Author's Note:

Because I'm on a BBStar kick, I went trolling for some art for shits and giggles. Wow. This has to be the most obscure couple out there. Cyborg/Raven has more arts than they do. Unfair. I found maybe five of them. Anyone know any good ones?

Chapter 7

The lights died immediately and I found myself forced to the ground, whether by Gar or the shockwave from Raven's release, I could not be certain. Something hard and bony landed on me. I could not see what but I assumed Gar must have shifted.

Car alarms sounded up and down the street. Dogs barked. People yelled, calls of 'Earthquake?' or 'Explosion?'. The lights did not come back on, so I called in a starbolt to give us some light.

Beady eyes in an angular, dinosaur face stared at me, before Gar shifted back to normal, his hands on either side of my body. "You okay?"

I nodded.

He eased off me and, as I sat up, I lifted my starbolt higher so we could see. People were on the ground, huddled together, but as my light hit them, determined faces rose. We were all in hero mode, ready for action once we knew what had happened. Argent held her hands out in front of her, her shield covering the whole wall between my balcony and us.

"Everyone okay?" Cyborg called. "Any injuries?"

People called out in the negative.

"Quick thinking, Argent," Hot Spot said gratefully.

"What happened?" Donna called from the kitchen.

Argent rolled up her shield, depositing all the glass embedded in it in one place before she released it. Which was a nice thought.

"Raven," I murmured and pushed off the floor to dart onto the balcony.

She was not there. But Dick was flat on his back, the area around him singed black. All my plants were burnt to a crisp, several of the pots broken. People were appearing on the balconies on the opposite buildings, their lights were all coming back on, but mine did not.

I dropped to a knee beside Dick, my fingers pressing against his neck. His pulse thudded against my fingers and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Cyborg was there with his scanner in his arm activated and lights on his shoulders gleaming, the shirt he had been wearing pulled away so he could access them. "He's okay. Just out." He stood, facing the other Titans. "Fan out. Check for injured or frightened people. Make our presence known, but make sure they know you're with Starfire. It's her town."

I lifted my head as those who could fly lifted off my balcony. Some headed down, some up, all of them doing what they were best at. "I should-"

"You're gonna be needed here, baby doll," Cyborg said. "Ground zero. Mas Y Menos and Flash, door knock this building. Make sure everyone's okay and tell them we'll have power back on ASAP."

Gar squatted down. "We should get him inside," he said, shifting into a gorilla to pick Dick up.

"Cy, Raven-" I began urgent.

"Running a trace. Help Gar," Cyborg lifted his gaze from his console to his girlfriend and smiled. "Sarah, my lovely, you look like you need a cuppa tea."

Poor Sarah was shaking and hugging herself and I felt sorry for her.

"I'll make you one," Donna said, putting her arm around Sarah.

Gar's gorilla hand touched my shoulder and I turned obediently to follow him, a little stunned myself. I opened the door to my spare room and Gar lumbered past me to place Dick on the bed. He crossed back to me, shifting to his normal self as he did and put his arms around me. I dropped my head so my chin rested on his shoulder as I stared at Dick and clutched at Gar.

"You okay?" he said again.

"No. I am most worried for Raven."

"What happened? What were you two talking about just before?"

"She... was leaving him."

Gar stiffened. "Oh. Shit."

I released Gar, turning away and Gar let me go. "I need to find her."

"Cy's looking," Gar said, following me back down the hallway.

"Cyborg, check the cameras in the Tower," I suggested. My living room seemed so bare, only Donna, Terry, Cyborg and Sarah were left here now.

Cyborg did not even look up from his arm. "Think she's going there?"

"I hope so. She..."

"Star said she might be leaving him," Gar mumbled.

Cyborg stopped typing. His eye flicked up to us. "Shit," he exclaimed, then focussed all his attention on his arm. "Accessing Tower security... there's a heat signature there." He cleared his throat and pressed a few buttons. "Raven?"

"Is everyone okay?" Raven asked through the internal communicators of the Tower. She sounding harried and worried and nervous all in one.

"Yeah. Dick's unconscious."

"I know. I put him under. It was the only way."

"Only way to do what?" Cyborg asked, frowning.

"Star there?"

"Yes," I said immediately.

"I'm so sorry about the apartment. I'll pay for it."

"I am insured," I said dismissively, more concerned for her. "Raven-"

"Need time," she said. "Sorry. Be in touch."

"Raven, we can help you," Cyborg coaxed.

She did not reply.

"We are worried and we are your friends. Please Raven," I pleaded.

Nothing.

Flicking my feet, I kicked off my shoes then bolted for the balcony ledge and then shot into the air. I broke the sound barrier far too close to the ground but it could not be helped, I just had to hope I did not shatter an excessive many windows in the process.

I hit the top speed I could within atmosphere and it did not seem like it was fast enough. A part of me knew that Raven knew I would come and she would not be there when I arrived. Still, she was my friend, I had to try.

I scrambled through the door to the roof and headed straight for the bedroom Raven and Dick shared.

"Starfire?" Cyborg's voice echoed through the empty hallways and the security camera turned in the hallway turned toward me.

"Shit, how'd she get there that fast?" Gar's voice blurted.

"Raven!" I bellowed.

I was too late. The room was empty and a mess. Things were missing; her side of the wardrobe was bare. Papers were strewn across the floor, books were gone, her mirror missing from its stand and there was chalk on the floor. Her teleportation runes.

I placed my fingers on one of the candle wicks scattered on the floor around the runes. Still warm. "I think just missed her," I told the air, then threw the candle at the wall. "X'hal! I knew I should have stayed on the balcony!"

"It's not your fault, Star," Cyborg soothed.

"I was right there!" I said, pacing in a tight circle. "I could have calmed her. Given her the right advice! Kept Dick away. Anything. I was so stupid!"

"None of us knew what was going on," Cyborg said. "She might've made you leave."

"Where'd she go?" Gar's voice asked from the hallway, there were no cameras or speakers in the bedrooms.

I sighed. "Azarath. I assume."

The boys were silent.

"Can Herald reach Azarath?" I asked, hoping feverishly that would be the case.

"No," Cyborg lamented. "You have to ask permission to get there. They refuse the tone of the trumpet."

I went to Raven's shelf, looking through the remaining books. I had been Raven for a day, then shared in her powers; there may be enough to allow me entry into Azarath.

"Come on back, Star," Cyborg said.

I shook my head, flicking through the pages but the words were all meaningless to me. "I could-"

"Just come back. She doesn't want to be found."

"But-"

"Star, please," Gar said. "Just come back."

I sighed and turned away from her books, my eyes alighting on an envelope on the bed, with Dick's name written on the front. "There is a letter here."

"For Dick?"

"Yes. I shall bring it with me."

It was a short and melancholy flight back and one filled with worry. I wished Raven had not left like that. I wish she had talked to me of what was occurring. I wished I knew why. Too many lamenting thoughts, not enough answers.

Gar met me at my balcony, taking my hands as I descended out of the sky. The lights were back on by then, most of the Titans had returned.

"Are you okay?" Gar asked.

I nodded. "Worried."

"Me too."

"So, what do we do?" I asked Cyborg as he joined us.

"Wait for her to come back," Gar said, solemn.

Cyborg nodded. "And be here for Dick."

Sighing, I headed back into my living room. "Was anyone injured?" I asked, curtly. I needed to know. This was my city. I protected it.

"No," Donna said. "No reports of injuries. Small noises of damage but no one was hurt."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Gar put his hand on my shoulder as I looked around my apartment at my shattered birthday part, tears pricking my eyes. Popped balloons, streamers on the floor, empty cans, spilt drinks, the pile of glass that Donna was surreptitiously trying to clean up for me, the wooden boards Wally had managed to find and he and Speedy were fixing them to cover the broken door and windows.

"I think we'll call it a night," Cyborg said, addressing everyone else. "Sorry to break it up so early... I don't think anyone's in a partyin' mood anymore."

There was a general chorus of agreement, no one really looking at me, and no one really looked like they wanted to leave. More, they wanted to know what had occurred.

I turned and walked down my hallway. I stopped outside the guest room and watched Dick sleep.

What has happened between them? They always seemed so happy. Surely this was just a misunderstanding. How could I have not seen? I was not a good friend.

I also knew we only had part of the story. Dick had a different side to what had occurred between them I was certain.

I turned away to say goodbye to my friends. I received many of the hugs and kisses, as well as apologies about the windows. Wally said he would take Jinx home and then return to assist us with Dick.

"Do you want me to stay?" Donna asked as she put her coat on.

"No. Cy, Gar and Wally will be here. Thank you for such a nice cake, Donna."

"You're welcome." She hugged me. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Sorry about the windows," Terry said. "I have a friend who can fix it cheap. Do you want me to call them?"

"I would appreciate that."

Terry kissed my cheek, giving me a woeful look, then put an arm around Donna's shoulders.

I sighed when my apartment was finally empty except for Cyborg, Sarah and Gar. Gar walked around with a trash bag and picked up rubbish, while Sarah put the leftover food away.

"What now?" Sarah asked quietly.

"We wait for Dick to wake," Cyborg said.

"And deal with the aftermath," Gar muttered.

We cleaned up as best we could in silence, I do not think any of us had any care in talking. We pulled my dining table and chairs back to their rightful locations and set the rest of the furniture back in their spots. When Wally returned, cleaning was much faster, his nervous energy needed to be expelled somehow.

When everything except my sofa and nacks of knick were in place, we sat around the table and drank.

"Soooooo," Wally said, nursing his beer in his hands. "What happened?"

I pulled Raven's letter from my pocket and slid it into the middle of the table. "Raven went to Azarath. I believe she left him."

"Shit." Wally stared at the envelope. "Do we know why?"

I lifted a leg so my foot was flat on the seat of the chair and placing my chin on my knee, I hugged my leg. "I know Raven's side. Not Dick's."

They were all watching me, so I sighed and summarised what Raven had said on my balcony before. About how Dick was failing to communicate and his thoughts of Babs.

"That can't be right," Wally exclaimed when I was done. "Dick tells me everything. I knew they were having trouble about the police thing, but Dick said that was because Raven suddenly had a change in heart about Bludhaven. Not because he never asked her. Hell, I even remember Jinx talking about Bludhaven. I refuse to believe the rest. He just wouldn't cheat on Raven."

"She did not say that he was," I reminded him. "Just that he was thinking it."

"Well, shite. What else can a guy get in can we get in trouble for?" Wally snapped. "Now we have to censor our thoughts."

"If Jinx was a mind reader, wouldn't you?" Cyborg asked.

"C'mon, man," Wally said, throwing up his hands. "You can't say you've never thought another woman was hot."

I sighed. "Wally, Raven is an empath. She can tell the difference between an idle thought and something he was serious considering. Truth is, we do not know. Not until-"

"What the hell happened?" Dick demanded, staggering into my living area. He clutched at his head with his fingers. "Ugg, my head's killing me."

"-Dick wakes up," I finished at a whisper, suddenly filled with dread.

"Where's Raven?" he asked, swaying drunkenly. Possibly it was a mixture of alcohol and being put to sleep, I do not know.

We all looked at each other. It seemed by mutual agreement, they had decided I would tell Dick. I reached for the envelope and stood, handing it to Dick wordlessly. He arched his eyebrow at me and frowned as he tore it open. "What's this?"

I opened my mouth, closed it again and took a step backward.

We tried not to watch, but all of us still kept our eyes on him as he read. He seemed to go through many moods, from surprise, to dismay, to finally anger.

"What the hell did you say to her?" he snarled at me.

I blinked in surprise. "Me?" I asked, bringing my arms up to my chest.

"No, fucking Santa Claus. What the hell, Starfire?"

I was confused. "I simply asked her if she wanted to talk, she looked unhappy."

"She was fine until you talked to her-"

"Dude, lay off Star. Not her fault you're a douche," Gar snapped.

Dick snarled, "You just can't handle seeing us happy, you have fucking meddle and plant ideas in her head."

I was appalled. "Dick, I would never. I did not even know until tonight that-"

Wally stood. "Dude, you're drunk and upset. Stop now before you say something you regret."

Dick shook the letter at me. "She said that you told her to put some distance between herself and what was causing her pain."

That was not what I meant. "I said-"

"And now she's fucking gone-"

"Dick, calm down," Cyborg said, standing. "It's not Star's fault. Maybe if you'd listened to Raven more-"

"How?" Dick snapped. "Every time I tried to talk to her, she'd just accuse me of shit I didn't do, then fuck off to meditate mid argument. Every time. I've been talking about the police for years, and suddenly now she's pissed off at me for it?" He scowled at me. "And this crap about Babs? Raven never even said a word about Babs until she came to see you. Is this end game?" He grabbed my arm. "You want me that bad you have to break us up? Bitch."

I punched him in the nose just seconds before Gar pounced on him. The two of them hit the ground and scuffled, there was a strange grunt as Gar shifted into odd looking creature I had never seen before. It was rather small and dark, with a flat kind of head, sharp looking claws and vicious teeth. It almost looked like hybrid of a skunk and a badger.

Gar seemed to change his mind as he quickly shifted from that into a leopard and chomped on Dick's arm. Dick cried out in pain and hit on Gar's head with his other hand. Behind me Sarah was crying in terror and brandishing a chair to protect herself. Everyone was yelling. Everyone was grabbing at arms and legs and tails.

Scuffles and punches and ripping cloth.

Cyborg waded into the fray to grab Gar while Wally hauled Dick to safety.

"Star!" Cyborg called, asking for assistance with the struggling Gar, who was still trying to get at Dick.

I dropped to a knee and wrapped my arms around Gar's neck and rested my face in his furs. "Gar. Please." He grew quiet, but he was still shaking with fury and making little rumbling snarls.

Wally was struggling with Dick too, who was bleeding heavily from the nose and arm. "Fucking asshole!" Dick exclaimed.

My eyes flashed. "You are the ass, Dick, and I do not want you. Get out of my home."

Cyborg gave me the 'calm down' hand movement as he stood between Dick and us. "Star, he's upset and drunk-"

"He holds little respect for his friends," I snapped, so very angry at Dick right then. More angry than I have ever been at him. "I have done nothing to Raven. We do not even speak of you, Dick. You are not the centre of my universe. We talk of Gar and her studies and mine and flowers and things that make her happy. Whatever problems you have, they did not stem from me. Do some soul searching of your own. Raven is an empath. She would know exactly how you feel when you return from Gotham and Babs. If she got anything from me, it is how happy I am."

Dick removed his hand from his bleeding nose and gestured Gar disdainfully. "With him?"

Gar's lips drew back in a snarl, then shifted into a massive tiger to snarl again.

I stroked Gar's neck soothingly, knowing if he went for Dick again, I would not stop him. "Yes. With him."

"Bullshit."

I looked up at Dick. "Dick, I do not know what is going on, but you need to get out of my home. Sleep it off. Apologise when you are sober."

He shrugged out of Wally's grip and stalked toward the door. "Nothing to apologise for."

I regarded him sadly. "Then our friendship is at its end."

"I'm gonna take him to a hotel, Star," Wally said. "Beat some sense into him. And I'll make sure he fucking remembers this in the morning."

I nodded.

"We'll help," Cyborg said, nodding at Sarah, who stood in response. "Need to have a few words with him myself. You two be okay?"

I nodded again and held onto Gar. I did not move from my spot until the door closed behind them.

Author's Note:

Classic tale of he said, she said. Who is right? Is there even a right? (Of course, Dick shouldn't have done that to Star.)

Just thought I'd mention... Gar picked a leopard first not a tiger or lion for several reasons. One- proportionate to body size, the leopard has the biggest teeth of any of the cats. They're two inches long (lions have three if anyone is interested). Two- the leopard actually has more human kills than any other of the cats. They usually go for the throat. Three - he wanted to hurt Dick, not kill him. A tiger probably would have killed him.

Incidentally... Gar's first choice was the honey badger. You'll find out why later.