The direct contact of the toxin on my skin was beyond painful. I writhed and screamed, clawing at my face. I half-expected to feel my skin peeling from my bones that is how much it hurt. Beast Boy and Cyborg tried to sooth me. I needed water. I wanted to fly back to the harbor again, but I could not summon my flight while I was in so much agony.
"Starfire!" His voice sliced through the torment enough that I lifted my head, but I could not open my eyes. A stream of frigid water jetted into my face. Not expecting such a thing, I did the spluttering and flailing. Water ran up my nose, the runoff burned fiery paths down my cheeks, and the water sprayed continuously into my eyes.
"Enough!" I cried, batting at the water when at last the flames receded to a tolerable level. When at last I could see I found Robin kneeling beside me. His face was the color of the cheese of cottages. I wished to hug him in thanks for returning, but his expression was closed off and I held back.
"How did you return so quickly?" I asked. His eyes dropped momentarily to the spray bottle in his hand before jumping back to meet mine as if he was angry for betraying even that slight hesitation.
"Raven sent me back." The words were short, another sign that he was angry with himself. His behavior confused me. This was different than the single-minded ness he displayed with Slade. Tonight he seemed guilty and abnormally distracted considering we still had people to rescue. While Harley and her men had dispersed, nearly the entire grounds that are fair were afflicted with her Joker Venom. From what I had observed, on humans the effects led to a state of hysteria in addiction to the pain. Now that the battle had ended I could hear the distant screams that wavered between horror and hilarity. I shivered. Who would design such a thing? Robin looked over his shoulder at the entrance to the fair where a faint green haze still hung overhead.
"Cyborg, I've brought a sample of the antitoxin. I need you to take the T-car and distribute it to all of the hospitals. Beast Boy, you-"
"What happened to Raven?" Beast Boy interrupted. Robin's mouth closed so quickly I heard his teeth click together.
"Get back to the tower. Raven's been shot. She says she can heal herself, but she was in pretty bad shape."
"You mean you just left her there?" Beast Boy shouted. Robin hunched his shoulders and turned slight away from him.
"She didn't exactly give me much choice. Anyway, she's stabilized, but I want you there as fast as you can. I'll be back as soon as I can. Starfire, can you fly?" His hand shifted, as if he was about to touch my arm, but he thought better of it and rested a closed fist on his thigh instead. I shook my head. My body was channeling my green energy for regeneration. Already my limbs felt heavier as they prepared for a healing cycle once I allowed myself to rest. Robin winced.
"You'll ride back with me then." He did not sound pleased.
Doing my best to hide the hurt I felt over his behavior, I tried to stand and fell back with a cry. The bullet must have still been imbedded in my calf because the muscle had not healed enough to bear my weight, though sufficient time had passed to do so.
"Dude, she's been shot!"
"I can see that Beast Boy," said Robin through gritted teeth. His face was grim but his hands were gentle as he unzipped my purple boot enough to see the damage. Blood spilled over the bright leather as the wound was revealed, and I dug my fingers into the soil to keep from crying out.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Robin asked softly.
"I will be the okay once I have the chance to rest," I said with a confidence I did not feel. He did not believe me. With a glance at the other two he sent them off to complete their assigned tasks. Beast Boy glanced over his shoulder at me before transforming into a Peregrine falcon and soaring into the sky.
"You sure you're okay?" Cyborg asked as he tapped a sequence into the console on his arm.
"I'll take care of her," said Robin in that same strained voice. Cyborg did not get the chance to reply, for the T-car rolled up at that moment. He lifted me to a standing position so that Robin could slip beneath my arm before he climbed into his 'baby' and sped away.
"Why didn't you get out of there?" Robin asked, surprisingly.
"You wished for me to let them escape to do more harm?" That baffled me. I was a capable fighter and it was not in me to flee when I was able to stand and fight.
"You could have been killed. Obviously you're not bulletproof. What if Cyborg and Beast Boy hadn't come? What if they'd had more guns? You should have at least gotten out of range." His fingertips dug into the bare skin of my side as he supported me.
"If I was in mortal peril I would have extricated myself from the situation. As I said, it seemed preferable that they target me than be let loose on the public. I am not bulletproof but I am not defenseless." We had arrived at the R-cycle by now. Robin made to assist me, but I pulled away.
"Did I do something to upset you, Robin? You are behaving most strangely." He grimaced and glanced around quickly.
"I'll explain once we're back at the tower. Just get on Star, please?" I obeyed. What else could I do? My hands clutched at his chest as he took off with a roar. I could feel his heart slamming against his ribcage at a frantic pace. How had she done this to him? Why did he fear her?
I was dizzy with loss of blood by the time we pulled into the Tower's garage. My cheek rested against Robin's shoulder and my grip on his torso had grown dangerously slack. Even one more bump of speed would have dislodged me. Robin remained seated for a long moment. I felt his chest expand beneath my fingertips on a deep inhalation of breath. Then he moved quickly, swinging his leg off the bike and turning to pull me against him in a tight embrace. Weakly, I smiled. He smelled of sweat and hair gel.
"I'm sorry, Starfire."
"It is the okay, Robin. Injuries happen." My voice sounded far away even to my ears. I felt him pull me from the bike and cradle me against his chest. I am taller than Robin, and it is a little awkward when he does this. I did my best to curl my legs in so we could pass through the door and I pillowed my head against the muscles of his shoulder. His strength and scent surrounded me and I felt safe. I resisted the urge to giggle. Strange that he was the one to make feel that way when I am vastly more powerful. I must have made some noise because he looked down at me.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes Robin. We are safe and you are here. Everything is fine." A ripple of shock went through him. Though I made no secret of my feelings for him, I was normally not so bold in expressing them. I smiled apologetically. "Forgive me. I am feeling 'out of it,' yes?" I was rewarded with a chuckle. It is so difficult to make him laugh!
"Don't apologize. You are safe. I've got you. Go to sleep, Star."
I was on the verge of giving myself over to my healing cycle, when Beast Boy's cry of alarm jolted me awake.
"What took you so long? It's Raven! I don't know what's happening." Beast Boy met us in the common roof as we stepped off the elevator. His hair was standing straight up as if he'd been tugging on it in panic.
Robin's strength continuously impresses me. He ran with me all the way to the hospital bay. Not only am I taller than he is, but Tamaraneans are much heavier than humans. Our bodies are adapted to the harshest environments of space, and our bones are denser than the hollow bones humans possess. Our bodies can therefore withstand greater forces, but it also makes us dead weight. Robin bore me as if I weighed no more than a child.
When we got to the hospital room, Raven was levitating over her bed with long black tendrils of magic flailing in the air like the legs of a giant spider embedded in her chest. Four red eyes glowed on her forehead while her usually violet eyes blazed white with power.
"Dude, I don't think that's normal. Is that normal? It definitely doesn't look normal."
"Raven?" Robin called hesitantly from the doorway. His hands tightened around me, and I knew he was prepared to duck out of the way if one of those black tendrils hurled a projectile at us. Raven's powers were unpredictable when she was not in complete control. I admired the restraint she employed to control them. While at the same time I pitied her for never being able to truly express her feelings.
She lifted her head and looked at us for a long moment. It was terribly frightening and I knew she could sense our panic. She blinked and the red eyes disappeared.
"Removing the bullet is difficult enough without your fear distracting me." The red eyes returned, but I was able to breathe easier knowing that she was in control. Robin sighed in relief and glanced wryly at Beast Boy.
"You get first watch. I'd stand out in the hallway if I were you."
"Don't laugh, that's something straight out of Wicked Scary 3! I thought she was possessed!"
"Beast Boy!" Raven shouted. "If you don't want to star in your own personal installment of Wicked Scary you'll keep quiet."
"You've got this Beast Boy," Robin chuckled. "Raven, try not to kill him."
"I am not responsible for what my powers do while I am under duress," she said in a low, even voice. I giggled.
Robin took me to my room. We both decided the medical bay was too dangerous right now. There were first aid supplies in each of our rooms, and once the bullet was removed I would heal quickly. We went into the bathroom where he could lay me in the bathtub and rest my injured leg on the rim of the tub. Blood had crusted over my boot by now and it looked ghastly. The humor faded from his face, and he looked at mine. I smiled.
"Do not apologize again, Robin. It is nothing."
"You call this nothing?" His voice rose amusingly with disbelief. I smiled and leaned my head back against the edge of the tub behind me.
"When I was four I was speared by the tusk of a glorganofk. It is similar to your earthen boar. It nearly did the dismembering of me. By comparison, this is nothing." I closed my eyes, trusting him to do what was needed. His hands carefully unzipped my boot all the way down and slid it off my foot. I grunted at the discomfort, but sleep was coming for me again.
"There's something I need to explain...about earlier." Why must he choose now when I can barely keep my eyes open? Robin is not one to express his feelings freely, and one must take the opportunity to listen when it arises or it may not come again. With great effort I focused on his voice.
"Yes?"
"I know I seemed a little short with you earlier, but it was necessary."
"I was unaware that you are capable of controlling your height. You have always been short compared to me." I cracked open an eye, teasing him. He was not amused.
"Harley is dangerous. If she found out about you and me, that you're...that we're...best friends, she'll do everything she can to try and hurt you." He grimaced as if he wanted to say more but thought better of it. I do not know why the idea of our friendship pained him so. For me it was a treasure of incomparable worth, yet any time he mentioned our relationship it seemed to stick in his throat. He did not shy away from treating me as a friend. In truth he sought me out often to teach me various things about Earth's cultures, to recommend magazines and books that would increase my knowledge, or simply go flying with me or riding in the R-cycle. Such activities he reserved for me alone. Raven had no interest in riding the R-cycle, and although he played the games of videos with Beast Boy and Cyborg, he did not seek their company as he did mine. perhaps he viewed his preference for me as dependency, one that Harley might exploit. She would not, I vowed.
"She can't hurt me, Robin. She is only human."
"You're hurt right now," he pointed out grimly.
"You are more concerned than I am."
"I just thought you should be aware. Until she's behind bars I may act a little strangely around you, but it's to protect you and the team. I'm the one she came for. I'm not going to let her use you against me."
"Thank you for telling me," I said softly. "But do not let the criminals determine who you are and how you will behave. do not give them that much power over you..." I managed those last words before I fell into oblivion.