Author's Note: Enjoy and leave a comment if there is anything I can improve on! Thank you! Welcome to the 12th chapter!
"I dunno about this! Maybe we should continue on the path Starfire took?"
"Wherever the UFE is heading, the war will follow. I want to find her, but…" He took a needed breath. "but, I think we need to stay of the UFE's trail, Cyborg."
With each passing moment marked by the slow breaths the boy took, the more and more he felt his assumption of her well-being shatter. He took his eyes from the stern of the ship, feeling his stomach bunch in knots, his heart clench, and his mind burn—Raven picked up the aura he tried so hard to cast off. He bit his tongue from riddling loose. The thought of her pulsed once more—her in despair. The image hit the boy, him releasing grip upon his tongue.
"Raven? Have you been able to pick up on Starfire's mind?"
"I've been on it for hours. She's too good at sealing thoughts…ironically."
Robin stooped in his seat, pressing his lips together. "I just hope she's alright."
"Robin?" Raven hesitated, the images from Robin's vision running through her thoughts. "It's Starfire. There…there's something I think you should know,"
"What is it-?"
*BOOM!*
A scream pierced space!
The ship collided with such a force, blasted back on impact, tumbled violently through space, struggling to recover! The force launched the team from their seats and to the opposite wall! Pinned there by an enforcing fist of motion, the team cried out, their screaming hurting their leader who immediately shot back into action! Robin bulked a breath and exerted of an insane amount of energy! Grip by grip, he fastened himself back into his chair, his view of the galaxy spiraling with the ship. His hands broke to his headset!
"TITANS! COME IN!"
Upon call, the ship blasted itself back under control, her red lights flashing violently! Her alarms shrieking furiously!
"Dudes! What was that!?"
A fist to a lever and a hologram spurted to Cyborg's command. "Oh God…" A broken wing! A broken wing, projected by the hologram! It flashed violently! He dove for his headset, shouting, "ROBIN! WING DOWN! WING DOWN! I'M NOT SURE IF WE CAN KEEP UP THE CLOAK-"
A collision of light! An engine's scream! Suddenly, the ship flashed into eye sight. Their eyes gawked at the wing: completely missing, its limb black and scarring and…
A groan of the mother ship roared!
They all jolted forward to find themselves walking the cliff of death! Mother Ship's stern opened, positioning thousands of guns to plunge their direction.
Beast Boy gawked, his eyes wide, his breath halted. "Oh boy…"
Cyborg pressed his headset furiously, "Robin! Command?!"
"…I'm sorry…"
"What?" Beast Boy gasped.
Robin's voice broke, solemn…brave, "w-we can't fire…"
Robin dove for the lever to separate the team so they could escape! Too late! With a resounding battle cry, a rain of blistering white daggers unleashed! The wave of light descended in a collection of heartbeats, impaling the inky blackness of space that screamed between the ships.
Time slowed down to seconds… milliseconds even… The four relied on their heartbeats to count the time, took their deep breaths, looked to each other, clenched their emotions from breaking, gasped to another in reverence for a goodbye. First heartbeat, Raven ripped off her headset. Second heartbeat, she drew up her stance. Third heartbeat, the empath expelled fear from the walls of her mind, breathed, and forced herself into concentration. She finally cried out unleashing her grip intensified by focus.
"STARFIRE! STARFIRE, CAN YOU HEAR ME!"
Starfire shot awake with a scream, clutching her head, whirling from the floor "RAVEN! BEAST BOY! CYBORG! ROBIN!"
"Starfire!" Wonder Woman called out! "Starfire! Please, you need to calm down!"
"What's happening?!" Batman swerved to the side of the woman who slammed and slammed her fists upon the bars that prevented her from helping!
She wept furiously and folded herself to find relief… any relief! She gnawed at the air, the collision of emotions stirring inside: her heart shattering, her stomach twisting, her head searing with pain not of her own. "THE TITANS! THE TITANS!"
She clasped her eyes shut to clench the tears, transporting herself back into the clutch of the cataclysm.
A blast of a great ship. The cry of her friends. The title wave of lights stepped down into darkness. The wave encircled the T-Ship and swallowed it whole. BOOM! The light evaporated into the distance, the sparks fleeing to reveal the ruin of a Titan-spangled ship, her orange scarred into black wounds… her form shriveled… her passengers… traceless.
Her tear seeped down her cheek and touched against the chrome… and nothing… nothing… just silence... the eerie reign of silence.
"Starfire" Batman pounded his fists against the bars in between, "Starfire! What's happening!"
…No response…
Her eyes wide and glossed, her lips unhinged to breathe the air that seemed gone, she unfolded to heavens who mourned with the wispy tears of the single-slivered moonlight—the four other phases missing… gone… Her eyes blanked upon the light that shimmered upon the glossiness of her irises.
"Starfire! Please…"
Her eyes went blank, her contact lost in the abundance of space. "Raven, Cyborg, Beast Boy… Robin." The air began to weigh… Her limbs to shake… Her energy to be taken away—the gas slipping behind the cuff, teasing up into her nose.
Raven…zzz…B-Beast Boy…zzz…C-Cyborg… ROBIN!"
"RAH!" She furrowed, snarled, shoved the gravity below her, expelled the weariness the gas used for harm, broke to her feet, and screamed, her fists rampaging upon the chrome.
*SLAM!* The wall dented!
"Starfire! Stop! You're going to hurt yourself!"
*SLAM!* A bond broke, falling pathetically to her feet!
"Starfire! No! The bonds! They'll electrify-!"
*SLAM!* The other followed!
Her fists released! Sparks exploded the presence, dancing around her visage that beat hard with a defiant heart: her footsteps to burn and to scar the chrome floor! Whimpering, she whipped around her stance, thrusting her fist to the barred heavens!
"RAH!"
Boom! A light broke the darkness and shot a spotlight of oh such brilliance into the arms of the night! She shot another and another, flashing the sky with lightning! Another shot and another and…
*CRACK!*
A shock! An electrifying shock stung the alien, slamming her down to her knees! She cringed to the dancing static electrifying her body.
*CRACK!* Another!
She fell to the floor, pushing herself through its burning. The world began to slip from her fingertips once more. Her eyes fell upon the four, her emotion scarred, eyes wide and glossed, lips trembling…heart broken.
"Star?" The Lantern choked, the Flash mourning at his side.
Wonder Woman fastened upon the bars, her eyes wide—scared. Batman was of enough courage to speak, "Starfire."
A tear seeped and steamed to the floor once again as she addressed the heavens. "Friends…I-I know… what I… must do…" Tears fell from the Justice League, hunched in silence, hands locked around their lips, their eyes locked upon the girl. "This… this will not happen… to… anyone… else… I will not… let it." Another tear seeped. "Friends… I-I will… stop… t-this…this… war…" All went black. "…somehow…"
"Robin?"
"Starfire! Are you there? Where is there? Where am I?"
"It looks like a dream, does it not? Why do you hold such a solemn expression, friend? Will you tell me?"
"It's just… I think about you all the time—maybe finding... finding you... will be a little further down this path… if I still have one."
"Why would you not? For this a dream, correct?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Like light, maybe a dream has a deeper purpose as well. You are well enough to dream and only the living can dream, yes?"
"Oh Starfire, I... How do I go back?"
"You have to choose to hear a friend who is calling for you now. It will be painful though."
"Starfire—I. We made a promise…right?
"Titans!" A voice called, echoing off the chatter of walls. Robins stirred upon the searing pain, pinning him on a cold floor—his friends to lying against him, beaten, wounded, and scaling the edge of a grave. Oh voice was much like hers, but beaten… worn… hoarse…broken.
"TITANS! GET UP! We… we're not finished yet! Please! You just have to breathe!" …No response…
"Rah!" The voice hinged to hysteria and a powerful fist slammed upon the floor, rocking the team from the strong grip of a slumber. "TITANS! PLEASE!" The voice shot the Boy Wonder! "ROBIN! STARFIRE NEEDS YOU! SHE NEEDS ALL OF YOU!"
At the sound of her name, the bodies drew themselves and peaked from her slumber. With the flutter of expressions, reality welcomed the Titans back into her arms.
"YOU HAVE TO GET UP! NOW!"
The masked eyes of a boy wonder weakly cringed to an open, wincing at the blistering intensity of the lights to suddenly see a silhouette of a girl, furiously wailing upon her knees: her hair long, her body small, but strong, her garments foreign.
A Beast Boy prompted up with pain, weakly choking, the eyes of Raven and Cyborg to flash open. "S-Starfire?"
"No…" Robin croaked, pulsing life into his limbs… "Blackfire…"