Author's Note: BIG FAT WARNING: fluff ahead.
~0~0~0~
Kid Flash sprinted around the clearing and skidded to a stop before zooming back in the other direction. He landed a flying kick to an opponent and then slid on his back and did a corkscrew move so he was standing again before sprinting out of another attacker's way.
It was such a relief to not be cooped up in a chamber for once. He was actually relieved that the Battle of the Gortorgs was today so he could really just use up all of his stored energy.
He bounded off the side of a stadium wall and landed a solid punch in a harry beast's face, not able to help the smirk on his face as he felt the bone crush beneath his knuckles. Before the creature could retaliate he used his molecules to vibrate through its flesh, escaping injury as well as dispatching the alien.
With a slight laugh he cartwheeled through the air, dodging more attacks than he was launching them. The fact was, he was a natural born runner, so why not gloat a little bit?
He thought he could hear Jinx cheering out his name, and he swelled with pride. It was always nice to stay on the girlfriend's good side. He halted momentarily as he recognized the foolish nickname the aliens had given him when he first came to the Citadel.
"Light of Speed! Light of Speed!" they screamed, their voices echoing around the clearing.
"About time I got a little appreciation," Kid Flash said lightly before flipping out of the way of an oncoming attack once more.
He began to notice how many of the aliens within the arena were ganging up on him, as if they could sense he was the real threat. He shrugged and leaned casually against a steel wall.
"Sorry to upset you gentlemen," he paused furrowing his eyebrows at a giant toxic pink puffball. "…and ladies…but you should know that you'll never catch up. After all, I move so fast I can blow you all away," he winked before spinning at an impossible speed, circling around and around his opponents, and in result creating a massive tornado of dust and debris.
As the storm whipped the aliens around and around, Flash found a comfortable place to sit and yawned, waiting for the gong to sound, which it eventually did.
The chantings of his name grew louder until they were interrupted by the unseen announcer.
"The Battle of the Gortorgs is complete. Today there is only one winner, and that is Light of Speed. Earthling, you shall move up to the rank of Haj'r, but for now you will shall claim your prize. What is your choice? May it be a female or a fortune?"
"Well, I'll definitely choose a female," Kid Flash responded coolly. "Now who to choose? Hmm…" he glanced over each of the girls taking a painfully long time. Jinx was just about to blow a gasket, which had been his intention in the first place. After he was satisfied he put all joking aside. "You know, now that you mention it, I like the look of the girl with the pink spiky hair."
"Then she shall be yours, Light of Speed."
The young Titan chuckled then smirked. "That's exactly what I was counting on."
~0~0~0~
Jinx wiped the sweat that was forming on her brow as she fanned Lord Trogaar with all her might. She had seen slaves fan their leaders before but it was so much more tiring to do it in real life. Why didn't they have to work half as hard as when Raven and Bumblebee were there?
Whatever, it's not like I'll be here for much longer anyway, she thought with a sly satisfaction.
"What are you smirking at girl? Work or you will regret the consequences," Trogaar snapped.
"Right, sorry," Jinx muttered, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. She peeked over at the other girl who was fanning the Lord's left side. She was clearly serving in the Citadel of her own accord since she did not possess the shock collar that Jinx was wearing currently, even if it was really just a decoy.
Still though, the sight of the creature made her want to shudder. She was in an outfit just as revealing as the one Starfire was wearing except it was a dark blue. Her skin was tainted gray and she had horns protruding from her skull.
"Mirku," Trogaar said in a calmer voice to the other girl, which made Jinx want to shout out at the unfairness. "Go fetch Tazara; it is time for my bath."
Jinx gagged. Great. The only thing that could be more unpleasant than Trogaar was a naked Trogaar. Luckily, this wasn't one of the duties set out for her. Thank the starry heavens above.
"Yes, master," Mirku responded with a bow as she placed down her leaf and left the room to fetch this Tazara, whoever the hell she was. Jinx mimicked her actions, placing down her leaf. She regretted the action as soon as it was done.
"What are you doing, Troq? Did I command you to stop?" he screeched, rising from his throne.
She put her hands up, signaling peace. "Okay, look, you know you can just tell me stuff without having a bulging vein popping out of your head every time you yell at me. I might listen more and frankly, it's just good manners."
"How dare you-" he raised his hand to strike her but stopped when someone else cleared their throat. He sighed before lowering his hand. "What is it Tazara?"
Jinx snuck a quick look at her savior. She was fairly pretty for what she was…which Jinx couldn't really specify. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes, with a small face. She looked strangely familiar. Perhaps Kid Flash had mentioned this kind of alien before? She suddenly remembered the name as if a light bulb had appeared over her head. She was a Rannian, of course.
"Your bath has been drawn," Tazara informed, "however one of your men wishes to speak with you in matters involving the Grand Ruler. He strongly advised that you see him at once."
Trogaar's manner suddenly became all business and he abruptly forgot about Jinx. "Very well, you may leave. Tell him that he shall meet me in the wing that hosts the Gem of Okaara. Is that understood?"
"Of course, my lord," and she left soon after.
Trogaar left out a different door and soon it was just Jinx alone in the throne room. She shuddered to herself. There was something going on around here, but whatever it was she did not wish to find out. Kid Flash was waiting for her, and she couldn't wait to board her pod and cover him in kissed. With one more swift look around the chamber, she snapped off her collar and made her way toward the Gordanian ship.
~0~0~0~
"Hey man, I just wanted to say thanks for everything before Jinx and I get our butts out of here. Don't know if we could have done it without you," Kid Flash said, shaking Robin's hand and giving his hair a goodbye ruffle.
"No problem, anything for a friend," was his response, mixed in with a smile.
"Bet you can't wait till you and Star get out, am I right?"
The smile melted off the Boy Wonder's features. "Right…"
"Well, see you around kid, I'll send post cards," Kid Flash joked as he turned around. Before he could step inside the ship though he paused and turned around with a thoughtful frown etched on his handsome face. "Hey, you know Jinx wanted me to remind you that they have a Tamaranian girl in the lizard's harem. You might wanna get Speedy or Aqualad to look into that. They could, I don't know, take different pods or something once they get this far." He gesture to the craft in front of them.
Robin nodded, "I won't forget, thanks…and say hello to the others for me."
Kid Flash laughed. "Alright will do, not like you'll be waiting much longer though," he punched his shoulder and then printed onto the ship.
Robin waited until their pod had launched and had flown into the night before he returned to the palace.
~0~0~0~
The disheartened Teen Wonder rubbed a hand over his tired face, his eyes drooping. It was tough work, not to mention completely stressful to make sure all of his friends escaped the Citadel safely without notice. However the process shouldn't last much longer. Besides him and Starfire, only Aqualad, Speedy and that other Tamaranian girl whatever her name was, was left on this godforsaken planet.
His feet trudged along the various corridors, searching for a familiar wing that would lead him to a certain Tamaranian princess. He hadn't seen her since a few days ago, and they needed to talk. What about, he wasn't quite sure anymore. Maybe they could decide how to help this other Tamaranian girl that had been bound to servitude.
Robin was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice one of Trogaar's warriors coming from the direction he was headed. The brute Gordanian intentionally slammed his shoulder into his, causing him to cringe in pain, and cradle the area. It would most certainly harbor a decent sized bruise later.
"Watch it, Troq," the alien spat before murmuring something irritably in Gordanian. Robin didn't dare reply, he knew all too well by now that the altercation wouldn't end in his favor.
As he turned into the wing where "The Okaara Gem" was supposed to be located he saw a quick glimpse of Trogaar as he turned the other corner, several yards down the hall. Robin narrowed his eyes. He had assumed no one was allowed near this hallway without permission from Blackfire, other than him of course. However it seemed as if the two Gordanians had been caught in the act, even if they didn't know it. Robin would have to ask Blackfire what she thought the next time he saw her. Who knew? Perhaps she would kick Trogaar out of his position as the commanding warrior once and for all. That would indeed make living in the Citadel a tad simpler to swallow.
Robin sighed, and knocked on Starfire's door. Normally he would have just walked in, but she could have been indecent. He figured he had already gotten himself into enough awkward situations to last a lifetime. However when she didn't answer he just decided to screw it and open the door.
"Hey, Star," he called, "It's me...it's Robin….where are you?" Hmm. That was strange. She wasn't by her bed, of by one of her balconies. "Starfire?"
"I am here."
Her voice was barely above a whisper. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
He followed her voice and found her sitting on the floor on the other side of her bed. He back was leaning against the edge of the bed and her eyes stared blankly ahead of her.
"Starfire what's wrong?" Robin asked his voice more urgent, as he crouched beside her. "Look at me." He turned her face to his and searched her eyes. Her green orbs moved slightly as if she was searching his own, if that was even possible. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Robin used her silence to ask her once more, in a soft caring voice, a voice that told her he was here no matter what.
She blinked. Once. Twice. By the second time, there was a thing veil of water just above her eyelid.
"Robin," she spoke as if she was in a trance, and she choked on his name. "They are planning to murder my sister."
The air rushed out from his lungs and his mouth dropped open. "W-what? But they…she was on their side-"
"They are all the same," she said miserably. "As I have said from the beginning, all members of the Citadel share a common goal. Allowing Tamaranians to live is not one of them."
"What can we do?"
"There is nothing to be done."
"Don't say that," Robin's eyebrows furrowed. "We can figure out another escape plan. She can come with us-"
Starfire shook her head, causing some of her tears to fly in different directions. "We will all be annihilated. It is better to continue with the plan. I can arrange to have you escape on a pod. If not, you will have to battle me for freedom."
He looked at her with pure horror on his face. "You mean allow me to kill you? I could never; I would never kill you, or even harm you, Star."
"But you must," she exclaimed, exasperated. "Please, Robin, I cannot allow you to die. It would kill me. I-I…y-you must-"
At that moment he took her face in his hands and pressed his mouth to hers in an almost feverish frenzy. Her response was immediate, the remainder of her tears falling to the ground, the others, sinking back into her eyes.
Her hands came up to grasp his ebony hair, holding on for dear life as she pressed herself closer to him. It was the first time she had ever kissed anyone. Of course she had made lip contact on several other occasions but she had never once used the action to express the emotions she felt within her. As her inexperienced lips moved to match his, she realized what she had been missing this whole time. No wonder humans did it.
Robin's thoughts blurred together until he couldn't make sense of them anymore even if he tried. All he could think about was her; she filled him with her scents and flushed him out with her taste. His arms encircled her waist and he pulled her onto his lap. His fingers fluttered up and down her nearly exposed back, and his lips parted slightly without his own accord.
Despite the extremely provocative attire they were both adorned in, nothing but innocent thoughts and feelings drifted over them as they were both caught up in their own forms of ecstasy.
Starfire moved closer to him, so her chest was pressed against his. This unbalance caused them to topple over, and only broke them apart for a moment. "Robin," she murmured, his name, causing ripples of pleasure to quiver down his spine. Her hand traced the edges of his mask and he felt his stomach drop. Was he ready for this?
Fortunately he didn't have to answer the internal questions; after all, Starfire would never do something rash without his permission. She instead just traced the border of black, familiarizing herself by touch instead of visually.
Slowly, ever so peacefully, exhaustion, both emotionally and mentally leaked over both of them and they began fall-together-into a deep and restful slumber.
Author's Note: …yeah. I was okay with this chapter. Don't know if that turn of events really surprised any of you. Anyway, you know the drill. :)