Author's Notes: Sorry! It's been a while, but the chaos has finally died down! I am no longer a high schooler, I finished that one essay by staying up all night (and actually got a 95% on it lol), went to San Fran and back, and other fun stuff. So now, it is finally SUMMER. I'm hoping to rock this story XD

And btw, this chapter is hecka long. Actually, it's ten times longer than Chapter 1 was, haha.

Chapter 16: Separated

Raven glided silently through the cold early morning air of Jump City, only hearing the wind whizz past her ears as she sailed through the sky. Since sunrise was just barely half an hour ago, there wasn't much activity down on the ground just yet, everyone lazily beginning their days in no rush, likely brewing a cup of coffee at that moment with their eyes half open. However, Raven was at her peak level of alertness, scanning the streets below with extreme intensity. Although she was searching carefully, not letting a single visible detail escape her attention, part of her mind was wandering elsewhere, replaying the events of that morning over and over again. She couldn't help but wonder what had driven her to nearly have a panic attack. Had she not been trained by the monks of Azarath all of her childhood to suppress her emotions and remain neutral even in the most pressing situations? She had faced way worse trials before and managed to keep herself together, but this time she actually needed a reminder from Beast Boy to break from her emotional trance. And things like this had happened before - her friends have been in danger and the team has had to save them.

Raven reluctantly began to accept why this time was different. It was because it was her fault. This terrible thing had happened to her best friend, and she could have stopped it, but she was too proud to even allow the possibility of herself being wrong to be made known. If she had presented her vibes to the team, there was a chance that they'd have found nothing wrong, and thought Raven as foolish. Because of this, she tried to ignore her feelings and pretend that everything was fine, despite her periodic moments of frustration. What sort of friend am I to allow these trivial things to cloud my judgement? she thought to herself as she watched several ant-sized humans roaming about the city streets. I would give anything right now just to make sure Starfire and her baby are alright.

Raven's thoughts returned to her mission, realizing that she had surveilled the entire city as she finally reached the inland city limits. She paused in the air, levitating gently with greenish-brown hills stretching across the countryside behind her. She pulled out her communicator, addressing all her teammates.

"I've done a complete aerial search of Jump City - nothing." She said in her monotone, hiding her sadness.

"I've been tracking all movement in the city through the computer… nothing outta the ordinary." Cyborg added, sounding disheartened.

"I've been everywhere we've ever seen Slade, and nada. I mean, except his old hideouts. Robin…?" Beast Boy said rather hopelessly, until he thought that maybe Robin had found something helpful. Everyone held onto their communicators in silence for several seconds until Robin finally appeared on the small screen, familiar rundown gears and pistons in the background.

"N-nothing here… either. Rep-report…" Robin cleared his throat, trying to not let the situation get to him. "Report to my location to assist me in thoroughly searching this base, in case there is any evidence. If not, we'll continue from there." Robin's image abruptly flickered off, leaving the four Titans rather discouraged, but they each started to travel to the old, abandoned factory. Once they all arrived, they wordlessly spread out amongst the large, rundown building to hunt for anything that could possibly point to where Slade was. Or, more importantly, Starfire.

After almost ten minutes of uneventful searching, mainly just finding discarded devices and parts that were quite obviously unrelated to the current crisis, Cyborg suddenly stumbled upon something a little suspicious looking.

"Yo! Guys!" Cyborg called out, picking up a small gadget from the floor. He looked at it curiously, holding it up to his electronic eye to examine it more carefully. It wasn't as beat up and worn-looking as everything else in the building, which suggested that this had appeared after the building was abandoned. In fact, it looked like a very modern piece of technology, appearing sleek and clean without any rough edges - except for what seemed to be a large needle at one end of it. Everyone else dropped their search for the moment and gathered around Cyborg and the strange device.

"Hmm. It's not much, but maybe it's a clue we can use. Dissect it; figure out what it does." Robin ordered, using his grappling hook to send himself to the top of the enormous, rusty gears that towered above them. Cyborg obeyed, tinkering with the gadget for a few minutes until it suddenly turned on with the aid of Cyborg's power supply, using small propellers to float in the air on its own. Cyborg gasped, getting Beast Boy's attention, who was looking through some ripped up files nearby. He walked over and was also mesmerized by this, staring at it like it was from another planet - which just happened to be what they were looking for.

"What is that?" Beast Boy questioned, unable to look away.

Cyborg shrugged, shaking his head in disbelief. "Man, I wasn't even done looking at its circuits yet when it suddenly decided to start flying."

Then, without warning, the device flew away from the two, zipping across the spacious room, clearly zoning in on some kind of target. Cyborg and Beast Boy ran after it, but slid to a stop when they saw that it was heading straight for Raven.

"Rae, look out! There's a… uh…" Beast Boy's voice trailed off for a brief second, really not knowing what this thing was that was charging at Raven. "...thingamajig…"

Beast Boy was obviously too late as the device lodged in Raven's arm, causing her to yelp at the unexpected pain. She cringed as she quickly pulled it out and held it between two fingers, looking over at the guilty pair several yards away. She raised an eyebrow to imply the question that didn't really need to be asked.

"Uh… sorry, Raven… don't really know why it did tha-... aw man, you're bleeding!" Cyborg commented, looking down at Raven's arm. She followed his gaze, a bit irritated at the spreading stain on her leotard. She focused her energy on her arm for a moment, healing the small puncture in an instant.

"Not anymore. But what is this?" She said, watching it try to fly away but contained firmly by her grasp.

"You got me…" Cyborg said, shrugging. Then, Robin appeared from behind a gear, hearing all of the commotion down on the floor.

"What's going on?" He asked impatiently. Before they could answer, he glanced over at Raven and saw the whirring little device in her hand and the blood that had soaked into her clothing. He walked over to get a closer look. Raven stood her ground, but she turned her head away from his eyes, feeling that familiar guilt continue to reside in her chest.

"Um, that… thing… whatever it is... just randomly flew over to Raven and jabbed her in the arm." Beast Boy said, walking up to the group along with Cyborg.

"I don't think it was that random, B." Cyborg said, watching Robin stare at Raven's arm a tad oddly. "It was programmed to do that, I reset it when it powered up."

Robin finally spoke up after his little investigation. "Didn't this same thing happen to Star? After that fight, her arm was wounded."

"Come on, Rob, that coulda' been anything. The chance that it was a little homicidal flying needle is kinda unlikely." Cyborg pointed out. He sighed after Robin gave him a stern glare. "Okay, fine, it's possible. I'll keep looking at it to see why it did that." He plucked the device from Raven's hand, crossing some wires together from its open control panel which ceased its blades from twirling. As soon as Raven was freed, she quickly flew off to another side of the building to continue searching as far away from the others as she could. Beast Boy noticed this strange bout of shyness and decided to follow her, searching through some cabinets beside her.

"Hey, Rae… what's up with you?" He asked delicately, but still sounding a bit blunt. He made sure to continue working so as not to waste any more time, but he kept Raven in his peripheral vision. Raven ignored his comment, not letting any of her feelings reach her face.

"Nothing. I got it covered over here, why don't you go back to those shredded files by the door." Raven stated rather than asked, not taking her eyes off some folders she found, peering through their contents.

"Okay. But you know… it isn't your fault. Don't beat yourself up about it." Beast Boy said, turning away before Raven could reply. She looked up, a bit startled about both his concern for her and the fact that he had practically read her mind - which was usually her trick. Before she could resume her shuffling through papers, she heard Cyborg call the team from across the building urgently. Everyone gathered around the perplexed half robot, looking at the miniature screen Cyborg had found within the device displaying a single word: Negative.

Before Cyborg could open his mouth to explain, Robin asked, "Negative? Is that some sort of indicator?"

"I was about to say… yeah. Rob, I think you were right. This thing is a… well, pregnancy test, believe it or not." Cyborg said, pointing at the little screen. "So, now we all know Raven isn't pregnant. Thank god." Raven gave Cyborg a brief glare.

"What? That's why it… cause she's a… ow, my brain." Beast Boy groaned, holding his head.

"Yup. She was the nearest woman… so it tested her. Weirdly enough." Cyborg replied.

Robin was getting more and more anxious by the moment. "That has to be what got Star, it makes perfect sense! It was a pregnancy test…" He repeated, putting the pieces together. He suddenly punched the table, nearly sending the device flying across the room but Cyborg caught it just in time. "Damn Slade! He was waiting for her to get pregnant after we got married, that little…" Robin took a deep breath to channel his anger at the search instead of inanimate objects. "We have to be close. We're in the right place. Search harder!" He ran off as the team quickly returned to their search with a renewed sense of hatred for Slade and hope for finding Starfire and the little one.

Starfire watched Adelaide intently, observing the way she caressed her baby in her arms. Adelaide avoided eye contact with her, trying to appear as if she were impassive towards the imprisoned alien girl. Adelaide had promised she would save them from Slade's clutches, joining forces with her to defeat him and escape, but Starfire couldn't help but be doubtful. If just one overpowering feeling had taken seed in Starfire's heart from this ordeal, it surely wasn't trust.

Though Adelaide gave off an air of seriousness and dedication to her internship, she offered the skeptical new mother a sideways glance. Even though her face remained void of emotion, like she had been when she first arrived, her eyes said everything. I want you to make it out of this. I don't want Slade to win. I don't want to hurt one more person. Starfire felt her heart warm at Adelaide's reassurance and resisted the urge to put all her strength into breaking her unbreakable cuffs as Adelaide began walking to the door, the baby bundled in a blanket with her eyes squinted against the bright walls of the room.

"No matter what, Starfire, pretend you have no hope of breaking free. Let yourself despair over your lost child and family, but remember, I will let you out. Stay strong. And…" Adelaide gulped as her pace slowed to a stop near the door. "Thank you… for showing me what I was capable of." She gave the baby a quick squeeze as she completed her journey across the room, sliding out of the cell and leaving Starfire to ruminate on her parting words. Starfire closed her eyes, letting the tears of her many conflicting emotions roll down her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Adelaide walked briskly down the dark grey hall, her form barely casting a shadow on the walls that were encased in black. The baby in her arms welcomed the change in lighting, opening her newborn eyes wider to take in her surroundings. Despite the darkness, her Tamaranean eyes glowed a very soft blue, standing out in the dim lighting along with the white blanket wrapped around her. She glanced up at Adelaide sleepily, her young eyes unable to focus on her face, but watching as she made her way to Slade's headquarters. After a series of convoluted hallways, Adelaide typed a code on a chrome keypad and stepped through the wall that opened up before her, revealing Slade sitting behind a desk which overlooked massive computer monitors that displayed images throughout Jump City, including Titan's Tower, his abandoned lair, the downtown hospital, and Starfire's white prison cell. He watched them thoughtfully, not even glancing up as the door to his office shut behind Adelaide and the quietly cooing baby.

"The child checks out with perfect health. She surely inherited her mother's strength, as her structure, internally and externally, possesses Tamaranean features. Her eyes are also inhuman… but it is too early to tell if she will be able materialize starbolts as well." Adelaide reported, rocking the baby that was beginning to fuss quietly. Slade still didn't bother to acknowledge her for a minute, seeming to focus his attention on the crying woman in his white prison cell.

"Good, Adelaide, very good." He said smoothly, turning in swivel his chair and standing. "Then we may proceed. Give the child to me." He held out his unwelcoming arms as he drew near, Adelaide reluctantly handing the little girl over to him. His lack of care for her was evident in the way he held her - rigid and stiff. She began to cry at the loss of Adelaide's comforting touch. "As we have previously discussed, you remain here and keep watch over the base. I have business to attend to."

Slade walked calmly out of the room, Adelaide hiding her disgust for him behind her well-trained emotionless mask. It took Starfire's reasoning to show Adelaide she had always felt disgust for this sort of thing - she merely buried it underneath her own pain and suffering. Now it took everything in her power not to send waves of crippling pain towards Slade to punish him for his criminal acts, but she realized glumly that if she did so there was a large chance of hurting the baby, and ruining her plan. So she let him slide through the door, the crying Tamaranean girl writhing in his arms.

She watched Slade's monitors, waiting for him to distance himself far from Starfire and herself, heading towards the other side of the lair. As soon as he was out of sight, having gone into a room with no cameras, Adelaide pressed a series of buttons on the sleek control board, a symbol appearing on the main monitor to indicate that she was now broadcasting.

"Star, can you hear me? Nod if you can." Adelaide said softly, even though Slade was nowhere near. She saw Starfire jolt from surprise, abruptly snapping out of her daze and becoming alert. She nodded vigorously, her eyes still wide from shock.

"Good. Now, I am going to unlock your restraints. You will feel them click; merely lift them up once you do." Adelaide typed more code into the computer, watching as the alien girl released herself from her bonds wearily, shakily trying to sit up on the table. Adelaide let out a worried sigh. How will we defeat Slade when the Tamaranean is so weak?

"Alright, now, there is one other thing you will have to do yourself. You need to regain your powers." Starfire looked down at herself, startled, seeming to have forgotten that her natural abilities had been taken. She again tried to ignite a starbolt just as she had on that fateful night long ago, only to have it collapse in on itself exactly like before. Realizing she needed help, she patiently waited for further instruction.

"Do you remember the small probe which analyzed you six months ago? Or, well, right before you were… taken?" Adelaide said, her voice lowering towards the end of her explanation. Starfire nodded, many questions and realizations blossoming in her head.

"It did more than just detect if you were pregnant; it was programmed to implant an energy inhibitor into your system if you were pregnant, restricting your powers about three hours after the injection." Starfire gawked at nowhere in particular, since Adelaide's voice seemed to come from every corner of the room, relieved that she knew why she was incapacitated, but horrified that this foreign device had been inside her for months. "You unfortunately cannot completely remove it without surgery, but you can temporarily disable it…" Adelaide's voice trailed off as she took in a deep, nervous breath, which put Starfire on edge as she detected her unease. "I know you are Tamaranean but, this will likely still be unpleasant. You will need to… electrocute yourself."

Starfire stood motionless, not exhibiting fear nor surprise, but clearly bathed in hesitance. Adelaide was correct, of course, she could handle electric shock better than humans, but that did not make it any less nerve wracking. Plus, she still had a recent bad memory from electrocution with Doctor Light. "I do apologize, but it is the only way to interfere with the inhibitor's signal. These technologies are sensitive to electric charges. Once you disrupt the inhibitor, it will stop transmitting at full power for about half an hour, giving you perhaps twenty minutes of your peak Tamaranean ability. That is why we must move quickly." Adelaide explained, her eyes trained on the hallway cameras to make sure Slade wasn't returning.

"Do you see the extension cord attached to the back on the machine beside the table?"

Starfire reluctantly placed her feet on the ground, slowly shifting her weight onto the floor. The moment she lifted off the table, her knees gave out from under her, causing her to nearly tumble onto the ground, but she caught herself against the table on the way down. She groaned in frustration, gritting her teeth. Now is not the time to succumb to my exhaustion, I must first escape.

Slowly, she pulled herself up, this time standing straight but taking her time to rein in her dizziness. Adelaide waited, watching the monitor with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. This woman just woke up from an essentially six month coma and then gave birth, and has not used her real body since the day after her child was conceived. She is in no condition to fight.

Despite the odds, Starfire made it the electrical cord, glancing up at one of the cameras for the next step. "Okay, once I am finished talking, pull it out of the machine and immediately hold it to your right arm. I'm sorry, it will hurt; that machine requires a high voltage, but you will be okay. Just do not hold it there for too long, your system cannot handle a shock for an extended period of time." Adelaide swallowed hard as she watched Starfire grab the cord, preparing to tug it out and do whatever was necessary to reunite with her family. "Now."

The next action was fast physically, but for both Starfire and Adelaide, time seemed to stand still as Starfire yanked out the cord, electricity crackling at the severed end of it and live wires splayed out and ready to deliver a near lethal dose of electricity - for a human. Without pausing, she held it to her arm, feeling an energy pulse through her that was nothing like her starbolts. Her hair stood on end at the exact moment the wire contacted her skin, her eyesight seemed to lose focus and the ground flew up from beneath her.

After an extremely tense ten seconds for Adelaide, who momentarily feared she had misunderstood Starfire's abilities, her eyelids fluttered open, slowly fixating on the still-glowing wire right in front of her face. Once she collected her fuzzy thoughts, she quickly jumped back, distancing herself from the painful equipment. Her head pounded at the sudden movement, but she quickly summoned all her energy to keep from passing out again.

"Oh bloody he-... thank gosh you're alright. You had me frightened for a moment." Adelaide exclaimed, but then regained her composure, folding her hands on the rim on the control board. "Now, you should take a moment to recover your strength, you will need it to…" Her voice trailed off with dread as her eye caught movement on one of the monitors. Baby in hand, Slade exited his private sector and was walking back towards the office.

"Oh no." Adelaide murmured under her breath, but Starfire caught it and looked up worriedly. "Star, he is coming. Blast the door down and stall him, he will reach your cell any moment, I will be there as soon as I can." Adelaide muttered, quiet but rushed, until Starfire heard the microphone cut off. She tried to calm her racing heart and ragged breathing as the gears in her mind began to turn. She pushed herself off the floor, with much difficulty, and trudged to the door which had been a source of her nightmares for around half a year. Gathering all the fury she had accumulated since this ordeal with Slade began, she felt her eyes burn with emotion, and it felt good. She held out her arms and blasted the door with an impressive surge of energy, creating an explosion that reverberated loudly across the long hallway. Feeling renewed with her returned strength and power, she jumped over the debris and prepared to face her enemy.

Without even a moment's warning, Starfire stood among crumbled cement and flickering electric circuits face to face with Slade. His one visible eye narrowed, looking directly into the glowing eyes of one angry new mother. Though he was several feet away, just beyond the rubble, he could see the slight burn mark from electrocution on her arm. The little Tamaranean in his grasp seemed strangely quiet, unaffected by the sudden explosion.

"Well, this is an interesting new… development." He said calmly, showing no signs of worry for her escape from the cell. This threw Starfire off a bit, since she expected him to be flabbergasted at her amazingly fast recovery from all that had just happened, but she kept her temporary confidence from faltering.

"Give. Me. My. Child." She threatened slowly. Her fists clenched, an orb of energy glowing around them.

"Unfortunately, my dear, I can't do that." He said with what Starfire thought was a smug, mocking tone. "She is no longer yours. She belongs to others now."

Starfire felt her enraged heart skip a beat. "Others…" She repeated quietly, but covered up her fright with a dangerous growl. "You will by no means get away with this." As she prepared to attack, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. My little bumgorf! I cannot risk hurting her! As Starfire hesitated, Adelaide appeared from behind a corner, looking ready to kill, which was much more emotion than Starfire had ever seen on her.

Slade hummed thoughtfully. "Look at my little intern, how quickly you have grown." He almost looked proud as he watched his once loyal apprentice fall into a fighting stance. "I probably should have anticipated this sooner. None of my interns ever remain faithful for long."

"That's because of how twisted you are, Slade." Adelaide ground out bitterly. "You may manage to manipulate them into doing your bidding, but they always come to their senses eventually." With that, she glanced over at Starfire gratefully, but immediately returned her attention to her ex-mentor.

"Oh, but little Adelaide, I did exactly what I intended. I have never obeyed any one master for very long, so why should I expect you to? After all, that's what I teach you: disobedience and rebellion. You may think you have escaped me, child, but you will never escape me."

Adelaide's features furrowed as she was overtaken by her rage and she reached out a foreboding hand towards Slade. "Give us the child or you will feel pain like you never have before." She sneered. Starfire backed up this threat by glowing even brighter, blocking his exit.

"And risk hurting the little girl? My, I really have influenced you, haven't I?" He said in mock shock, but before the two could react, he pulled out a bo-staff, holding the baby close to his chest with his free hand. He smiled wickedly and lunged forward, ready to tear through their barrier. Starfire gasped, fearing for her little one, and quickly met him in the air halfway through his leap, careful not to hit her newborn. The impact sent them both crashing back down onto the rubble, and as Slade struggled to get up, Starfire tried her best to grab his arm and wrestle her baby out of his grasp without injuring her. The infant was clearly distressed now, crying and screaming with all her might as she had no idea what events were unfolding around her.

Adelaide watched them tumble on the ground in fear for Starfire and her child, aiming her hand at Slade. But to her despair, he moved too quickly for her to get a definitive lock on him. I can't hurt Starfire and I definitely can't hurt the baby. In their condition, it could kill them. She panicked slightly as she tried her best to focus but couldn't bring herself to use her powers with the possibility of harming the wrong person.

In a last ditch effort, she cried out, "Starfire! Get yourself away from Slade and get him to be still!" Although Slade could hear her plan too, Adelaide still gave it a shot. Starfire realized what she was trying to do and gained the upper hand in the wrestling match for a moment, throwing herself on top of Slade and pinning him to the ground with her alien strength. In her peripheral vision, she saw Adelaide's hands glow once again, but this time it was not a calming blue hue, but instead a sharp red color which engulfed her hands up to her wrists. At the last moment, Starfire allowed a small amount of energy to flow to her hand, enough to burn, and grabbed Slade's bo-staff arm forcefully. The extreme heat surprised him, causing him to loosen his grip on the infant, and Starfire quickly took her to safety.

A second later, Slade was crippled by excruciating pain, waves of relentless torture washing over his body. He was immobilized by it, but still managed to look the two furious women in the eyes. There was something sinister in his eye. Despite the tears which flowed due to the pain which threatened to knock him out, his stare possessed a menacing darkness that made Starfire visibly flinch. She stood, fixed to her spot, trying to rock her baby and calm her down. But it was not the comforting touch Starfire had longed for - it was filled with fear, and the child detected it, showing no signs of contentment after just being in the middle of Slade and Starfire's jarring fight.

"Star, you have to go right now!" Adelaide commanded, but with a bit of a plea attached to her voice. Her eyes narrowed as she increased her dosage of pain upon Slade, and he, the usually cool and collected villain, screamed against her raw power. "I cannot keep this up much longer, go!"

Starfire made a move to run, but froze once again. "What about you? Adelaide-"

"I must stay here to hold him back, alright? Now please…" Tears formed in her eyes and the anger on her face began to melt into sadness. "I will never forgive myself if anything happens to you or your daughter. I would prefer to stay here and face the consequences of my actions than have you stay and possibly get hurt yet again." The brunette bun on her head was falling apart, her dark brown hair beginning to fall out and reach all the way to the middle of her back. Her face was sweating with exertion and Slade continued to seize with pain on the floor. She was breathing heavily and beginning to show signs of exhaustion, showering Starfire with worry for her new friend. When Starfire still hadn't moved, Adelaide added. "I will be okay. Now… go find your friends. They need to know you and your baby are alive."

This final request seemed to break Starfire's hesitation as she remembered how devastated everyone had looked when she had mysteriously been in labor and Robin's absolutely defeated expression when she fell asleep and left them all. Her strength returned to her, and she gripped her infant tightly with protection. As she turned to run for her and her little girl's life, she gently touched Adelaide's tense shoulder. "Thank you for everything, Adelaide. You are a hero, and never forget it." Adelaide's tears fell from her eyes and stained her cheeks at that comment. Starfire gave her a sad, yet thankful smile, and then flew faster than she ever had before down the seemingly endless series of corridors.

She used a free hand to light her way, weaving past corners and casting a bright green light along the walls. She finally got to see the lair where she had been held captive for six whole months. She didn't recognize anything, realizing this must have been a new hideout of his. After flying down a very convoluted maze of hallways, she reached a dead end, and started to feel panic rise in her chest. How am I to break free? I saw no exits! But before she allowed fear to overtake her again, she saw a bulky door which blended into the bland grey wall. She pulled on it, but it was obviously deadlocked, requiring an identity scan from Slade to open. When she heard a frightened scream which belonged to Adelaide echo in the hallway, Starfire felt her eyes glow brighter and her teeth grind together.

"For Adelaide, I will escape!" She suddenly began to be engulfed in Tamaranean flames, her power stretching beyond her body and framing her and her baby. Being half alien herself, her daughter felt no harm from her mother's power, but instead her eyes glowed a weak blue herself, feeling connected to her mother's fury. Starfire then sent a steady stream of fire at the door, causing its tightly bolted hinges to melt and its six-inch-thick frame to crumble apart. As the heavy metal fell to the ground, Starfire flew through a long, dingy tunnel which lead up to the surface, and she vaguely realized that Slade's new lair was deep underground, even though the majority of her focus was directed towards reaching sunlight. With the end in sight, she began to feel extreme fatigue and weakness weigh her down, but she diligently fought it back. This is not over yet, not until we are reunited with our friends.

Author's Notes: Can you believe I actually had to split up this chapter to make it shorter? I think I got carried away when I was writing this XD