Thank you soooo so much for all the wonderful support I've been getting! It's just...omg you make me the happiest ^^ To be honest, I was a little lost about the plot for a while, but now that I've gotten a lead on something, it's becoming a really exciting process :D and I'm just SO glad that there are other people who enjoy it too.
As you can see, I like doing the actual-episode-in-plot thing :P But I think it'll only go on for a few chapters. The true and original story will come soon ;)
Oh, and a note to Latezz123: I'm going to give you credit for giving me the notion of changing the first chapter's name to "Prologue" :P Thanks! When you pointed it out, I wondered why I never thought of it before xP Also, kudos for starting a fanfiction...tis an exciting process :D Best of luck to you!
Hope you enjoy this chapter :) I worked hard!
Another part of Raven's heart was lost in the winter. Almost literally, actually.
The snow whipped across my face, though my skin was already too numb from the cold to feel any of its flakes. They were concentrated in the brutal wind, which howled loudly as the team and I faced one of our most dangerous enemies. Though I could hardly see the world around me in the midst of the blizzard, the creature shone brightly, its plasma-like body radiating red and white. It stood on two legs and had arms like a human, but its entire body seemed to be composed of a bright, globular substance that darkened where the face should have been.
Cyborg stood next to me while examining his forearm, his blue scarf flapping in the stinging wind. "We can't touch that thing!" he yelled.
"We'll just have to keep trying!" I yelled back, a flurry of snowflakes blowing into my mouth the moment it opened. "We need to surround it!" Our opponent was a weird one, for sure. I had no idea how to tackle it without being shot with one of its deathly red beams. But then again, since when were our opponents ever normal? The best chance we had now was to corner it from all angles, and –
"No, Robin! We really can't touch it!" Cyborg repeated with alarm. "I'm picking up radiation levels that are off the scales!"
Before he could say anything else, the glowing creature suddenly threw out its chest, firing a massive radioactive wave straight at both of us. We had no time to react, and the lethal substance seemed to engulf everything around me at once…
There was a sudden flash of bright red, and suddenly the beam seemed to explode, dispersing in all directions. I looked back up as its glow faded away. Starfire was standing in front of me and Cyborg, having taken the shot in full. Her palms were rigidly outstretched, glowing bright green. "Radiation cannot harm me," she declared, glaring after the creature.
As soon as she spoke, the radioactive human-thing suddenly turned its back and began to retreat. Before I could even thank her, Starfire's feet left the ground, her eyes locked on the enemy. At once, her body soared through the air, and her figure became no more than a flash of red and purple in the distance.
"Starfire! Wait!" I cried, reaching out towards her as she disappeared into the flood of snowflakes. All at once, my mind began to race as panic shot through my veins. My eyes scanned through the blizzard desperately with no avail. Without thinking, I began to sprint in the direction that the Tamaranean had gone.
A gentle hand suddenly came down on my shoulder before I'd taken two steps. I whirled around to face two violet eyes, which were close enough to see even under the dark blue hood shadowing them. "You can't just run head-on after her like that," Raven stated simply. "In case you didn't notice, your face's turning a little blue."
I scowled, turning my head to stare off in Starfire's direction once more. "I can't let her face that thing by herself! I have to –"
"I know it's hard to leave her on her own," Raven interrupted, looking hard into my eyes, "but she's the one with immunity to radiation and tolerance for cold temperatures, not us. We have a better chance of finding her if we just take a few moments to plan it out. Now come on."
I sighed as she gave my sleeve a few tugs, but I eventually let her lead me back to our broken T-Ship. Our mode of transportation lay half-buried in the snow, with one of its fried engines sticking out. I sat down upon a mound of snow beneath its tail, which hung high over our heads and blocked most of the wind. Cyborg and Beast Boy were already standing here, trying to keep themselves warm. The latter was shivering more than the rest of us, pulling the furry hat that Starfire had given him lower on his head. "D-Dude…" he whined to Cyborg, "Why c-can't we go in the T-Ship?"
"I told you already, that thing took out our engine, and the whole electrical system's down – that includes the heater," Cyborg replied, sighing. "Won't do you any good to climb back in there now. Besides, we've got Starfire to worry about."
At the mention of her name, I immediately stood up again. Plan or not, I was going after her. There was no way that anyone – not even a radiation-proof alien – could possibly get through this blizzard without help. "I'm going after her," I declared.
Once again, I found myself facing Raven. She stood before me with a palm held out towards me, almost as if she were some sort of cop. "You can't survive out there," she said firmly. Beneath her hood, there was a pale face filled to the brim with a both determination and anxiety. A funny combination…I could've sworn that Starfire once looked at me the same way when she stopped me from jumping off Titans Tower (I was trying to see if my new glider cape actually worked).
Cyborg spoke up before I could say anything back. "Raven's right, Robin. The temperature's dropping fast. We have to find some shelter."
The frustration hampered my logic, as usual. "She's lost!" I shouted, feeling as if no one else seemed to know already. "She needs our help!"
"I know…" was all that Cyborg could reply. His voice grew quiet as the rest of the team looked down. The snow was blowing too hard, and all we could do was wait.
O/O
Time dragged by. The snow had formed a dome around us, thanks to Raven. We'd all sat in one of her shadowy force fields, letting the snowflakes cover it. When enough of them had fallen to form a thick layer, she'd released the field and concentrated the snow into ice before it could fall on us. We were now hiding out in a makeshift igloo, insulated from the cold outside. Our source of light came from one of Cyborg's shoulder flashlights.
"This is actually kind of…cozy!" Beast Boy remarked, who was sitting cross-legged on the snowy ground. "Although I wish I had something to sit on so that my butt wouldn't feel so cold right now…"
"Cozy or not, we have to get out of here as soon as possible," I grumbled. "Every minute Starfire's out there could put her in greater danger. She might be immune to radiation, but the creature could knock her out with one of its blasts, and she could be buried in the snow as we speak, and –"
"Robin, she wouldn't want you to worry this much," Raven said softly, who was sitting atop her cape. Her hood was down, and the glow of Cyborg's little flashlight reflected in her violet eyes. The side of her mouth curved slightly upwards into a sly smile. "Although she would be happy to see that you're thinking so much about her. Chances are she's out there thinking about you too. If anything, she's worried that you can't handle yourself in the blizzard. When we meet her again, she'll probably laugh when she sees your face."
Despite everything, I cracked a smile. "My face? You trying to imply something?"
Raven scoffed, the subtle smile still on her lips. "Imply? Last time I checked, blueberry faces weren't attractive on Earth."
"Hey now!" I chuckled, forgetting my frustration for a moment. "I don't like to mention the Teen Titans' fans, but I'll have to point out that there's manyyy girls out there who wouldn't care if –"
"And yet, you still mention the fans anyway," Raven rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "I never thought you'd stoop down to that level, Robin. Now Beast Boy, I could understand, but –"
"Hey!" shouted our green friend. "That was an insult, wasn't it?"
"Not an insult, BB." Cyborg grinned. "You get in way over your head with those fangirls. Which is funny, since you seem to have the least."
Soon enough, Raven and I were enjoying watching Cyborg and Beast Boy engage in another one of their meaningless arguments – or least, I was. And I think that's what Raven was going for in the first place. "Thanks, Raven." I smiled at her, feeling much calmer than before. The air within our little hut felt lighter as the laughter from our teammates began grew louder.
Raven quickly nodded back at me without saying a word, her lavender hair bobbing about her face. Though her mouth was still barely smiling, her eyes were beaming…wait, Raven doesn't "beam" at people. Strange…Well, it was just the glare from Cyborg's flashlight, I concluded.
After a few more minutes, we all stopped to listen to the storm outside. The noise seemed to have quieted down a considerable amount. I immediately stood up again. "Do you think it's alright to start searching for her?" I asked. Now that I was actually calm enough to think straight, I actually asked everyone instead of spitting it out like an order.
Raven stood up with me. "It sounds like the wind's still strong, but we should be able to endure it now. We should take this chance to find Starfire."
Cyborg and Beast Boy soon joined us, nodding in agreement. Without being told, Beast Boy transformed into a polar bear and began clawing at the wall, plowing through the snow.
In no time, we were all standing outside the makeshift igloo. The T-Ship was almost completely covered in snow now, but the night sky looked a little clearer than earlier. I looked around at the endless sea of white surrounding us. Starfire could be anywhere out there, and for all we knew she might've been buried somewhere beneath our feet…the panic began make its way throughout my body, and it felt even colder than the wind blowing against my face.
Raven seemed to notice. "She'll be fine, Robin," she reassured me. "Starfire knows how to take care of herself." Her hood was up again, and her dark cloak was wrapped around her body as it blew in the wind, its furry white edging matching the snow.
"That doesn't mean I can't worry," I replied dismissively, turning sharply to Cyborg. "Tell me you found something!"
"I have," Cyborg responded, examining his forearm again, "but it's not Starfire. I'm picking up a massive radiation source. Might be why we can't locate her communicator."
"Take us there," I commanded.
O/O
We eventually found ourselves standing behind the large metal doors of a strange facility. It slid open loudly, and the first face that greeted us had big, smiling green eyes.
Starfire gasped loudly as soon as she recognized us. The relief spilled over me as she flew forward and hugged me tightly. "My friends!" she exclaimed. "How happy I am to see you!"
Raven suddenly floated past us, keeping her head low as she turned to a man behind Starfire that I hadn't noticed before. He was dressed in a formal green uniform and goggles, and the front of his shirt and square-shaped hat displayed red stars. "Ever think about a doorbell?" Raven asked him, her voice more monotone than ever. She continued to float away deeper into the room as the rest of us followed.
O/O
"I am not like you, Starfire," the soldier named Red Star said to her sadly. We'd barely gotten to know him before the radioactive monster suddenly attacked the base. We were now standing in the ruins of his chemical waste storage room, where it had raided his supply. The room was pilled with giant glass tubes of the waste, which Red Star had to release whenever his powers got out of control. He was cursed with an experiment that led him to be unstable, releasing radioactive explosions out of his will. He'd saved Starfire by bringing her to the base in which he isolated himself from the rest of society. "Mine is a power I cannot keep inside," he continued.
"Then do not," Starfire replied firmly, lifting her hand. A starbolt began to glow within her palm, illuminating the air. "The greater the struggle against your power, the more it resists." She demonstrated by making a fist around the bolt, which only glowed brighter and struggled to break free from her fingers. "Embrace what you have inside." She opened her hand again, and the bolt resumed its natural, spherical shape. "Let it become you, and you will find what you are meant to be."
The effect was instantaneous. Red Star looked back at us, his face filled with a new determination. "I will join you."
Beast Boy, of course, was the first to complain about the weather. "Does anyone know how we're gonna chase that thing through all this snow? Because I could tell you right now, I am not pulling a sled."
Red Star smiled. "You will have no need to. Come with me."
As we followed him, Starfire remained at his side, thanking him for his willingness to help and reassuring him of his abilities. I couldn't help but feel a little on edge as he smiled down at her, his blank green eyes looking more cheerful every second.
"Say…" I turned to Raven, who was walking beside me. "Wouldn't you think that Red Star seems to, uh, be pretty fond of Starfire? Just saying. You know." She was the only person in our team that I would ever dare to mention such things to. If I'd voiced my opinions about Red Star to any of the guys, I knew that I would ridiculed for life. Even worse, they would probably use the word on me again. Raven, however, usually offered her honest thoughts about anything I asked, never questioning what I said or trying to pry anything out of me. She was always the person I'd feel okay telling embarrassing things.
To my relief, she didn't fail me this time, either. "Hmmm…" Raven examined the pair ahead of us for a moment. "Well, she's certainly made him feel more confident about himself."
"Yeah, I know," I quickly replied. "But don't you think that he's…you know…getting to be kind of close to her? As a friend, I mean."
Raven looked up at me, and her eyes told me that she already knew what was going through my head. "Maybe. Seems like he's starting to get there. But we really can't be sure about these things, Robin…" She watched as my mask narrowed and how I began to walk a little more stiffly than before. "Honestly, though, I don't think Starfire notices it." She paused for a moment. "You know that there's a lot of people out there who'd die to be close to her, Robin. But her team will always be first in her heart. I can't believe I have to remind you."
I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess so. I don't know, it just seemed kind of funny to see – you know what, never mind. Thanks, Raven."
"No problem." She smiled back, though it was hard to tell that it was directed at me since she was looking straight ahead.
O/O
Our team watched as Starfire returned to us, floating down from the heavens. The stars were speckled across the night sky, visible for the first time after so many hours of blizzards. One star stood out from the rest, huge and glowing bright red. Starfire looked up at it with a sad smile.
"You did a good thing, Starfire," I told her, "Helping him." Red Star was no longer with us. He was now a part of the sky, being admired as a hero by the village that once scorned and banished him.
Starfire was visibly sad, but her face brightened a little as she looked back at me. "I believe that he will return our kindness…someday." Despite her encouraging words, however, the tears began to form, threatening to leak from her eyes.
"It'll be okay, Starfire," I said, trying my best to sound confident. "Red Star won't be gone for long." I walked over to her, placing a tender hand on her shoulder. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms tightly around me. I soon did the same, and we embraced silently for several peaceful seconds.
Throughout all this, Raven's eyes remained glued to the sky, gazing wistfully at the stars above.