Author's Notes: I'm spending my first week of actual summer with a friend who is working on her own fanfic, so we've been sitting in the same room working on our separate fanfictions instead of socializing. Just how we roll. XD

Chapter 17: Reunited?

"Robin! I think I might have found something!" Beast Boy shouted from across the abandoned factory. The team had been searching for nearly half an hour, trying not to let their morale fall too low as they searched for any more clues. After finding the pregnancy test, they knew they had to be close, but after ruling out dozens of possibilities, they were quickly running out of options, but Robin felt a tiny spark of hope at Beast Boy's possible discovery.

As the team gathered around Beast Boy, who stood near a cluttered corner of the building which overflowed with boxes and discarded gears, he motioned towards a large gear on the floor, expecting everyone to suddenly understand its significance. Instead, he received three confused stares.

"Uh... B? What's special about a gear? They're all over the place." Cyborg stated irritably. Raven and Robin reflected his annoyance, thinking that valuable time had just been wasted.

Beast Boy groaned. "Really, dude? Look at it!" He kicked it and, to everyone's surprise, it didn't sound solid but instead gave off a hollow ring.

"Okay, I will admit, that's strange... but what does that..." Robin's voice trailed off, getting the attention of the other two skeptics. He walked up beside Beast Boy and kicked it as well, listening to the echo it caused. He looked at the others with a somewhat surprised expression. "Beast Boy is right."

Cyborg looked at them oddly. "About...?"

"It isn't a gear!" Beast Boy exclaimed in exasperation. "See, look, it doesn't move from its spot, it's hollow, and it looks different from the others." He ran his hand along the metallic surface, showing the team his clean palm. "The rust on it is fake, it's meant to look old but it isn't." He decided against including the fact that he discovered all this by tripping over the fake gear and falling on top of it.

Raven and Cyborg's mouths dropped open slightly at Beast Boy's sudden intelligence, realizing that everything he said was true. "Wow," Raven muttered. "I must say, I'm impressed you noticed all that." Before Beast Boy could start blushing at the compliment, Robin added his bit to the investigation.

"It isn't a gear, it's a door." He stated matter-of-factly. The attention was focused back to Robin as the team felt hope course through their veins. He remained emotionless on the outside, but as he knelt down and examined the fake gear on the ground, he felt his once wavering confidence begin to reemerge.

"It's meant to blend in among the surroundings." Robin said as he stood back up, still staring at the disguised door.

"What, like camouflage?" Beast Boy asked.

"Right. No one would think that particular gear out of these hundreds was anything special."

"Well, except BB, apparently." Cyborg added.

Ignoring this comment, Robin turned back to his incomplete team. "It must be the entrance to Slade's new hideout. Starfire might be in there!" He said, excitement leaking into his voice. Before the others could fully process this and leap into action to break into the underground fortress, a large explosion sounded from underground, causing the entire building to shake as the earth below them tremored.

"What in Gotham City was that?" Beast Boy cried as the ground kept trembling below them. The three boys were fighting to keep their balance against the odd earthquake while Raven hovered a few inches in the air to get away from the unstable surface.

"I don't know, but it felt like it was really close." Robin said as he crouched down to steady himself, hand reaching for his bo-staff in case whatever this was posed a threat.

Suddenly, before they could ponder any longer, another explosion boomed beneath them and the fake gear on the ground shook violently for a moment before flying straight through air, followed by a familiar cloud of green smoke. It soared all the way to the high ceiling of the factory before crashing down on the other side of the room, the smoke trailing it the entire way. Robin felt his heart seize with joy as he easily recognized the bright green cloud.

"STARFIRE!" He yelled as he ran towards the new crater in the floor, the other three right behind him. They peered into the dark hole to see a pair of glowing green eyes and what they swore was a pair of faded blue orbs look back up at them. A split second later, Starfire shot out of the opening, a trail of green flames following behind her. She landed in front her friends, her blindingly bright energy dimming as she touched down. Everyone stared at her in disbelief as her eyes returned to their normal color and a smile spread across her face.

"Hello, friends! Did you miss me?" She asked, her smile growing as everyone, even Raven, were noticeably consumed with relief.

"Starfire." Robin repeated, emotion heavy in his voice as he gathered his wife up in a loving hug, stroking her frizzy red hair as he rested his head on her shoulder for comfort. All of his earlier 'tough guy' facade disappeared in an instant, succumbing to the feelings that had been raging through him for far too long without being expressed. Everyone stood back for a minute to let them have their moment, but then swarmed the second Robin pulled back slightly. Raven was hesitant, but gave Starfire a quick pat on the shoulder as her own version of a hug while Cyborg and Beast Boy nearly tackled her. However, once their reunion with Starfire had settled down, they finally looked down at the baby in her arms, her blue eyes wide open as she wiggled around in her white blanket.

Everyone was speechless as they watched the little girl, her beauty causing them all to go into a trance. Her eyes still glowed lightly, making them even brighter, and her unique, fiery red hair made her look like an alien princess - which technically, she was. Robin could barely manage a coherent thought as he laid eyes on his child he didn't know existed until mere hours ago, going through the entire 'I'm going to be a dad' phase that was supposed to take months within just moments.

"Is it a... is it..." He tried to speak audibly, but couldn't manage it.

Starfire beamed at him. "It is a girl, Robin." After that, he didn't even attempt any more spoken language as he took in every one of his daughter's features: Starfire's eyebrows, his skin tone, her mouth, his nose. To him, this baby was a mirror image of him and Starfire, and he suddenly had no idea why he had been hesitant to have a child before.

"She's... amazing..." Breathed Cyborg, breaking the long silence. He carefully stroked her hair with a metal finger, and as he started to pull back, the little girl gripped his finger with her own minuscule hand, holding on unusually tightly for a newborn, - however, considering her heritage, it made sense. He felt his human eye tearing up, wondering how the heck everyone wasn't just bawling at the moment, considering the situation. He glanced at Robin, who looked like he was about ready to either breakdown or faint from the emotional overload. Or maybe both.

"Wow. I mean, congrats!" Beast Boy offered, flashing a toothy smile at the new parents. They returned his grin and looked back at the new baby happily, silently watching her every tiny movement.

Starfire suddenly giggled a few seconds later, earning an eyebrow raise from Robin as she somewhat ruined the sentimental moment. "What?" he asked, a small smile emerging on his face.

"Oh, I was just thinking… since she was so, well, unexpected…" Starfire trailed off for a moment, thinking about how true that statement was. "We have never deliberated on what to name her!"

Robin's face lit up in realization. "Oh, right." Then, he suddenly blushed and looked down at his feet. "Actually… I have considered baby name choices before," he admitted shyly.

Starfire's eyes lifted up to his while he continued to look at nothing in particular. "You have? But we were not expecting?"

"Ah, yeah, ha… um…" Robin hesitated, a little embarrassed to make his confession. "I might have thought of names when we were…dating," he finished reluctantly. Cyborg attempted to stifle a laugh from behind the couple, failing miserably as Robin turned red.

Starfire looked bewildered for a moment until her eyes widened. "Oh!" She grinned happily, actually flattered by Robin's 'planning.' "That is most interesting! Tell me, what names did you come up with?"

Robin tried to compose himself as he heard Beast Boy subtly whisper "that is most creepy" to the half-robot beside him.

"Well, I came up with two girl names. One was 'Marla,' since it's kind of a combination of our mother's names." He finally regained the courage to look back to his wife and child beside him, watching as Starfire beamed excitedly at him - though he could detect that her eyelids were starting to droop from fatigue.

"Oh, I love that, Husband Robin! Mary and Luand'r… Marla…" She said to herself, seeing how he had conjoined the two names. "Marla is a glorious name!"

Robin returned her grin. "Marla it is, then."

Suddenly, the green teen piped up from beside Cyborg. "Wait, what was the other name?"

"Huh?" Robin asked, feigning misunderstanding as he preferred not to reveal that one.

"The other name? You said you came up with two; ya only told us one." Cyborg clarified.

"Oh, yeah." Robin sighed. "It was nothing special, really… just mmm mm," he mumbled, saying the name so incoherently that none of his teammates could catch it.

"Dude, come on, I couldn't even hear that and I have super-sensitive hearing!" Beast Boy exclaimed exasperatingly, gesturing to his pointed ears as Raven rolled her eyes.

"Could ya repeat that?" Cyborg smirked.

Robin shook his head, realizing he couldn't wriggle his way out of this one. "...Robin."

Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately burst out laughing as Raven facepalmed. Starfire couldn't help but give her husband an amused look as he pressed a finger to his temple in distress.

"What! It's a girl name too!" he defended weakly. That did nothing to quiet the roaring laughter behind the frazzled new father as he hopelessly gave up on maintaining his fragile pride.

"Robin… it is a great name but... I think it would get a bit confusing." Starfire said sweetly, resting a hand on Robin's shoulder, but leaning a little more weight on it than she normally would as it became difficult for her to support herself. "I think Marla is perfect."

Robin's awkwardness finally melted away as he wrapped his arm around Starfire's waist, pulling her close and kissing her hairline as the mirth from behind them slowly quieted down. They felt little hurry to return to the tower yet, still too absorbed in their reunion.

With everything calmed down now, Raven felt the unpleasant feeling resurface - the same bad vibe she had tried to suppress for so long. However, now she knew the consequences of burying her feelings and did nothing to ignore it this time. She looked over the couple worriedly, knowing that something was not right about one of them. She took a careful step back, fearing that their reunion with their best friend was not what it seemed. Though she tried not to seem obvious, Beast Boy noticed her sudden timidity.

"Raven? What's wrong?" He asked, looking back at the pale-faced, wide-eyed half-demon. The other three followed his gaze, quickly becoming concerned. Starfire automatically held her baby closer to her chest, knowing well that something must be very wrong in order to bother Raven. Raven shook her head in denial, wishing that everything would just be okay for a change, but she knew it wasn't, and needed to tell them. She couldn't make the same mistake twice.

"That… emptiness. I feel it again." Raven said quietly, looking at Starfire and her baby with sad eyes, almost feeling responsible for the dreadful news she was delivering during what was suppose to be a happy time. Robin, having forgotten his anger towards Raven for the moment, gave her a pleading look.

"No, Raven, why… what do you mean?" He nearly choked, absentmindedly searching Starfire over carefully to check for any abnormalities.

"I do not understand. Are you certain, Raven? I am positive that I am really here now." She insisted, hoping that Raven was perhaps sensing something else and was merely confused.

The group watched Raven solemnly as she folded her legs underneath her while levitating mid-air, preparing to examine Starfire like she had before, everyone already understanding this without explanation. As she concentrated on mediation for a moment, rehearsing her typical mantra, she vaguely acknowledged Beast Boy's comforting hand resting on her shoulder, almost as if he was trying to protect her as much as they all wanted to protect Starfire and her baby. She felt her heart skip a beat at the gesture, but soon pushed her thoughts about it to the back of her mind as she released her black soul-self into Starfire.

This time was different than the last. She entered and felt the presence of a living, thinking entity - not the cold shell from before. She immediately felt relief at this, but it only took a moment for reality to sink in.

Within the few short few seconds that her energy resided within Starfire, she saw her recent memories: her intense labor pains without any real medication, the chaotic and stressful birth, her befriending of the British pain controller, her painful electrocution, her confrontation with Slade - these all flashed through Raven's mind in an instant. As she passed back out of Starfire, she came in contact with a cold void, one very much like any of the inanimate objects she would control during a battle. But she knew the object wasn't inanimate - it was Marla.

She returned to her body, her eyes quickly snapping open. Everyone watched Raven as she landed back on the ground, never taking her eyes off Starfire.

"Starfire, we need to get you to the infirmary. Now." She pressed, knowing from being inside her mind that she was a mere minute away from passing out due to physical and mental exhaustion. Hearing the terrible news about her child would be too much for her to handle at the moment, despite the energetic front she had put on.

"Raven, what's going on." Robin demanded, his anger starting to be directed at Raven again as Starfire leaned heavily upon him, gripping his arm for support.

"What's happening is look at her! She is about to lose consciousness, we need to get her out of here." Raven said in an equally demanding tone, but she really just wanted to protect the little stability Starfire had left at the moment.

"Not that." Robin said through ground teeth. "Why do you sense 'the emptiness' again." When Raven didn't answer, but glanced down at the baby with frightened eyes, Robin and the others, aside from Starfire who seemed to be out of it, understood immediately, gasping.

"Oh, man…" Cyborg whispered, all eyes on the snoozing infant. She yawned, her tiny eyes squeezing shut tighter as she turned half her face into Starfire's chest.

Starfire was now putting the majority of her weight onto Robin, who finally noticed this and was quickly becoming worried, and her heavy eyes looked over her depressed teammates. "What is… bringing you down? We escaped... did we not?" Starfire said, her poor condition obvious from her voice. She had expended too much energy from her extreme endurance, now running on her final reserves, which were depleting fast.

Robin shifted on his feet, understanding why Raven didn't want to hit them with the painful truth right then. However, he himself couldn't quite accept it either. He swallowed back his sadness and silently put his large hands underneath the tiny being, gently lifting her into his own arms. He stroked her face lovingly, knowing that even though this wasn't truly his little girl, his little girl could still feel his touch, wherever she was. Starfire was a little perplexed by his actions, because instead of joy on his face, he had the same look as when he said goodbye to her when she was in labor.

Suddenly, as Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven watched Robin's struggle against his emotions, Robin's communicator rang. Sniffing, he grabbed it from his belt, half-heartedly flipping it open, but froze the moment he saw Slade on the small screen. Starfire, who had been nearly dozing on Robin's shoulder, immediately straightened up and became alert.

"Oh, good, you made it out. Isn't that a relief?" Slade asked rhetorically, visible eye narrowed. Robin stuttered, but said nothing, subconsciously grabbing Starfire tighter and hugging his baby's avatar to them.

"Why so quiet, you two? I would think you'd be happy you're all together again."

Robin's anguish soon turned to anger. "Except we're not." He returned his hostile stare, glaring at the villain hatefully.

Starfire gasped, turning her head towards Robin weakly. "What do you mean... Robin? We are together now." Robin's eyes softened, desperately wishing that Starfire could be spared this pain at the moment.

Slade chuckled. "Really? You haven't figured it out yet, little Tamaranean?" He said spitefully. He stepped slightly to the side to reveal Adelaide tied up in the background, her eyes scared and her mouth covered with duct tape.

"Adelaide!" Starfire exclaimed. She glared at Slade's image with fire brimming her tired eyes. "You let her go, Slade!"

"And how exactly will you make me?" He smiled. "Besides, I think there is someone else you should be thinking of saving more." Slade reached down, Adelaide shaking her head and fighting against her restraints violently. When he came back up, he was holding an unconscious baby, hooked up to wires and tubes which looked all too familiar to Starfire.

Her eyes grew wide. "No," she whispered in horror.

Author's Notes: Annnd plot twist! XD Those are fun. But actually, if any of you follow the Doctor Who parallel, this was kind of to be expected. And also, I feel the need to thank you guys for your AMAZING reviews! They're all so nice and always make my day. I never really thought anyone would read this, let alone like it, so the fact that some people do is very encouraging :) And seriously, LEXI, you made me cry hahah, your review was beautiful :') Thought you should know that. Reading those reviews definitely motivates me to write faster! XD So anyway, THANK YOU ALL! :D