Chapter 12: Shattered
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Starfire didn't want this. She didn't want any of this. She liked Robin…loved Robin more than a friend, more than she believed Earthlings loved themselves. To fight him wasn't something she wanted to do. She didn't see the leader of the team falling like this.
In a thick blanket of white space, Koriand'r stared at her adversary…her newfound enemy, Robin, who had abandoned the Titan cloth to become an underling of Slade. He stared back at those dark, villainous red eyes that regressed to green as Starfire resurfaced again. In this state, the traitor was not in his apprentice regalia, but his uniform worn as a Titan.
Koriand'r shut her eyes.
"Titans! Go!"
In that thick blanket, their hands joined.
"Look," Robin looked deep into Starfire's eyes, cupping her chin, "your sister was interesting, but she could never take your place." He paused and smiled. "No one could ever take your place."
"R-Robin…" Starfire uttered to the boy behind the mask who stared back as they refused to let go of each other's hand.
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After trouncing these three rogue villains by the name of Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth, the Teen Titans had regained control of their tower…despite Raven's room being entered, the blue food being disposed of, and Beast Boy's CD's being alphabetized. Cyborg plopped on the couch and began flipping through channels. He then spoke to the other Titans.
"I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?"
Robin smiled as he took the remote. "We will. But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team."
Part of the team. That was a lie, too. Every battle he fought as their leader led up to this point where he'd stab them in the back. Despite that, red became green as Starfire found herself unable to let go of Robin's hand. He had done everything in the name of truth and justice to distance himself from Slade, yet still left the team.
He turned to face Starfire. "I needed to fool Slade. If you guys knew it was me under that mask, you would've held back. Doesn't matter anyway. Slade figured it out, and I still haven't figured out anything about him."
But Starfire wasn't about to accept that. "That is not true. Whoever Slade is, you and he are similar. Slade did not trust you-" She paused, turning her back towards him and heading towards the door, "and you did not trust us."
But they always trusted him; trusted him despite his outbursts.
"You know, just 'cause we're trying to catch Slade doesn't mean you have to act like him!"
Robin whirled around and gave Beast Boy a threatening glare. "Don't you ever compare me to him! He's trying to destroy the city. I'm trying to save it!"
All lies.
Their hands separated.
Their bonds had been severed.
The fight ended.
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Raven opened her eyes and lowered herself onto her bed. "It's over." She tried focusing on who remained, but could not get a clear lock. "But which one of them didn't make it?"
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The body flew like a rag doll, fist slamming into the cheek like a locomotive through a dog. Through the sweat, blood and anger, Robin's body crashed through the bell and collided head on with the wall. His bones sang in agony, ribs cracking throughout, but he didn't feel it. He couldn't feel it. He missed. The dance of the fists had been silenced.
Koriand'r's body continued sliding once the punch connected until she slid face first into the concrete, rock slabs and glass digging into her face. She hadn't expected to strike first. Her chest burned from a blend of excitement and pain as the poison began trailing her blood again. I thought I could save him. I believed he could be rescued from Slade. I do not ask for his forgiveness. She strained to lift her head, but it remained glued to the ground. Her brain throbbed like Raven had peeled back the layers again. She had to get out. She had to get out now. She could savor the victory later…if there was one.
Ashes to ashes, red to green, Starfire opened her eyes halfway as the cool wind whipped around her body, making her shudder. She may have beaten Robin, but she didn't win. She could still lose by not making it out of the giant church with her life. No! Fate would deal with Robin, but Starfire had earned her reward, so where was her rescue? Indeed, she had stopped Robin from killing others, but could she save herself? The pain stabbing at her head and slicing throughout her body kept her from moving. No…need to escape. Her body shut down, giving in to the soreness spreading in her system and twisting her organs. As Starfire managed to just keep her eyes open, she saw Robin's 'R' emblem a few feet from her head, split down the middle.
"No…" Starfire's head shuddered. "It cannot end like this for me." Robin deserved his punishment: be left to die amongst other bodies, but what about her? She risked everything to stop Robin and now she couldn't move, but no one came. She would become another decoration and join the other three corpses in the church. Resigned to her fate, Starfire closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
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The soft crumbling of gravel under the boot could scare them, he knew, but he walked in anyway. He whistled. Had a bomb gone off in here? He edged over some of the pews and stopped at the body sized hole in the giant bell in the middle of the doorway. Wow…she wasn't kidding. As he scanned the room for life, he found one body. Red.
She wasn't moving; she just kept her head facing that shiny disc. He inched closer to her body, got on his knees and turned her onto her back. Watching her chest heave up and down, he put two fingers to her heart and pulled back in an instant. Her heartbeat is crazy! What the hell happened here? "Never mind that. I'll ask questions later." He hoisted the lifeless body onto his shoulder, leaving the other for the crows. "Why now, Red? Why so soon? It was too soon for you to know about this."
Red X made his way out of the Gotham Cathedral. He paused and took one look back at Robin's body before smirking. "I can't say you didn't deserve it. Now you know what you got yourself into with this."
X vanished.
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An hour later, Robin's body cooled. He stopped moving, stopped thinking, stopped everything. He didn't even feel the boot give his ribs a good ringing when he ended on his side.
"Damn it, Robin, you never listen to me." Of course she was peeved. Little Koriand'r had done a number on him and he deserved every licking for not listening to her. Still, she gave a sad little smile when she saw that he managed to keep on most of his armor in addition to wearing the cape. Small things like that reminded her that Robin was a jerk, but he knew how to survive. "Well, better get you back to them. You survived, so they deserve to see you one more time." Blackfire hated the possibility of facing them again with an almost dead Robin, but they deserved an explanation. She lifted into the air and flew out of the Cathedral.
Time to take Robin home.