the truth. After getting a satisfying result, she decided to tell Starfire about what she did for years.

After a decent amount of time talking about ways to hide your emotions, Starfire had finally gotten the answer she was hoping to get. Once she got what she wanted, Raven had asked Starfire if there was anything else she wanted to know which the Tamaranian was happy to say no to.

His words never left her mind and the more it replayed itself in her mind, the more convinced she was. Taking a deep sigh and thinking about her friends, Starfire decided to not let her failure to the team affect her today. She would simply act like nothing happened so they wouldn't have to worry about her. Forcing a smile on her face, she thought of a happy memory with her friend Raven, and floated down the halls towards the common room.

"Well, I believe I will go outside of the Tower today and do an outing. Would anyone care to join me?"

"I actually have some work to do."

"I understand Robin. Work does come first and I am happy you do not feel forced to join us. Is that all?"

"Actually, there's one more thing that I have to tell you… Look, about last night and what happened after… he left. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to and shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. You don't deserve that and I want you to know that I feel terrible. None of the things I said are true but I was in a… bad mood, and needed to let out my anger on something. Unfortunately, the closest thing to me at that moment was you. I'm sorry Starfire, I really am. Can you forgive me?"

"Thank you Robin for your apology. I would like for you to know that you are forgiven and please do not do the sweating of it… If you will excuse me Robin, I must go and freshen up."

She forgave me. Robin should have been happy that she said she forgave him but the weight that was on his shoulders felt heavier. He shrugged it off and walked down the hall too but to his room. He continued thinking about Starfire and how everything should be okay now but what he didn't notice was that she was far from okay. He was too busy in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Starfire had walked away. She hadn't flown, she hadn't floated, she walked.

As soon as Starfire entered the room, Raven knew that something was wrong with her. She didn't think that the boys noticed but she defiantly did. She noticed how there was a slight waver in her voice, the way her arms were spread out made her seem stiff, and when she was talking to everyone she seemed like she wasn't herself. Raven understood that Starfire would at times push away her feelings for others but this was different. She felt like Starfire didn't want anyone to know anything. Raven pushed away her suspicions for a moment when they started talking about going out for the day.

Part of her reason for going out was to find out more about Starfire. Maybe if the two boys that were coming parted from them, then she would be able to talk to Starfire. Going into her mind wouldn't be a problem either.

An hour passed before they were all ready to leave the Tower. Cyborg insisted on being incognito and created holographic rings for every one of them, including Robin. He met with all of the Titans and gave them choices on how they would look like. Making the decisions with Beastboy was the most challenging since he would always try to tinker with the computer and make himself look buffer, taller, and more attractive. Eventually, Beastboy gave up and decided on a look that he hasn't seen for years.

When they all arrived in the common room, Beastboy was the first one to say what everyone was thinking.

"Alright dudes! I can't handle it anymore so show me how you look like! Rings in three, two, one!" Beastboy being Beastboy, was the only one who touched his fists together, transforming him into a different looking teenager. His skin-tone was a little pale but managed to match his hair perfectly. Blond hair with streaks of green in them lightly swept his blue eyes and his normal eyes that were no longer pointy. His growth spurt made Beastboy the second tallest in the team, making Raven the shortest. His uniform no longer covered his body but hidden muscles were shown by the white T-shirt he wore. Beastboy also wore jeans that went well with his black sneakers and to finish it all off, he added a name.

"Call me Logan. Garfield Logan. Or better yet, call me Gar for short." Beastboy-or Gar- gave a toothy grin that showed off his fangless teeth. Everyone was astonished by how… normal he looked. His smile faded when he noticed that no one else had transformed.

"Come on guys! We better get this whole amazement of each other's looks out of our system before we leave! Who's next?" Gar raised his eyebrows in an upward and downward motion towards Raven but she shook her head.

Raven turned her head to Cyborg's direction and said, "You're next."

Cyborg gave a confident grin and punched his fists together. Out came a tall, muscular, African-American teenager. No, a man would suit his disguise better. This wasn't the first time Cyborg used the holographic rings but he did manage to change a few things. When he used the rings for undercover, he wore a gray headband but that was gone. His clothing hadn't changed much besides the color of his tight-fitting T-shirt which was now an indigo (A/N: It's pretty much a dark blue for those of you who didn't know) that matched his intense brown eyes. All in all, he looked intimidating but he was a softy at heart. There were less surprised faces around the room but they looked impressed.

"Name's Victor Stone. But I prefer if ya'll call me Vic." He put his hands down and motioned towards Robin whose eyes bugged out of his sockets. Everyone started looking at him and tried their best to convince him. Truthfully, he didn't want to show his alter-ego. It brought back memories that he partially wanted to forget and he didn't want the attention. If people saw him then they may recognize him and make a big deal out of it. On the other hand, he wasn't going out. Robin was going to stay indoors and do research but it still mattered to him. Just get over it Dick. It's not that big of a deal.

"Fine but no one says a word. Got it?" A strict tone was in Robin's voice which he meant to have. Taking a small breath, Robin pounded the rings together. Robin's traffic suit that embraced his old life was replaced with a black shirt that showed off his well-earned muscles. Jeans covered his legs with black sneakers. His ebony hair color didn't change but instead of all the hair gel used to keep his hair up, it was down but there were still small spikes that covered his head. His hair drifted over his eyes which, to every Titans dismay, were covered with black sunglasses. After years of living with his team, he managed to grow a foot over Starfire whereas she stayed the same height.

"Dude! I know you! Why didn't you tell us you were the Dick Grayson?! I didn't know you were the Dick Grayson! Hey guys look, I'm touching the Dick Grayson!" Beastboy continued to poke Robin up to the point where Robin was forced to grab Beastboy's finger and twist it. He made sure to not break it but he wanted to Beastboy to learn his lesson. After a yelp from the changeling, Robin let go and returned to his casual posture.

"It's not that big of a deal. Moving on. Who's next?"

Raven sensed Starfire's uneasiness about revealing herself so she decided to give her a little more time. "Let's just get this over with."

Raven carelessly touched the rings together which replaced their Raven with someone familiar. This Raven had a lighter skin-tone but was still slightly pale. Black skinny jeans, a dark purple shirt and a dark jean jacket covered Raven's body. A belt similar to the one Raven wore was tied around her petite waist that went well with the outfit. Her hair color was black but the ends were covered with her usual purple color. Her eyes were still the same but the only difference was that they were a lighter shade. Beastboy tried his best not to gawk at this version of Raven. He knew she was beautiful but now it looked like she wanted to show it off. Knowing her, this wasn't her intentions but he couldn't help but feel more feelings towards her.

"My name is Rachel Roth. Don't wear it out. Garfield, I'm talking to you." Raven had shot a look at Beastboy which made him give off a small blush. He did use her name quite often but to him, it was a name that would never wear out.

"Well, looks like Star's the last one to go. Come on lil lady, show them what you look like." Cyborg gave a reassuring smile which didn't make Starfire any more confident. Ever since the run-in with the two girls, she started doubting her looks which made her self-conscious to how everyone would react to her. Would they shun her for being hideous? Would she have to leave the team? Only one way to find out.

Starfire gave out a small breath before she gently bumped her fists together. Robin never thought that someone could be as beautiful as Starfire but he was mistaken. This person, she took the cake. Her long legs were tan instead of the orange color he had gotten used to. She wore small cream-colored shorts that ended halfway between her thighs and knees. A light purple tank top showed off more of her skin that Robin craved to touch. Her top matched her flip-flops and the jewelry she wore. Instead of her armband around her upper arm, it was down towards her wrist which covered Starfire's marks. She made extra sure that she would still have her Tamaranian culture with her but managed to make it look casual. The part of her uniform that had the green orb was now small and in the shape of a necklace that surrounded her neck. The length of her hair stayed the same along with her hair color. To Robin's dismay, Starfire's eyes were now a duller shade of green but very small amounts of her jade eyes hung around somewhere in there. Her eyebrows were also no longer small ovals but were now shaped like how most people had them. Even though she was gorgeous, Robin knew that this wasn't his Starfire. He missed the original version. The version he fell in love with and was used to. Her personality didn't change. She's still the same girl just… different looking.

"You may call me Korianna Anders." Starfire never stopped looking down at her hands that fiddled with each other's fingers. Everyone, besides Cyborg, stared at Starfire and her appearance. Raven was the only one who sensed her discomfort and doubt. She would have to look into that later. Forgetting that he wasn't alone, Robin muttered something under his breath that didn't go unnoticed by his teammates, all except Starfire.

"Beautiful." Three heads turned their attention towards Robin but he was so mesmerized by Starfire's beauty that he didn't notice.

Cyborg cleared his throat which apparently caught everyone's attention. Robin fought back a blush and Starfire looked up to the oldest there.

"Alright ya'll, now that we got that out of our system we should go now. The day's not gettin' any younger! To the T-car!" Cyborg was the first one to leave the room followed by Beastboy and Raven. Starfire, however, continued to stay with Robin. She didn't know why but she felt like she had to stay there with him.

Robin couldn't take the tension anymore and decided to stop the awkwardness that was in the air.

"You… uh, you look great Star. I mean, Kori." A subtle blush covered Robin's face with which he did not enjoy. Now was not the time to get tongue-tied.

"You look handsome too Ro- Dick." Starfire looked up at Robin who was only a few inches away from her. Refusing to let the blush show, Starfire looked away. She knew that he didn't have any feelings for her. Ever since he shouted at her, she knew that he would never yell at a person he had feelings for. No person would say such hurtful things, right? Not letting herself get lost in thought, Starfire was about to leave when Robin stopped her.

"Actually, my name's Richard John Grayson. People call me 'Dick' but you have the choice to call me whatever you want." Robin gave a warm smile towards Starfire which elated her. Something about the name Richard pleased her. He gave her the opportunity to call him which ever name she please. She didn't need any time to think about it since she knew exactly what she wanted to call him.

"Very well, Richard." Shivers were sent down Robin's spine when she said his name. Back when he wasn't a Titan, he didn't let anyone call him by that name. The only person who called him by his real name was his mother and didn't want anyone to take her place. But something about the way Starfire said it made him feel warm inside. It was… pleasurable.

"Instead of Korianna, do you mind if I give you a nickname? Maybe Kori?" Starfire looked up at the beautiful nickname which Robin brought up. Kori. Starfire sent a wide smile that showed her approval along with many small nods.

"Hey Star! I mean, Kori! We gotta go!" Beastboy had managed to come in once again without the two noticing since they were caught up in each other's small talk. Starfire's eyes went wide as she remembered what they were supposed to be doing. But before she could tell Beastboy that she was coming, he had already left.

"You are positive you do not wish to come with us Richard?" Starfire had managed to dangle hope in her words but was met with disappointment.

"You know I'd love to but I have to stay here and work. Next time we'll go together. I promise." Robin sent Starfire a small smile that showed his sincere apology. But that was all Starfire saw, an apology. She didn't pay attention to his promise but gave a curt nod and turned around, walking towards the door.

Before she left, Starfire turned her head halfway and said, "We shall see you later. Have a glorious time Richard." And Starfire left without another word. The doors opened up to her and as they started to close, Robin saw her run away in the direction of the garage.

Sorry it took so long to update. I was mainly focused on another story that I said I was going to stop making (for the moment) but I decided that was too rash. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter mainly because it didn't have any cutting or stuff like that. I thought I would take my time with Starfire and gradually see how she's doing. Who knows, she might stop or she might become a danger to herself. This is one of my favorite stories because I can relate to it so well. I also decided to cut this chapter in half because it would be a pain to write and I mainly didn't want you guys to wait any longer. Anyway, please review, fav, follow and all that other good stuff! I don't own anything but Warner Bros. and DC Comics do!

Always yours,

light is in the dark

P.S. It's great to be back!

P.P.S. I know Starfire may have been a little OOC but in this story, this is how she's going to be like. I may make adjustments to her character but you've been warned.

P.S.S. I tried my best to describe their looks but this was out of memory. I hope you got the idea of what I imagined.