"He is not responding. We must return. What if he has been taken prisoner? What of he is hurt?" Memories from my previous life came back to me and the thought of Robin enduring such treatment was bringing me to the brink of hysteria. My friends did not seem to share my fears.
"It's Robin," said Beast Boy wearily. "He's gonna be fine. Besides, it's not like we're in shape to take her on right now anyway." Raven was sagging against him, permitting him to do the supporting of her. That alone was a sign of just how weary she was. Cyborg was still unresponsive, though Raven assured us that his human organs were still functioning, though if we did not find a way to recharge him soon even those processes would cease and his condition would become critical.
"I am not damaged. I can search for him," I suggested, looking frantically at the collapsed tunnel. What if he was trapped inside? What if he had not outrun the explosion?
"So you're just going to leave me here to carry both of them? Cy weighs a ton." Beast Boy pointed at our fallen comrade. I bit my lip and fidgeted. Surely he could transform into some animal capable of protecting the others until I returned. Surely it was more important that we locate our leader. But in the end I knew that it was unfair of me to leave Beast Boy alone. Robin had given us our orders and they must be carried out.
There are several of the houses of safety scattered around Jump City. Cyborg did the teasing of Robin when he first revealed them to us, calling him a 'paranoid, spikey-haired control freak', but none of us were laughing now as we typed in our individual passwords, endured the retinal scan, and stepped back as the brick wall exterior slid sideways to reveal a titanium door. The entrance for this particular hideout was concealed in a former restaurant with boarded up windows and a black and orange closed sign on the front. To help us remember their locations, Robin had hidden the entrance of each house in a location tailored to our distinct personalities. We chose to use Cyborg's, because his had more of his robotic equipment available for our use. Beast Boy's was on the outskirts of town in a cabin that had once belonged to a ranger of the forest. Raven's was a large, two-story house marked condemned. She cast a spell on the grounds that made people uneasy to keep the 'squatters' from taking refuge inside. I believe she enjoyed placing wards around the house to frighten unwanted visitors away. The location of my house of safety was strangely conspicuous. It was located on the top two floors of the Wayne Hotel. The glass dome on the top of the building concealed a greenhouse that doubled as a botanical garden. Robin informed me that it was built solely for the pleasure of the hotel's owner, who had designed the top two floors as a living space for himself before deciding to move elsewhere. Mr. Wayne had offered Robin full use of his penthouse as thanks for all he had done for the City of Gotham before he left. Strangely, the previous owner left all of his lavish furnishings, lending the space a royal air that was oddly perceptive of Robin to select for me, not that I cared about such things. I had chosen to hide that fact from my friends, yet occasionally I dreamed about the palaces of Tamaran where I grew up. For those few years it had been nice to be surrounded in luxury.
Robin's house of safety was surprising to us all. His was located in the fairgrounds inside the carousel. He never explained why he chose that for himself, and Beast Boy and Cyborg examined every inch of the structure for some clues. Perhaps they thought it would reveal his civilian identity. They never solved the mystery. We all kept secrets.
Once we entered the building, we proceeded to the back room where an elevator took us below ground to the true place of hiding. Raven immediately floated to the couch and closed her eyes. Beast Boy ran ahead of me to find a generator for Cyborg. I waited patiently while he searched, holding Cyborg out in front of me at arms' length. His bulky shape made it difficult to hold him against me.
"Is this it?" Beast Boy squeaked uncertainly, holding up a large, silver box. Not until I heard the catch in his voice did I realize that he was just as anxious as I was. With both Cyborg and Robin unavailable, that left him as the Titan with the most experience in the fighting of crime. While I have the most combat experience, my lack of understanding of human culture hinders me from being a reliable leader in these circumstances. Beast Boy does not enjoy the pressure of leadership. I suspect that he pretends to be more child-like than he naturally is to hide the burdens he carries from his past. As I said there are things each Titan hides from the others, and each of us hides them in our own way.
"Yes. That is the generator," I said quietly, smiling to reassure him. He relaxed visibly as we set to plugging Cyborg to the contraption. Almost at once the blue light of his systems came on, though it would be some time before he would be restored enough to speak.
"You should get some rest. I will take the first watch," I whispered as Beast Boy yawned. His ears drooped.
"Are you sure? I can stay up."
"Until Robin returns I will be unable to sleep. Besides, I have already conducted a healing cycle tonight. You have not." He seemed reluctant, but he agreed. Morphing into a green cat, he crossed to the couch and curled on the thick padding just behind Raven's head. Soon the gentle snores of the kitten could be heard. Only I remained awake, clutching my communicator in my hands and awaiting the beeping that indicated a message from our leader. How could the others remain so convinced that he was undamaged? He was the most vulnerable of all of us, even if he did not like to admit it. Guilt beat at me. I should not have left his side. I should have known he would do something reckless to protect us at the risk of himself. I knew Robin better than anyone...
Robin did not call.
Near dawn, the sirens started. Alert as I was, I picked up on the shrill noise before even Beast Boy's feline ears twitched. What more could Harley and her gang have done?
Our refuge was equipped with a television, radios, and a computer station similar to the one set up in our common room. I darted to turn on the television. I was unconcerned whether it woke the others or not. When I saw what was happening the remote fell from my hands.
Another cloud of the toxic green gas hung over the downtown area where black smoke billowed from one of the large scrapers of the sky. The minuscule people that had escaped the burning building writhed on the ground as the toxin took hold. The ribbon that ran at the bottom of the screen announced a shootout taking place on a different street corner and several more explosions happening on opposite ends of the city.
'Where are the Teen Titans?' The headline read.
"Oh it is awful," I murmured into my hand. Beast Boy lifted his head to see the screen and immediately reverted to his natural form.
"We must do something," I said.
"But Raven's still knocked out, and Cy..."
"If you cannot, then I will!" I could not bear it.
"Starfire, wait!" Beast Boy moved to block the door.
"What's going on?" mumbled Cyborg, sitting up. Beast Boy grinned with relief, but his expression turned grim once more.
"They're attacking the city. They've brought enough of that poison to knock out all of downtown. Raven's still healing, and Robin... Did you get any word from him?" His ears twitched hopefully. I shook my head, and he sighed. "Robin's MIA."
"Ugh, what'd that pipsqueak do to me?" Cyborg groaned, getting slowly to his feet.
"Fried your circuits, that's what. You've been nothing but dead weight for hours."
"When I get my hands on that little brat I'll-"
"Please," I interrupted, "the citizens need our assistance." They glanced at one another, but we already knew what must be done.
Even the news broadcast had not conveyed just how dire the situation was. In addition to the Venom, all of our city's criminals had joined forces with Harley's band. Cinderblock was on the east bridge smashing cars and hurling them at the water in a gruesome game of skipping stones. Mother Mae Eye and Mumbo Jumbo were afflicting the poor incapacitated people in the main square with their illusions and mind control. Even Killer Moth had joined ranks, leading another army of gigantic moths to attack anyone who fled into the streets.
We had no choice but to split up. Raven, weary though she was, bravely went to intercept Mumbo Jumbo and Mother Mae Eye. It was agreed under the circumstances that there would be no holding back. Beast Boy took on Killer Moth, Cyborg faced the gunmen, and I was free to unleash my full strength on Cinderblock.
As I flew toward him, he lifted a green automobile and hurled it toward me. I caught the car easily and sent it crashing back into him. He staggered and fell back with a roar of rage. I smiled. At last, an outlet to vent my frustration. He lumbered to his feet and glared at me. Green flames surrounded me as I shot high into the sky. When I unleashed the full force of my eye beams on his granite head, even I felt the heat of the blast. He stood no chance against me.
"Whoa, way to go Starfire!" Cyborg cheered over my communicator. "Now how about you help me teach these bozos a lesson on 23rd Street?"
"I must find Robin," I replied. It had been too long without word. With so much going on in the city he would never refrain from contacting us or fending off the attack unless he was seriously hurt or worse.
"Starfire, Robin can wait!" Cyborg shouted. I scowled.
"No he cannot. You must do the handling of it without me." Before he could reply, I flew back toward our island. Even from halfway across the harbor I could see that they had razed it to the ground. Smoke billowed from the remains of our once proud T. A haze of Joker Venom hung over the island.
"No," I moaned. Not a tree was left standing. When the tower fell it took everything down with it. If Robin had been there when it happened then he could not have survived. The pain of it was enough that I nearly plummeted to the water, losing control of my flight. Only by reminding myself that Harley had come to Jump City to bring Robin back to Gotham allowed me to regain my altitude. She would not come so far just to kill him. He might be captured, but somewhere he was still alive.
"Starfire, I'm being overrun. Get to 23rd Street now!"
The three remaining Titans were there by the time I arrived. Beast Boy charged at the gunmen as a rhinoceros, batting away the cars they were hiding behind so that Cyborg had a clear shot.
"HRRAGH!" I growled, firing starbolts at every enemy I saw. I gave it everything I had. How dare they take him from me. How dare they come to our city and destroy my home!
I was not yet fully healed from being shot earlier. Without fresh sunlight to replenish my stores of green energy I was weaker than I realized. Fatigued closed over me as I ceased firing. Cyborg whooped with victory as he gave chase to the fleeing criminals.
"We've got them in the run now!" Beast Boy ran after him but Raven hung back.
"Are you...?"
"I do not require assistance!" I did not mean to be short with her, but she understood. Silently she moved to follow the others as I fell back to sag against a brick wall. My head dropped forward so that my long red hair hung on either side of my face like the drapes. Against all my best efforts, the first sob shook my shoulders.
A hand grasped my wrist and I whirled on my attacker, starbolts raised. His mask was askew, and his uniform was badly torn so that I could see the fresh burn marks on his torso. He held a finger up to his lips to urge me to silence, but all I could do was wrap my arms around him and hold on as if my life depended on it.
"You are alive!" My voice shook with un she'd tears. He hissed with pain as my body came in contact with his fresh burns, but his arms came around me with equal force. I felt his hand against the back of my head, tangling in my hair.
"I didn't have a choice. They were in the Tower. If she found any of our secrets..."
"I do not care about the Tower. I thought you were dead!"
"I know, and I'm sorry. It was the only way. If Harley thinks I'm dead she'll stop looking for me. You see what she's capable of. I need to lead her back to Gotham."
"It is the okay. Now that you are back we will vanquish her as we have done the other criminals before." But he shook his head, brushing the hair back from my face as a gentle breeze blew.
"No Star. She doesn't want you, she wants me. She'll hurt the Titans to get to me. It's better if I just give her what she wants."
My eyes filled with horror.
"No, Robin, you cannot! Surrendering to a monster never brings peace! On the surface it seems a worthy sacrifice, but once you are broken and the people you fought to save have forgotten your sacrifice you realize that it was all for nothing. While you suffer they move on with their lives. Evil can never be anything other than what it is, and those who do evil willingly can never be reasoned with. Please, you must believe me!" He was frowning at me. Robin's mind is unlike any I have encountered on my travels through space. He can uncover even the most closely guarded secrets and see the truth from the most obscure clues. In his eyes I saw understanding now.
"Starfire...?" Pain softened his voice unbearably, and I shook my head violently against a swell of tears.
"You cannot surrender to her. I cannot stand by and watch you become a prisoner to someone like that."
"I'm not coming back with you," he whispered. "I just needed you to know that I'm all right. Don't worry about me." His hands slid away from me and he took a step back. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I silently begged him not to go. "I'll be in touch." He swallowed with apparent difficulty and I knew that he felt the pain of this parting as much as I did. That he had granted even a small concession to keep me informed of his safety spoke volumes. Once, he would have gone off alone and left the team and I to wonder. But he had grown as a teammate and leader and if I wished him to continue to trust us then I had to reward his trust with faith.
"Be safe, Robin," I whispered.
"You too, Star." Suddenly he reached out to grab my wrist again, pulled me close, and pressed his lips to my cheek in a feather-light touch. It startled me, but by the time I recovered, he had fired his grappling gun and was already up and over the nearest rooftop. I did not follow.
A/N: I apologize for the various typos. I'm writing on my iPad and it doesn't always keep up with my fingers when I'm typing.