Chapter 3

Beastboy twisted Starfire around.

"are you crazy? This guy can whip my butt, no doubt he can whip all of our butts without trying! How are you so sure you can?" he demanded. Starfire looked at him, then looked up at Robin.

"i did not say that i thought i could win," she responded darkly. She turned back to Valior, who had an enormous grin plastered to his face. Starfire clenched her fists.

"what say you Valior?" she queried. Valior seemed to begin to laugh in amazement.

"a troq against me, Valior?" he cackled. Starfire aimed a starbolt at him.

"i dislike to inform you, but i am much more powerful than you first perceived," she spoke. Valior stopped and stared at her glowing hand.

"very well, tomorrow morning, we fight," he arranged and lay down on his respectable bed, "leave now, Teen titans," he added with a wave of his hand. Cyborg, Raven and Beastboy left the room. Robin watched Starfire as she stepped out of the room and then carefully watched Valior. He then glared at his indifference and followed the others out.

Starfire moved quickly, trying hard not to be seen by anyone, but silently hoping that Robin would come to see her. She continued moving though, holding her arms for comfort. She turned a nearby corner, looking up briefly. She saw a flash of red and green and then looked back down and continued walking. No doubt he had found her, and he was probably really mad at her. She saw a pair of steel toed boots in front of her and stopped walking, squeezing her eyes shut. It is coming, she thought, please no, please no, please no

"i'm proud of you Starfire," Robin said in almost a complete monotone. Starfire blinked open her eyes in shock. She looked at his handsome face. His eyes – well, his mask – looked sincere and he was smiling faintly.

"my apologies but why are you so proud of a troq like me?" Starfire asked. Robin smiled normally now.

"because you don't know it, but you are so self confident that that part of you was able to challenge Valior, and if i know you," he said, lifting her chin slightly, "you'll win," he concluded. Starfire couldn't help it, she felt herself smile big and she wrapped her arms around Robin's neck.

"thank you Robin," she said softly.

Starfire sat on a bench in the gymnasium, panting lightly, taking a short drink. She and Robin had been sparring for the past few hours and she was tired of fighting. Robin breathed in and out and stretched out, plopping down next to her. He was smiling casually, but also seemed rather tired. His face was red with sweat, his breathing lightly ragged and he had a light salty, sweaty smell surrounding him.

"so, ready to fight the others? You're gonna need all the practice you can get, even if you can kick Valior's butt as you are," he remarked. Starfire looked at him and nodded, smiling softly. Robin smiled back. Starfire stared at his mask, suddenly feeling closed off. She carefully reached at it, tugging lightly at the edge before Robin took hold of her hand and pushed her back.

"i apologize," Starfire muttered and stood up, "i did not mean to invade your privacy," she added. Robin raised an eyebrow and stood too.

"no, i'm sorry," he said and stepped out of the room, allowing Beastboy to push his way in.

"you ready alien girl?" he asked in fake mockery. Starfire looked down a moment, then smiled and prepared herself.

"i am," she said. Beastboy ran out her and transformed into a hummingbird, flitting past Starfire before she could do anything. Then he turned into a goat almost immediately and rammed her over. Starfire flew into the air, throwing a starbolt at Beastboy and careful making sure not to hurt him. She spun round in the air and dove a kick at the boy, watching anxiously as he rose, shaking his head.

"oh it's so on," he laughed. Starfire grinned and flew right at him.

It hadn't been long since Starfire had finished her training sessions. She felt her throat dry and she was sweaty all over. But that was okay, at least she would be prepared for tomorrow. She slumped into the bathroom and looked herself in the mirror. Somehow she looked more mature now, but also more stressed out. She grabbed a wash towel and wiped the sweat from her forehead lightly, still feeling mildly sore from training. It is going to be the "big day" tomorrow, she thought, i should do the resting. She stretched out and stepped out of the bathroom, flopping into her bedroom and onto her bed. Little did she know someone was watching her from the ceiling, or more, something.

Late that night the alarm sounded. Starfire almost fell out of her bed from shock. She ran out and into the living room, where the others stood around a computer.

"what is happening?" she asked in distress. Raven glanced at her.

"we don't know," she said. Starfire bit her lip. She ran over to them, flying and resting her head on Cyborg's – she was still tired. Suddenly a black creature emerged through the living room door and rammed right into her, sending her flying forwards.

"star!" Cyborg shouted. Starfire shrieked in pain, her head feeling like she had just ran head first into a thousand knives. She clutched her head tight, falling to the ground, writhing in pain. The titans ran over, panicking madly.

"Starfire, what's happening?" Robin pleaded, lifting her head, seeing the tears burning down her cheeks. Suddenly though she blinked her eyes open and then passed out.

"star..." Beastboy muttered. Robin lifted her up and placed her down lightly on the sofa. He turned towards the others.

"Raven, do you think you could get inside her head? See what's going on?" he asked her. Raven glanced from Robin to Starfire. She hinted a smile and then began to levitate, closing her eyes loosely and sitting cross legged in the air.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she muttered, opening her eyes to reveal whiteness covering them. Her soul appeared and it flew precisely at Starfire, consuming her and flying inside.

Raven, help, Starfire moaned in her mind.

Don't worry Starfire, we'll fix you, now, what happened? Raven cooed quietly. Starfire groaned and gripped Robin's hand hard.

"hang in there Star," he muttered.