Cyanocitta

A/N: Shout out to everyone who favorite'd and followed this story already. You guys are awesome, thank you so much! Especially my reviewers, thank you!

disclaimer: oops, I forgot to put this in the first chapter! I don't own anything. )=

ii. self-fulfilled prophecy

Her whole body ached and burned, especially her head. Had someone hit her with a hammer? No...that wasn't it. She struggled to remember what happened as she slowly sat up. Blackfire had slapped a shock collar on her and then ... something ... she couldn't remember past that. Ugh, what a day. It had been so happy, she and Robin were out on a date and he wasn't obsessing over justice for once, and then everything had gone so wrong.

"So you're awake, Sleeping Beauty."

She gasped, jerking to where the voice came from. The sudden movement made her head spike with pain. Groaning, she held her head. Ugh, it smelled so awful in here. The place was congested with smoke, and that didn't make her headache feel much better.

"Having some family troubles, huh?" He asked, appearing at the end of the sofa she was laying on. He was sitting down at the end, and if she could see him without the mask, she could only imagine the smirk on his face. "I know how you feel."

"No, you do not!" She growled, balling her fists up to form starbolts. "...Huh?" Her power wasn't reacting to her emotions. Starbolts would not form, no matter how much she tried to feel righteous fury. Her eyes would not glow to connect with her powers either.

"What have you done with my powers?" She asked, lunging towards him.

"Easy there, doll," He grabbed her fists and easily twisted them, making her gasp once more as she pulled back. She had no super strength either? She stood and jumped into the air, thinking about the time she and Robin danced at the prom. That surely would get her into the air...but it did not. She could not fly. She sat down dejectedly.

"It's a power inhibitor collar," He said, "But it's powered by something alien. At least, I think so. Without electricity, it's hard to research anything. Not that I'm the type to lock myself up like Chuckles. I tried to pry it off of you, but that wouldn't work, either."

She glared at him, her fingers curling into her palms. He had touched her? "I shall have you know that -"

He sighed, cutting her off with a wave of his hand. "You had mild electrical burns over your body. I wasn't going to let them get worse," He glanced at her, watching her now notice that she had bandages wrapped around her arms and especially what he could get around her neck. "Sorry if that disturbs you, but couldn't let a cutie like you get hurt too bad."

'The Red X is right, perhaps I would be in a worse state if it were not for him,' She thought, glad that the aching was only a dull throb among the pile of her jumbled emotions. When she stood up again, she took a step back as she felt herself grow dizzy. She felt a hand on her forearm to help her balance. Starfire glared at the man and pulled her arm away, going over to one of the windows that overlooked the city. Well, the ghetto. It was obvious they were in his apartment. His tiny, dark (though that was probably because of the blackout) and overall very unpleasant apartment. Had he ever heard of the cleaning vacuums?

Starfire only surmised that he must have saved her and taken her here. So, he must not have been allied with her sister or the people of Drenthax Four. Her head began to ache as she thought about the situation, so instead she looked at the city skyline. Or - what she could see of the black shapes against an already dark sky.

Jump City did not look so lively, even from what she could see beyond the slums. The night had never been so dark. There were no lights anywhere, but she could see candles lit in a windows. She tried to get a good look at the Tower, but only saw a faint glow of light that must have been emanating from it.

"Why is there no electricity?" She asked quietly, mistaking lights on spaceships for stars. The spaceships were clogging the sky - how many fleets had her sister brought? "Why is my sister here, why are the people of Drenthax Four helping her, why did you save me, and where are my friends?!"

She could hear him sigh. "One at a time, sweetheart. First," He held up a finger, "They fired an advanced EMP that shut down the electrical grid for the city. Not even generators will work, but I hear people are trying. Second and third, I believe it's because they want to take over the city. Maybe the whole Earth? Who knows, but I don't think they'll get that far. Finally, your friends are being held in the Tower. Obvious by how that's the only place here that has electricity."

"We must go save them!"

"No. Not now. You don't have your powers, and the city is in anarchy. Your sister and her endearing blob friends are looking everywhere for you," He replied. He was right, of course. If she just marched out there without powers, she would be captured and maybe even killed. Especially now that her sister had another jewel that amplified her powers. Was her life all that Blackfire was after?

"Then what shall we do? I will not abandon my friends!" She balled her fists, turning around to him. "I cannot trust you."

"I think a date could fix that, cutie," He said, which made her huff. "Look, the prisons all lost electricity and most of the criminals have gotten out of jail. Without the Titans, Jump is in chaos. Your only friend right now, is me."

"You have stolen from Robin. You are no friend of mine!" She shouted, and then sat back on the couch in anger.

"Ouch," He feigned injury.

She did not care. She wanted her powers and her friends back. She looked at her hands and sighed. The collar reminded her of being imprisoned by the Gordanians. At least she had powers then, and could escape her predicament. Starfire felt like a prisoner. "There is nothing I can do."

"Because you don't have powers?" He asked, and she nodded. He scoffed, "I don't have powers and I can still fight."

"You rely on your technology -" She paused, and then corrected herself, "Robin's technology."

"I don't need any of the Boy Wonder's help to be a good fighter, it's just convenient," He replied, taking off his utility belt and putting it to the side. Starfire narrowed her eyes. Was he doing this as a gesture of trust, or was he trying to prove something? "Come on, cutie, let me teach you some kung fu."

"I am not interested."

"You're just going to mope in here then, huh? I'm sure your friends would be very proud of you, kid."

That hit a nerve. Robin had taught her some things about martial arts, and it wasn't like she didn't spend enough time with him to mimic what he knew how to do. Tamaraneans were good fighters, after all. She would not sit here, feeling useless already, and have a criminal mock her.

"Very well," She took a deep breath to clear her head. It still felt a little heavy - and the thick smell of smoke did nothing to alleviate the heaviness - but she was no longer dizzy. She stood, facing him.

"Let's bet on it, cutie," He also stood, removing his gloves and tossing them on the couch. "If you win, you can decide where to go for our date. If I win, I decide. Deal?"

"We shall not be enjoying recreational activities together!" She responded with a shout.

He wasn't fazed by her sudden burst of anger. Without her powers, he didn't consider Starfire too intimidating. He merely responded with, "I'll think of something else."

Red X launched towards her, throwing a punch her way. She dodged, seeing his leg come up in a kick. She crossed her arms to block it, but as she did so, he jumped up and spun around, kicking her lightly in the stomach and gracefully flipping back as she landed on the floor. Her head felt like it was glued to the floor it was so heavy, but she would not back down so easily.

She sat up, seeing Red X's hand outstretched towards her. "Come on cutie, are you ready for round two?"

She stood up on her own, refusing his help. Knocking his hand away, she aimed a kick at his stomach. He dodged it, however, grabbing her leg and easily flipping her onto her back. She felt ringing echoing throughout her head, causing her to groan. Starfire was disappointed that she lost so easily. If she was feeling better, she was sure she would have won.

"Looks like I win, sweetheart," He pulled up his mask just above his nose, showcasing just a touch of a smirk. He crouched over her, placing his knees on her elbows as he leaned towards her, his hands on either side of her head. Her face burned as she felt his lips next to ear. "How about a kiss?"

With what strength she could muster, she threw her head forward to hit him in the nose in a proper headbutt. She'd done plenty of those to know how to not hurt herself, but despite that, she felt her vision grow fuzzy. It got Red X off of her, and quickly she scrambled away from him.

"I do not wish for our mouths to touch," She mumbled, rubbing her head and turning away from him. It took a moment for the heat on her cheeks to die down.

"Hm," He was staring at her, his mask pulled back down to cover his whole face, "You don't look so good, kid. Maybe you irritated your burns."

She rested her head against the wall, deciding to be honest. "My head does not feel so good." She closed her eyes, trying to block out the awful smell of the place or the situation. He was crouching right next to her, however, which was evident when she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Please, I ask that you leave me alone," Her eyes flicked up towards him, and he lifted his hand off of her. He nodded, and then she closed her eyes once more. Hopefully he would keep his word. Starfire wasn't too sure how relaxed she would allow herself to be in his presence.

Though she was not in meditating position, Raven's meditating mantra looped through her head. Perhaps if she could concentrate on peace, quiet, and tranquility, then maybe she could shut out all of the aching she felt, both emotionally and physically. She wasn't aware how much time has passed she was so absorbent on recollecting her thoughts. Her concentration, however, was broken when she heard Red X's voice, whispering.

"Kid, you awake?" Did she pretend to be asleep or answer him? Answering him could possibly infuriate her more, and her headache could grow worse. She elected to pretend to be asleep. She heard him sigh, and then she felt his finger brush her cheek as a piece of her hair was tucked behind her ear. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself as still as possible, though part of her wanted to clench her fist and clock the guy in the jaw. He did nothing else, however, so the girl let it slide.

"Sweet dreams, Princess."