Author's note: The next three chapters were originally going to be one single chapter, but it just kept growing… so I cut it in half, and then cut it in thirds. Those that know the DC universe might note that I decided to combine two versions of Queen Bee (the show combined their abilities. I just decided to combine backgrounds as well), and I did some rewriting when I checked up on what DC planets are in the Centauri System... Whoops.

Blackfire sure knows how to make an epic mess for everybody.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans and Young Justice are the intellectual property of DC Comics, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros.

Earth-16: Go!

Chapter 6: Painted as a Villain

Rann, Centauri System
February 4th 2011, 10:40 local time

Hal Jordan sighed as he skimmed over the police report that the Centauri and Rannians had assembled. It was rather vague, but then after a few years with the lantern ring, Hal had gotten used to such things. A Tamaranean had smashed her way into one of the Centauri Crystal Moons and stolen a sizeable gem. Her energy signature had been tracked as she fled the scene, and mere hours after pursuit began, the girl had disappeared from the system accompanied by a Zeta tube activation signature.

"We have deployed thirty probes to search surrounding systems for this Tamaranean, her unique and unusually powerful energy signature should allow us to find her with ease. Each probe is programmed to seize the target and return her to Rann for trial." Commissioner Kai, the lead investigator on the case stated firmly. "Cron is in charge of the search of the Earth system, and has five probes at his disposal."

Hal nodded. "We have a Tamaranean on Earth, are you sure the probes can differentiate between her and your suspect?"

"So long as she does not have the same energy output, yes," Kai said. "The girl that struck the moon had a much larger energy signature then the Tamaranean norm."

"Alright, well... Earth is willing to assist your search." Hal said. "I'll have the Watchtower relay clearance for your probes."

Wayne Manor, Gotham City
February 3rd 2011, 21:03 EST

Bruce swallowed as he sat beside the bed, his hand on Richard's forehead, checking his temperature. Robin, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg had been removed from duty in the hour after they'd been pulled from the tent. Each being was told that they would be out of action until the end of the latent period for exposure, which meant a month off duty. During that time they were encouraged to rest and do the best they could to shore up their own health.

It could be weeks before the first symptoms from radiation exposure appeared, weeks where they felt as though everything was fine, weeks when nothing seemed to be wrong with them, and then suddenly it would hit them. Bruce hoped that the combination of the cheap red wine and Protectan he'd given Robin and the others that had been exposed was enough to protect them from the most severe repercussions, and already he'd ordered a supply of the military equivalent that was in development, Ex-Rad, and planned to issue it to the team.

Slowly he glanced down at the evidence bag hanging between his fingers and sighed. It hadn't taken long. He'd punched the hair into a dna scanner and put it through the crime lab's records. He'd gotten a partial match to Commissioner Gordon, consistent with the sample being from a child of the Commissioner's.

"Dick, what do you know about Commissioner Gordon's daughter?" He asked and saw Dick's eyes open.

"Babs? Quite a bit... she's in my classes." Dick said groggily. "Babs is... well, she's kind of cool. I mean, she was at my birthday party and—"

"Do you think she knows you're Robin?" Bruce asked carefully.

Dick shook his head. "No, I'm sure she doesn't... Why?"

"Because our copycat dropped a hair in the fight," Bruce lifted up the evidence bag and sighed. "It's a partial match to the Commissioner's DNA, and he doesn't have any other real close relatives, does he?"

Dick stared at him for a long moment. "Babs? Babs can't be... I couldn't see her going out looking for trouble. She doesn't have any training besides some self-defense classes and—" He let out a long sigh and shut his eyes. "Guess that explains the 'jokes' she told me about helping Batman..."

"She joked about helping me?" Bruce asked.

Dick shrugged. "She said she hadn't seen Robin around in a while and wondered if you needed a hand."

"Get some sleep Dick. I think we'll visit Gordon tomorrow. The team wants to spend some time with you, too." Bruce said before running a hand through Robin's hair.

Happy Harbor Mall, Happy Harbor
February 5th 2011, 10:13 EST

"The Mall of Shopping!" Starfire cried with glee as she floated up into the air before the entrance before Robin grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the ground, stifling a chuckle.

It was a Saturday, and after many requests from the team to have a chance and get out on the town, Batman and Red Tornado had finally relented. For Cyborg and Beast Boy, a set of magical illusions from Zatanna turned them from obvious superheroes into normal looking teens for the duration of the day. Starfire had donned a bright white T-shirt, a purple mini-skirt with knee-high boots, and a set of wrap around shades which she had assembled from various articles of clothing that had been loaned to her by the team.

With the shades she just looked a tad exotic, and human enough to pass so long as her powers were in check. This meant that Robin found himself tugging her back to the floor whenever her excitement resulted in her nearly floating off.

Raven, hidden partly beneath her black hoodie just glared whenever Starfire had an emotional outburst, while most of the rest of the team looked amused at the alien's antics.

Robin let out a sigh as Starfire grounded herself and looked down at him sheepishly. He smiled faintly at her and shook his head. "Just calm down, if you want to do this regularly, we can't attract a lot of attention. Okay?"

"Yes Robin," Starfire said quietly. "I will try not to cause you too much trouble."

His lips twitched into another smile and he chuckled. "It's okay, this is all new to you. I'm sure you're excited."

"Yes, I am most excited." She answered with a giggle before tugging at her skirt. "I am most grateful for the kindness your teammates have showered upon me, but I would prefer to own clothes of my own... I asked Green Lantern to transfer some of my funds from Tamaran here for my use." She pulled out a bank card and stared at it. "Will you show me how to use this device?"

Robin chuckled, "Sure Star."

As they walked inside, Robin caught Zatanna's gaze hardening on the alien girl and frowned. The last thing he needed was the two of them to fight, especially over him. Robin wasn't even sure what Starfire thought of him, she was an alien and while her bubbly personality often seemed almost flirty, it also seemed a little too innocent and naïve for that.

Robin grinned at that, how could she possibly think he and Starfire... no, she just needed looking after. With another groan, Robin followed Starfire through the mall as she looked at the various stores, one after another with curious wide eyes, he was sure. It wasn't long before Starfire had grabbed his hand and dragged him into a store.

Okay, maybe Zatanna had a point, Robin thought to himself as he was dragged into a clothes store. This was the sort of thing that normally happened between a girl and her boyfriend.

Not that Star knew that. Robin sighed as Starfire clapped gleefully and pulled a purple halter-top from the rack. Then she frowned. "It appears to be too small."

"Maybe there are bigger ones." Robin suggested as he glanced at the rack and looked at the sizes. "There's one that's a large."

Starfire's eyebrows arched and Robin imagined her eyes going wide as she plucked the halter-top he'd pointed too from the rack. She held it to her top and giggled again. "I must try it on! Friend M'gann said there was a changing room..."

Robin sighed. It was going to be a long day.

After a few minutes, he quickly came to realize, it was only the start of the day. Starfire may have been an alien, but she certainly took to shopping like most teenage girls... or like most teenager girls were supposed to anyway. She giggled whenever she found something quite, or funny, which was quite often and Robin found that the sound of her laughter was starting to grow on him.

She asked questions, all the time... and only a tiny sliver of them were the embarrassing sort like, "What do you think of this skirt?" Most were questions like: "Why do the female clothes lack pockets?" and "It is cute, but what is it for?"

Robin had brushed crimson when she asked that one while holding up a thong looking confused. There were just some things you don't ask a boy. Of course, Starfire didn't know what was proper to ask and what wasn't. She was an alien. Most of these things were stuff Robin couldn't answer because he didn't know himself.

Like why girl's pants didn't have pockets big enough to carry chap stick, or buttoned the opposite direction, or any other of a dozen odd things that Starfire picked out. Of course none of this stopped Starfire from trying on clothes and buying them, perhaps it was just Starfire trying to assimilate the native culture. Robin meanwhile was hoping that Starfire wouldn't discover Hello Kitty.

Then there were the stares he got, as Starfire bought things and carried them out, people looked at him like he was a jerk or something for not carrying her bags. One guy even asked her about it.

"My friend has been feeling not well recently, and his doctor said he should not exert himself." Starfire had answered before looking at him curiously. "What was it that he called it?"

"Mono," Robin answered and the teen had hurried off, leaving the two of them alone.

"Robin, why do they think it is not proper for me to carry my own purchases?" Starfire asked as they headed toward the cafeteria.

"Well, umm... a gentleman is supposed to help carry things for their girlfriend, and..." He cut her off from the obvious question that was about to slip out of her lips. "They assume that since we're out here together that we're a couple."

"Oh..." She giggled and messed up his hair. "Would that be so bad, Robin?"

"Well... maybe not but, I'm a professional I shouldn't get involved with team mates." Robin said with a slight grin.

"Just to be certain I understand, friendships should not be formed within the team?" Starfire asked.

Robin stared and coughed. "Uh, no... That's not what I meant at all. Girlfriends, boyfriends, that's not just friends Star... that's well, umm... courtship. Romantic relationships shouldn't be formed in the team."

Behind her glasses Starfire's eyes grew wide and she stared at him for a long moment. "Oh... but I thought friend Conner and friend M'gann were doing the dating."

"They are, it's just... I... well, I have different standards of behavior," Robin said defensively. "And I'm fourteen... I've got plenty of time before I start dating. Not that I even have time for it working as a hero anyway."

"On my world, most are betrothed by my age. If not for my use as a diplomatic hostage, I may have been as well," Starfire said quietly. "What about Zatanna, Robin?"

"Uh…," Robin swallowed, that definitely wasn't something he was interested in talking about. Bruce had lectured him on her already, and while he liked her… He really shouldn't. With a sigh he glanced back at the floor and scuffed his shoes. "Let's just get something to eat. I think the rest of the team is probably in the food court already."

"Robin..." Starfire grabbed hold of his hand and tugged it toward her. "Please, I did not mean to do the upsetting of you."

"No, it's fine." He glanced over at her and let out a sigh. "You're right... I shouldn't, I really shouldn't like her that way. If she knew who I was, all the security risks, Batman's identity, and all that... and we broke up?"

Starfire's face saddened. "Perhaps you are overthinking the situation, Robin. She is a hero. Can you not trust her with your name? Do you not know the true name of the Superman, Miss Martian, Black Canary?" Starfire shook her head. "Please, I wish my friends to be happy, and no one should go through life alone, Robin."

Robin stared at her in surprise before shaking his head. "It's not that easy."

"Perhaps it should be." Starfire answered.

The two of them stepped into the food court and Robin quickly spotted the rest of the team huddled around a set of tables. Then he glanced around at the stores. "Starfire, what do you want?"

"I do not know many Earth foods, Robin. I will have whatever you shall."

He returned with a pair of bento boxes from Edo Japan and slid one across the table to Starfire. A smile blossomed across her face as she made various astonished faces after taking a bite of the food.

"You like it?" Robin asked as he watched her peel apart a few strips of pickled ginger with a giggle.

"It is glorious. I have not tasted food such as this since my arrival!" She beamed. "What is it called?"

"Well it's Japanese... a bento box." Robin relayed with a slight smile.

He blinked as Starfire's eyes widened and then she leaned forward. Dick gaped as she spoke in Japanese, (So it is a lunch box, what is in it?)

(Beef Yakisoba, California Rolls, and Gyoza... How can you speak Japanese?) Robin asked the last bit staring at her in shock.

(I can, because you can. As a tamaranean I can absorb the linguistic knowledge of any species through lip contact,) Starfire glanced at Zatanna who was glaring at her. (She is upset... I do not know what I did to make her upset.)

Robin glanced over at Zatanna and sighed, (She is jealous of the attention I'm giving you.)

(She should not—) A sonic boom cut off her response and Robin frowned as he glanced up toward the ceiling.

Then an explosion echoed from above. The sound of smashed glass filled the air and Robin spun toward the center of the mall's food court just in time to see a vaguely squid-like object tear through the skylight in the middle of the food court. From its polished purple hull, Robin guessed it was some form of robot. A blue scanning beam swept across the group as they stood and went for what weapons they had on. M'gann was already morphing into her Martian persona while Superboy gritted his teeth and set himself.

Robin pulled his utility belt from the pocket of his hoodie and swung it over his chest while drawing a trio of explosive disks. At the same time Wally shot out of sight, heading for the restroom for a speed change, no doubt.

"Great..." Raven muttered. "We can't even go to the mall without all hell breaking loose."

The scanning beam came to a halt and locked onto Starfire. Immediately the team tensed and Starfire's eyes widened.

Then, with a bellow, the robot charged. Its tentacles lashed out to grab her as she scrambled out of the way of the strike. All around her, the team responded. M'gann hurled tables at the robot along with Superboy. Raven's dark energy shields flashed into existence between Starfire and the robot, blocking its tentacles. Robin's explosive disks sailed through the air, Cyborg's sonic blasts ripped toward the purple squid like robot.

Every attack slammed into an energy shield that shimmered around the robot and even seemed to repel and shatter Rocket's shield when she summoned it around the robot. In response the blue beam scanning beam flicked around the group before settling on Rocket. A volley of brilliant purple energy blasts followed, slamming into her personal shield and knocking her back through the front of the Panda Express's counter sending Peking Beef in all directions.

"Okay, a bit of a strenuous workout for us... Batman is going to kill me." Robin said as he hurled another set of explosive discs. "Superboy? Hit it!"

"Sure thing," Superboy shouted before bounding up and slamming into the tentacle robot, or at least its force field. The robot rocked for a moment before the force field exploded outward, knocking all of them to floor and sending tables and chairs flying in all directions.

Robin felt the table he'd hit break and a sharp pain from being cracked on the side of the head by a chair, the world swum for a moment as he staggered from the impact.

Then a scream tore through the air. Robin rolled onto his back as a massive tentacle wrapped around Starfire.

"Starfire!" Robin leapt forward and grabbed hold of her hand. He pulled, his muscles ached in protest at the exertion.

"Meht esae—" Zatanna's chant was cutoffs as the tentacle crackled with electricity for a moment and Starfire screamed in pain, twisting against the mechanical limb. Robin's muscles seized up as the energy arced over to him and he toppled back, his limbs twitching.

Then the tentacle retracted, pulling the stunned girl toward the maw where the separate limbs met, an energy field snapped into existence around her and a hatch hissed open. Then she was sucked up into the robotic drone.

The rest of the team was still clambering to their feet when the squid like drone roared skyward and disappeared out of sight.

"Well, that was an interesting lunch," Raven said in her monotone.

Robin gritted his teeth and pulled out his communicator, "Watchtower, this is Robin. Starfire was just abducted by a drone from our location!"

"What, can you confirm that it was Starfire?" John Stewart's voice answered a moment later as his face appeared on the wrist comm.

"Hell yes, who else could it be?" Robin shouted.

Rann, Centauri System
February 5th 2011, 13:33 local time

"Internal sensors for the drone coming online, it'll transit for Centauri Prime in five minutes." Officer Cron's hologram spoke in the center of the room. "External sensors and log show that it encountered resistance to the capture."

Hal Jordan frowned to himself, something didn't add up. It all seemed too easy. Then his commlink activated and the image of John Stewart, his fellow Green Lantern on earth appeared. "Hal, tell them to call off that drone!"

"What? Why?" Hal asked as he suddenly stood and walked over toward where the Commissioner was standing.

"They got the wrong Tamaranean! Robin reported Princess Koriand'r was abducted from Happy Harbor by an alien robot," John answered. "I thought you said they were tracking a unique energy signature?"

"They are, this thief they're after has a much higher energy output then normal for a Tamaranean," Hal said and then froze. "Shit, let me guess... Starfire's output is above normal?"

"Tamaraneans normally can't create energy discharges from their energy. She can..." John said with a glower. "Come on Hal, use your brain."

"Commissioner Kai, can you communicate with the probe, get an internal visual of the girl?" Hal asked nervously.

"Yes, of course," The Commissioner said.

"Do it." Hal said as he stepped up beside the holographic projector. A moment later the image of a familiar Tamaranean appeared beside the officer, banging on the walls of her apparent prison.

"We have an audio feed as well..." Officer Cron stated in a bored tone.

"Please, I have not done anything to deserve such treatment," A voice cried in English through the speakers and Hal cursed to himself. It was clearly Starfire.

He glanced at the two officers. "My people are saying this girl isn't the one you're looking for."

"Impossible!" Cron stated. "No other Tamaranean has such an energy signature."

"Bring up imagery of the thief," Kai stated and a holographic image appeared beside that of Starfire smashing at the walls. It was clearly a Tamaranean, likely two or three years older from the look of her, with black hair and glowing purple eyes. A second later the energy signature of both appeared as well and Kai's frown deepened.

"It isn't a perfect match is it? The girl you've captured emits more energy as green light, while the target you're after emits more as violet. In terms of energy strength they're comparable, but not complete signature." Hal stated. "You've got the wrong girl."

"Redirect the drone to Earth's Justice League Headquarters," Commissioner Kai turned to Hal. "Our apologies... Perhaps... another method should be used in this case."

"No!" Cron snapped. "I will not defile out sovereignty and hand over a criminal to those villains!"

Hal gaped in shock. "Villains?"

At that moment the door to the room hissed open and a squad of men clad in the dark grey uniform of the Rannian Science Patrol burst into the room and Hal Jordan spun to face the group as they lifted rifles to bear toward him.

"Commissioner Kai." A tall looking Rannian hissed from the back of the group. "I am surprised to find that you have decided to align yourself with a member of the Justice League." He glared at the pair. "Well done Cron... we will add the two of them to our studies of alien life."

"WHAT?" Hal shouted just before a volley of shots from the patrolman caught him in the chest and dropped him to the ground. His vision swum as the pain of the stun blasts swam over him.

"Remove his ring and secure him in holding," the leader ordered with a snarl.

Undisclosed Location
February 5th 2011, 14:07 local time

Komand'r scowled as she was lead through the tunnels deep beneath the world's core. It felt almost like being back in that crystal cave, and like most Tamaranean's she found herself longing for the sky and sun as she was led through the network of caves. Behind her, two of the human guards stood on watch, armed with Apokoliptan energy rifles behind her.

The tunnel opened up to a massive cavern filled with what looked like a small mountain of weapons and equipment. The violent red flash of a Boom-Tube activating lit up the side of the cavern and a dozen pallets of weapons appeared alongside a set of disgusting winged creatures that proceeded to maneuver the equipment to the side of the wall for storage.

A set of simple holographic projectors surrounded an empty part of the room where she was led. As she stepped into the middle of the area the projectors flared to life one after another. Bright white silhouettes filled the air backlit by blue.

"So... It's a pleasure to see you once again, Blackfire." One of the voices stated. "I take it, your mission to the Centauri System was successful?"

"Of course it was," Komand'r said with an impish tone. "Your Justice League managed to obliterate most of the sector's defenses, discredit themselves, and leave the Rannians and Rimborians so thoroughly pissed that I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to demand the extradition of this pitiful world's 'heroes'."

"Good," Queen Bee said as her holoprojection flashed and disappeared, before she stepped out from the shadows. "The gem?"

Komand'r pulled a dazzling emerald stone the size of her fist out from a pocket. "The funds, Zazzala?"

Queen Bee smirked faintly before kicking a box that slid across the floor to Komand'r's feet. She kicked it open to reveal a small mountain of spatial credits. Komand'r smiled as she tossed the gem to Queen Bee and shut the box.

She caught the gem and nodded. "A pleasure as always..."

"I'm curious, what do you want with a Centauri crystal?" Komand'r asked as she picked up the box.

One of the holoprojections spoke first, "It is none of your concern, Blackfire."

"Whatever..." She said with a shrug.

"What do you plan to do with those funds, Blackfire?" Queen Bee asked.

A slight smile slid across her face at that. "What else? I'll be taking my place on the throne."