When I got to the lot of parking, Robin was trading kicks with the woman in red. I hovered overhead, studying them and waiting for the opportunity to attack when I would not be the hindrance to Robin. He was magnificent when he fought. In all my years of training I have never come across a warrior who used his body to its full capabilities the way Robin does. Every part of his body became a weapon. His analytical mind kept him one step ahead of his opponents and gave his movements a sense of precision and control I envied. However, he and Harley had surprisingly similar fighting styles: flips, jumps, and kicks that required great flexibility and control, yet they flowed from one move to the next with ease. Because they were doing the dancing around, my starbolts were likely to do more harm than good. I might easily hit Robin by mistake. I could have flown down to aid him in close combat, but judging by how well she managed to deflect his strikes I suspected she was capable of using my strength and momentum against me. Robin was extremely adept at turning aside even my fully-powered punches and jabs during our sparring sessions, and I recognized that she employed similar techniques.
Flight is not as helpful as one would think against an opponent as versatile as Robin or Harley. They adapt too easily and as the Titans have a strict policy of not killing our enemies we are prevented from simply letting them fall. This means that in airborne combat I am forced to protect my opponent while I engage them. I must be sure to hold onto them, or to ensure they are not at risk of plummeting to their deaths, which is difficult to do when I am seeking a weakness that I can exploit to do the capturing of them. From what I could see, Harley did not appear to possess any superhuman abilities, and therefore Robin was better equipped to face her than I. But I stayed close nonetheless. My heart was still beating frantically from hearing his communicator cut out.
"Ooh, look at you gettin' all big and strong. Mista' J would be so proud if he was here to see you." Harley's voice had an unnatural nasal quality that was both irritating and disturbing. Robin somersaulted toward her, kicking her in the chest with both feet. Rather than hit the ground, she performed several springs of the hands, before wheeling the cart to a safer distance before attempting her next attack. All the while she smiled as if they were two children playing the innocent game of tag rather than two adults trying to serious harm each other.
"Hey! Is that any way to treat an old friend who just popped in to say hello?"
"Is that what this is?" Robin asked, flinging three birdarangs at her, "Because I thought you just poisoned a couple hundred people just to get my attention."
"You say poisoned, I say gave 'em a dose of the ole' medicine. Pa-tay-to, pa-tah-do... Didn't cha' see how happy they looked? If you ask me, it was a real gas!" She sprang for him, but Robin ducked, sweeping her legs out from underneath her. I dove, wrapping my arms around her ribcage and shooting her straight into the air. To my surprise, she giggled.
"Hi-yah toots! Been wondering when you'd tap in."
"Starfire! Let her go!"
I obeyed instantly, shocked by the command. Harley squealed with glee as she dropped through the air. Somehow she managed to catch a handful of my hair and used the momentum to swing herself up onto my shoulders, as if we played the game of poultry that Cyborg and Beast Boy played in the pool. Her legs tucked beneath my arms as she seated herself just behind my head, and I could not dislodge her.
A cable caught my foot and yanked me toward the ground. I nearly snapped it on instinct, but then a flash of red and green whirled past me, seizing Harley and dragging her off me.
"Raven, now!" he called.
She came in an explosion of black power. Her eyes glowed white and her signature raven climbed to the sky as she uttered her familiar incantation. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Smoky black bands bound Harley's wrists, knees and ankles. Robin dropped her unceremoniously on the ground. She rose up on her knees, smiling up at the three of us with a child-like smile of absolute innocence. It was greatly disturbing and I took a step toward Robin. Who was this deranged creature? He stepped away from me as if I wasn't even there, and went to lightly touch Raven's arm in appreciation. I blinked. Harley's eyes snapped to my face and her painted red lips turned down in a pout.
"Aw sweetums, don't go fallin' for the bird brat. He don't know a good thing when he's got it. A'course, now I see why little red's been all down in the dumps lately. Us regular girls don't stand a chance with you high-powered bimbos walking around." I did not know the word 'bimbo' but it was obviously a crude insult because out of the corner of my eye I saw Robin's fists clench and the muscle of his jaw flex. Raven's expression became one of forced patience that she normally reserved for Beast Boy when he tried extra hard to salvage a joke that had done the falling flat. She broke her mantra just long enough to mutter, "Like that's ever gonna happen," before she picked up the spell again.
"I do not understand what you are trying to insinuate. I have the power of flight. Falling is not something I do on purpose or otherwise." Perhaps I understood a little of what she said, but I could not let her know just how much it hurt that Robin had not acknowledged my assistance in detaining her.
"Get back Starfire. Let me handle this." Robin caught my elbow and pulled me away from the insane woman. His voice was so distant that I glanced at Raven wondering what I had done to earn his displeasure. Her face was difficult to read because her eyes were still white with power and she was still murmuring her chant beneath her breath. To my surprise, Robin did not put the handcuffs he carried in his utility belt on Harley. Did he not realize that Raven could only maintain her bonds by focusing on them? Such things would not hold the criminal forever.
"Don't let 'im boss ya around like that. Makes 'im feel all smug and important. Look at 'im, puffin' out his chest like the B-man himself. 'less a'course you got it bad for 'im like I do for Mista J. Dontcha know I'd do anything just to see him smile." Her eyes did the glazing over as she looked into the distance at nothing. I could not repress the shudder from passing over me, and I sensed Robin's discomfort as well, though he masked it behind his stern demeanor. It was more in the distance he kept. Deliberately, he began to circle around her.
"What are you doing here, Harley?" he asked, his voice deeper and more menacing than I was used to hearing. She blinked, coming back from whatever fantasy she had been indulging in, and smiled at him. I did not like her smile. I did not like the way her eyes traveled over his body with such familiarity.
"Ah, ah, ah Bird Boy. You don't wanna spoil the surprise now, do ya? Mista J's been working so hard getting everything all ready for ya."
"Getting what ready?" Robin's features grew sharp, and I realized that he was frightened. I had never seen real fear on his face before. There was the moments in combat when we worried for each other' safety, but this was different. This woman scared him. Or was it the other one she spoke of? The Mister J.
"Only the best for you. But your friends here aren't invited. Let 'er rip boys!" she called. Before we could turn, the crackle of gunfire rang out behind us. Raven let out a gasp of pain as a bullet pierced the left side of her chest. Her black energy exploded. Robin flung up his cloak to shield himself. I braced my hands in front of my face as the waves of power blasted me into the sky.
"Raven!" Harley laughed at Robin's cry. I looked down to see him gather Raven into his arms. His lips moved against her ear before they disappeared in a black portal. It closed immediately as more gunshots went off. He didn't even glance back to see that I was out of harm's way.
"See what I mean. Men are fickle, ain't they?" Harley called up to me. "But don't worry doll face. Me and the boy's ain't goin' nowhere."
There were more weapons trained on me than I anticipated. Seven men emerged from hiding places behind parked cars, each with a firearm pointed up at me where I made a very large target. They did the opening of fire upon me and I threw up a shield of green energy to protect myself. It was not fast enough because a bullet tore through my calf. The pain fed my anger, feeding the energy that formed my protective barrier. It was difficult to summon enough heat to burn the bullets before they could hit me, and it required much concentration to maintain my flight and fire with worry for Raven and confusion over Robin creeping into my thoughts.
"You might as well surrender. The boys and I got plenty of ammunition. We could be here all night."
My lip curled in a snarl as green power gathered behind my eyes.
"I surrender to no one."
The first starbolt struck the ground near Harley's feet, and she gave a satisfying squeak of fright. The men paused in their firing, giving me a clear view. A volley of starbolts flew from my hands. As angry as I was, I was careful not to use too much power. Even my low-energy beams can burn human flesh.
"Eight against one seemed like pretty uneven odds if you ask me. How 'bout we even the score a little bit?" Cyborg's voice was the most welcome sound I could imagine in that moment. A blue blast from his sonic cannon struck one of the cars they were hiding behind and the gunmen retreated. A green cheetah gave chase. Harley snatched the gun of machines from one of her companions and took aim at Beast Boy, who quickly morphed into something too small to be seen to avoid being hit. Harley scowled up at me as I melted the gun in her hands with a well-aimed starbolt.
"This ain't over yet, gorgeous. In fact, I promise you'll be seeing a lot of me real soon." She gave me a salute before jumping into the back of a nearby fan. I flew down to catch the bumper, thinking to keep it them from escaping, but a cloud of green gas erupted from the pipe that forms the vehicle's tail and my eyes and lungs were seared once more with the vicious poison. I screamed, covering my face with my hands as the van sped away. I could hear Harley's laughter disappearing into the night.