Two pounding knocks and the chrome door screeched to an open, the hallway light powered by dazzling blue luminesce orbs pouring into the cell. An arm, layered in sharp metallic armor, descended to the floor where she lay upon her stomach.
"G'luc mon Pri'sera (Come on princess)."
Awakening, her eyes, swollen and red from the electrifying and tears, flickered to an open, fixing themselves upon the metal boots that stood before her. Slowly, her aimless gaze rattled to find the arm of a tamaranean, outstretched to her. Next she found a face of the messenger her father would send to and fro. His usual grin, engraved in her memory of him, was overturned into a sullen frown. His eyes trembled to keep up a disguise. Oh, it not strong enough to keep Starfire from knowing the regret, gnawing at a breaking heart.
Stiffly, she heaved the heaviness of her wrists a few inches above her eyes and dropped them into his hand, he to take out a key and unfasten the locks upon her cuffs. A chain still fastened around her feet, bonding her to the floor.
He hesitated for a moment, flicking two heavy eyes to the red hair that hid her face. She hunched upon her knees, her gaze falling upon the floor. Steady breaths rocked her shoulder. He shook his head to rid himself of pity when a small, oh so weak, voice peeped from under the girl's locks of red hair.
"You… hesitate...to… cuff… me…"
He knew her English she had chosen to speak, took her words, and shook them off him furiously. With a sudden clank, he clamped on another pair of shackles and bonded them tight—the others, she had broken through when she sent spotlights to the air. He stopped. he paused, causing the girl to raise her head in question. For the first time, eye contact was made, his beating against hers. He swallowed his bottom lip and looked to the cuffs once more. His hands began fidget a bit, he to secretly remove a screw.
To the sound, the other superheroes in the neighboring cell had awoken to see the messenger go to unlock the shackles strapped around her torn ankle boots. He bottled back up the emotion.
Batman scampered to his knees, "what's going on?"
"Bathroom break," he repeated a rehearsed his line. His eyes did not rise to meet the others.
Feeling the clenching release around her ankles and another set upon her arm, she was lifted to her feet forcefully and pushed out the door. She lunged her neck before the shut of the door to assure her friends, "I… will… b-be back… soon."
The hallway was illuminated with the faintest of glow. Weakly, she lifted her head to observe the miniscule lights that brushed across the darkened ceiling. They shinned in resemblance to Earth's stars, the ones she longed to dance under since… since all of this. With a gentle push of the messenger, she found herself once again in another dark room, the faint light from behind that casted her shadow clasped to a close, following the motion of the door. In the darkness, she held herself tenderly and shivered, feeling 'the cold' for the first time in her life. In a moment or two, the star-like lights lit up what Earth would guess to be a bathroom. She took note: in the deepest of darkness, a light shines brightest.
Before her in a mirror, a reflection of a girl materialized to the brightening of the room. She was dangerously thin, wobbled to find a stance, and leaned against the wall for support. Her red hair ravaged down her shoulders and to her waist, her skin dimmed in color. However, a light still vibrated in the green of her eyes. They were wide—still the eyes of a child.
"Friends…" She wobbled, "…this is what I am without you…" Her hands slid from the wall and retook her stance, rising her head to the ceiling that pushed the heavens from meeting her. It sang her name oh so blissfully. To her? They held her dear friends. To her knees, she dropped and rose a glare to the oh so weak reflection before her. With a gasp-like grunt, she launched her bonded fists to the air, swung, and slammed them upon the reflection, its shards to spring out and shatter upon the floor with a clashing sound.
Suddenly, the resounding noise echoed to a silence to reveal a chattering beyond the walls. Wide-eyed, Starfire pushed an ear to the cold chrome. The muffling vibrated into strong voices.
(Translated to English for reader's benefit)
"My General!" The messenger darted into the situation room, his panting huffing heavy and his shoulders rolling and rising to each breath. He gasped another, "They are tearingTamaranean soil! They are burning fuel into the air! They are consuming our resources! Our very own prison cells upon the northern face have been claimed! Upon the moon's fourth phase of this season, the humans have landed upon Tamaran!"
Starfire slid and sank to her knees, pulling a palm to clasp her mouth.
A general spun from the hologram, his body perched upon a striped port'kin-skinned chain, "Calm, my friend. You need not to worry. What is our evidence?"
"From spies in the open field, sir!" He launched a finger to the behind, whirling as he did so. His voice was loud enough to penetrate the walls. "What are you to advise the Grand Ruler?"
"Perhaps to leave the UFE be for the moment."
"S-Sir?"
"Other plans, we must push forward. Tell me of the 'Ulciscere.' What is the progress?"
"Reports say that it is to absorb precisely eighty-two percent of the sun's energy… and to release it upon the Humans… my General."
The girl violently recoiled back, her fists shaking tremendously upon the wall. Bulking passion transfused into strength! She rose from her knees in which she had fallen to, letting the sensation push her to her feet.
"And its accuracy?"
"I can assure that this is the most complex creation upon Tamaran. Most complex, powerful, reliable, and accurate. For, it shall not fail us."
"I see… Now let me ask another question. What about its price?"
"T-wo hundred… Just two hundred Tamaraneans."
A scream! A thrust! An explosion of metal and stone! BOOM and two men are slammed into shock and recoil back! Shrouds of dust drowned the room, then to dissolve away! Fists, bonded fists, they saw first, swinging back and forth to the impact of heavy panting. Before a massive hole in the wall, a girl quaked, heaving in massive breaths of strength not of her own. Eyes glowing, brows pushed downwards, mouth unhinged, chin buckled, fists threatening, she snarled, penetrating the stare of the general.
"STARFIRE! I WISH YOU NOT TO HEAR TH-"
She slammed fists to the wall to silence him. "IS REVENGE NOT ENOUGH? YOU DRIVE IT TO KILL YOUR FAMILY?"
He snarled! He yelled, pushing his massive metal-covered hands to threaten! He launched her way, whipped around her punch, snaked his violent grasp around the back rim of her arms, and swung her to the wall. She, pushed up against the wall's cold gnawing, struggled furiously, shoving her shoulders back and forth. That strength she found dwindling, her limbs to go weak again! Her voice remained and she refused to bite back a tongue.
"PLEASE! WILL YOU NOT ANSWER ME?"
Swung by his forceful shoving hands, she hit the arms of the hallway. Kro'ka's clutch choked her blood flow while she fought to regain her freedom! Red and anger seethed from his face and suddenly she hit the door to her cell, it to break open and her to fall inside. Racing the gas, she shot back to her feet and whipped around to be knocked pinned back down to the floor. The messenger towered above her. That messenger wept, locking her feet back in its chain. He hurriedly exited before a word could be said.
Taken by the moment, she gasped violently. Three… Two… One…she launched herself at the door, only to be yanked back by the chains. At Kro'ka's anger. The door slammed to a shut.
"YOU!" A slam to the wall! "CANNOT!" Slam to the floor! "DO THIS!" Boom! Another slam just as strong! The echoes of the hits shook the room, provoking an answer to come beyond the walls!
"TO KILL MY FAMILY? TO KILL MY FAMILY?! IT WAS NOT I, BUT HUMANS WHO DID! COMPASSION AND GRACE IS NON-EXISTANT IN THIS WAR!" A slam to the door, his head locked upon it, hers mirroring form the other side, "REVENGE I SEEK! REVENGE WE, TAMARANEANS, SEEK AND I WILL RISK EVERYTHING IN ORDER TO RELEASE OUR COMPLETE WRATH!"
"Hatred consumes you! PLEASE! Dispose of it now!"
"HOW DARE YOU! YOU WILL NEVER KNOW OF MY PAIN! MY BROTHER! MY OWN BROTHER! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND! MY OWN BROTHER WAS KILLED BY THE HUMAN'S ATTACK!"
Her anger disintegrated and dissolved away into the arms of the weeping wisps of faint light, pouring in from above. She slid from her stance and to her knees, clasping her face.
A pause and the general choked at his own voice, "He made it back to tell us what had happened... Then died! Princess…Wrath will be poured… I cannot and will not dispose of it… Revenge will be what we repay with…W-We… We attack in three days."
And silence. None but her sorrowful gasping remained in the break of silence. Four from the other cell gawked, following her form as she scampered to the far wall. She weakly crawled, step by quaking step, holding her breath. Her limps heavy, she outstretched an arm to the wall, longing to grasp the oh so famous belt mounted upon the far wall. It yelled her name and oh how it took the voice of Robin.
From the window, barred off from her cell, a voice, steady and shaken, sounded. "Starfire, breath easy!"
"Batman, I… I have to… rah! Reach." She forced her body to a muscle-cramping stretch, "They have a bomb! They will release it on the UFE and Tamaran! Ah!" She shot out to be yanked back, "I have to reach this! I have to save them! I have to save anyone I can!"
Tears sprang out and two black-gloved hands pushed between the bars and grasped the back of her shoulders, pulling them to the window. She fought for a moment, then sank in, clutching ever so tightly the hands of her father-like figure that pinned her into a hug. Three other pairs extended from the window and wrapped around her, embracing her form. The five shifted into an embrace as she choked upon her tears, driven by the image of crumbling kingdoms, flashing across her minds.
From her friends, her eyes flickered up to find the belt, drooping from the far wall it was pinned against. She slung her head in silence and a tear fell at the sound of his name.
"…Robin… I wish you were here..."
The light of a full moon flickered inside the pit-like cell.
Beneath that full moon, nine marched upon the sands of Tamaran.
A metal-like man spat out that names like 'Troq' with pride and shoved a gun to the back a boy, now decked in a black prisoner's suit that sealed his arms, torso, and legs, covered his chest, torso, and thighs in chain-like net of armor, and strapped his feet in metal boots. The green gloves were replaced by gray ones and his golden belt was thrown away. His mask remained. The other four were dressed similarly.
At the pinching poke of the gun's neck inserting into his back, he was pushed forward. Beneath Robin's feet, the sand of the barren desert swallowed his footsteps, causing him to tremble a bit.
-A piece of paper fell from his pocket and flew into the wind unnoticed-
In their quaking steps, the Titans walked on strong, yet afraid whatever lied beyond the morning. Step by step, the prison, abandoned by Tamaran and covered in a title wave of sand, drew nearer. The team looked to another, subtlety glancing to find another's expression.
Robin: brows bushed downward, mouth askew, subtly shoving his shoulders to make the job of his keeper, former ally, the Val Yor, more difficult.
Beast Boy: obediently raising his hands above to his head, occasionally snarling back at the madam in rouge who proudly threatened to kill.
Cyborg: walking with dignity, glancing left and right to secretly observe the hostile planet. A Brother Blood kept the robotic man in check.
Raven: She, gnawing at herself from the inside, refused to let the dark energy she grasped have its way. One blow to the UFE and the Titans would find themselves in the war. However, her first target would be her keeper: the infamous Doctor Light, who shivered in his steps.
Blackfire: A keeper, she did not need. She stoically marched to the cells, accepting the other form of imprisonment that now laid a few steps ahead. The others stared at her—the girl who could fly away.
With a violent swing, the door of the abandoned prison shot open, sucking its new prisoners into the darkness. With another swing and a push, the five found themselves in another cell, its top open, but barred off by black web-like metal.
There was subtle silence for a moment, all five standing in their jail. With ruffling sounds, one by one trembled to the floor to meet a needed slumber. None but one remained, he to stand beneath the moon light, her wispy white arms caressing the top of his head and face that looked to the heavens in suspicious bliss. He stepped forward and over his friends, blinking to find the full moon peaking from the cell.
A girl's eyes flickered to the brush of ivory kissing the middle ground of her cell.
Pensively, Starfire slipped from the embrace that released her slowly and gently, and weakly crawled to the white shafts of light, tunneling down and kissing her beaten body now. Under the full moon, she rose to her feet, letting herself soak in its light. "This moon is..." She paused to find an answer.
"…so warm…" Suppressed by the sensation of bliss, Robin did not slip away from the peaking moon. In the peace, he sank to his knees and then unfolded onto his back. A simple whisper riddled itself into the night. "Starfire."
Blinking beneath the brilliance of the full moon, she held herself there, bobbed her head to riddle a returning whisper, "Robin."
Beneath that same full moon, the wind carried that piece of paper that had fallen from Robin's pocket. It twisted, it tumbled, it rolled over itself, and then collided into the side of a young boy, lying upon his stomach, looking beyond the hillside where the U.F.E stationed itself, and intrigued by the seven year hosts of his beloved sister. At the slight ruffling of the paper, his brows lifted and he perched up, grasping what the humans called a 'photograph.' A boy of black spikey hair and a mask sweetly held his sister, them both beaming at another. Wildfire broke at the sight and pocketed the picture, sure to protect it until his sister's return
Author's Note: So this chapter is written a little different from the others. Basically, I wanted to show the overlapping moments between Starfire and the Titans (basically Robin and Starfire in which are my main pairing if you haven't guessed yet).
Another thing I really wanted to play with is the phases of the moon (which I designed to be an exact replica of the Earth moon that shines above us every night). Notice in Chapter 8 (the first chapter after Starfire's departure from the team) that the moon is described to be missing it's fifth sliver? Well this represented how Starfire was missing from the group. Notice in Chapter 12 (when the UFE attacked the T-Ship) when the moon was missing all but a sliver? Well this symbolizes how Starfire thought her four friends were dead/gone. Now, full moon, the Titans are within miles from Starfire! Yay! Well that is my dose of title significance for the day.
Last note: Ulciscere (the name of the Tamaranean bomb) is latin for Revenge.
Okay! Thank you so much for reading and if there is anything I can improve on, a comment below would really help!
P.S: Keep in mind, that messenger purposefully kept her cuffs loose. This will be very significant in the later chapter.