Author's Notes: Heyy, sorry for disappearing! I had hoped to do a bunch of writing this summer but instead all of my friends have been wanting to do stuff with me and thus I've had hardly any time to myself. But I'm now on a two day break and thought I should post something before I leave again! Here ya go! Oh, and PS: I'm now a licensed driver. ;)

Chapter 20: Risks

The T-ship glided silently through space, each of the four Titans focusing on their individual tasks, making up for the absence of one crewmember. Robin gripped the steering wheel painfully tight, his knuckles turning white and his teeth clenched as he fought against those stubborn things called emotions. Feeling would have to wait until after this mission. He had already been compromised several times during this ordeal, and he wasn't about to let it happen again.

It was eerily quiet and lonely without Starfire's happy banter in the background.

"Okay ya'll, Bee told me she just got to the tower. Star's gonna be just fine." Cyborg reported, breaking the silence as he hung up his communicator and spoke into the microphone which broadcasted to the other pods in the ship.

"I'm more worried that she thinks she'll be fine too and feel obligated to help us," Robin said, his voice even. "You really think Bumblebee can hold her down?"

Cyborg chuckled slightly. "Heck yeah! Bee could totally give her a run for her money in a fight. If she can beat me, she can at least stall Starfire," he said, finally admitting to himself that Bumblebee would have won that battle in Brother Blood's lair had she not been going easy on him. It took a chunk out of his ego, but it only made him admire the sassy hybrid more.

"What are you talking about, Cyborg. Star is no shape to fight anyone, which is the purpose of her detainment." Robin reminded, a tinge of hostility in his voice.

"I know, I know. I meant just in case! Sheesh." Cyborg said quickly, mumbling the last bit to himself. Robin grunted in response, choosing to return his focus back on following the sound patterns of Slade's ship displayed on the radar in front of him rather than getting into a pointless argument with his teammate.

Cyborg sighed, realizing that it wasn't fair to get on Robin's frazzled nerves at the moment. "Sorry, man, I didn't mean to-"

"Wait," Robin interrupted sternly, directing his sights to the controls in front of him, Cyborg's innocent remark long forgotten. In his increasing desperation to reach Slade's ship across the galaxy faster than possible, he suddenly remembered a little detail that filled the young father with hope. His eyes soon landed on an untouched red button underneath a plexiglass protective cover, nearly hidden behind the steering wheel. "Haven't you been working on installing warp drive capabilities on the T-ship?"

Cyborg blinked, remembering the project he had started several years before but had never got around to test driving. It had been more of a way to occupy his spare time than to actually add a functioning 'Star-Trekkie' element to their ship. "Uh, I did some calculations and put in some experimental engines, but I never even reached the alpha testing phase. I don't think those tiny engines would last more than a few seconds in actual warp, if that."

Cyborg's eyes suddenly widened when he recalled which pod had access to his little science project. "Hold up, don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

His suspicions were confirmed as Robin began to tinker with some controls, preparing the ship for an impossible feat.

"Rob!" Cyborg exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. "I'm serious, man, don't do it! It's not safe! I've never used it, ever! There's no telling if it would even work, and if it did, we would probably drain all the power and be stranded in the middle of space! It's not worth the risks."

"Y-yeah, I have to side with Cy on this one, dude." Beast Boy added shakily, not very fond of the idea of being trapped in a useless metal cage thousands, maybe even millions, of miles away from home.

"But you said the engines could last for a few seconds, and that's all we would need to catch up to Slade in warpspeed." Robin finally said, not slowing down in his preparations.

Cyborg scoffed at Robin's stubbornness. "I said they could, as in might.. as in might not!" He ran his hands down his face in exasperation, sensing Robin's current unwillingness to listen to reason. "Don't do this!"

"We need to get to that ship now. He has already had a three and a half hour head start and we can't lose any more time."

"But not like this! Think of something else!" Cyborg pleaded desperately.

Raven, who had been quietly listening to the exchange from the safety of her isolated pod, softly spoke into her microphone. "Do it, Robin."

"WHAT?!" two voices blurted out simultaneously, in utter disbelief that Raven, of all people, would support such a rash decision.

Robin was even taken aback, despite his unfaltering determination. "Rave?"

"I've, um… got your back." Raven tried her best to show her support for Robin's actions, yet such a phrase sounded completely forced coming from her. "I'll save us, if anything happens. Just do it."

"R-Rae, wait," Beast Boy said nervously. "But what about you? What will happen to you if you do manage to save us?"

Confusion briefly washed over Raven as she took in Beast Boy's question. Why would he worry about me when he has himself to worry about?

"Well, such a prolonged use of my soul-self would likely drain me and the power it would take to suddenly teleport all of you to a sustainable atmosphere may be overwhelming," Raven answered honestly, though she thought little of the possible consequences to herself. More importantly, her friends would be safe even if she was not. Plus, she owed Robin and Starfire and was nearly as desperate to find Marla as they were, even if she didn't let it on. Deep down, she was excited about the idea of being a figurative aunt and already felt a bond with the little girl whom she hadn't technically met yet. She was willing to sacrifice herself to get her back.

Though Beast Boy didn't say anything, Raven barely heard him gulp anxiously over the sound system.

"Are you sure about this, Raven?" Robin asked, his hand hovering inches away from the cover of the forbidden button, his head clouded with conviction.

She nodded, despite her gesture being unseen. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Then, I trust you." Robin stated confidently, feeling the strong and unbreakable friendship he possessed with his teammate reassure him and boost his courage. No feud or disagreement could ever ruin their brother-sister bond.

With calculated movements, he lifted the plastic cover off the forbidden button, wasting no time as he firmly pressed it down with his gloved index finger. At first, nothing happened, and each Titan on board was unsure whether to feel relieved or worried, but then a mechanical roar began to sound from deep within the ship that none of the young heroes had ever heard before. Cyborg crossed his fingers as the roar steadily increased in tempo, the experimental engines he had installed whirring to life for the first time.

The lights in the ship began to flicker dangerously, dimming and flashing wildly while the ship's computer system started to malfunction, its screen becoming staticky and warbled. Robin's breath caught in his throat as he observed the unsettling breakdown, but kept himself from regretting his decision or questioning Raven's ability to bail them out if things took a turn for the worse. Everyone instinctively held on tightly to their chairs, especially Cyborg, as the ship was suddenly tugged backward, seeming to be pulled by an invisible force. A split second later, the ship lurched forward, as if released from a tense rubber band, and shot through space with such velocity that colors blended together to create an incoherent blur. The stars outside the ship elongated, reaching out as far as eye could see across the endless expanse of outer space, without end or beginning. No Titan could perceive the speed at which they were moving, instead feeling as if they were being stretched apart like the stars above.

Almost as quickly as it began, the ship halted, the engines quieting down and reality returning to normal. Instead of being thrusted forward like one normally would after immediately halting, everyone felt as if they had just jolted awake from a dream where time was indistinguishable. The stars above them, not them same stars as before, were once again little pin pricks floating in the sky. The lights in the T-ship fizzled out, leaving the Titans in disconcerting darkness, until the warp engines powered down a moment later, redirecting the remaining energy towards the ship's basic functions. Raven felt herself sigh in relief as the lights came back on, realizing that the worst was likely over and that she wouldn't have to over exert her powers for the time being.

"Are… are we dead?" Beast Boy croaked, opening one of his tightly shut eyes to wearily observe his surroundings.

"Naw, man. Somehow." Cyborg breathed, unable to fathom what had just happened. In his awestruck daze, he quickly started to run system diagnostics on the engines to assure himself that they weren't several seconds away from imploding.

Robin swallowed. "Sound system, lights, and oxygen supply are all stable. The navigation computer is still on the blink, but I think it's restoring," he reported, attempting to calm his racing heart.

"Everything checks out here too, but the power is pretty low, we're running solely on reserves. Don't ask me how we're gettin' back home," Cyborg said, still too amazed that his warp engines worked to truly dwell on his previous statement.

Beast Boy slowly unfolded himself from the near fetal position he had adopted during the warp jump, peering over at Cyborg's pod uncertainly. "That really isn't comforting, dude." Beast Boy chanced a closer look outside, only to feel his eyes bug out at the sight of a completely unfamiliar planet a short distance away from the ship. "Where the heck are we!?"

At Beast Boy's exclamation, the other three Titans also turned their attention to the huge planet to their left, a gargantuan forest-green rock spotted with enormous craters and dark clouds swirling around in its atmosphere. Cyborg felt himself sigh slightly in relief at the fact that they weren't close enough to it to be pulled in by its gravity, but he guessed that they shouldn't chance getting any closer. The T-ship was in no shape to overpower such a force.

"I don't know yet, Beast Boy - but the sensors read that the atmosphere of this planet contains a toxic amount of hydrogen. Not a safe pit stop." Robin replied, directing the last part of his statement mainly towards Cyborg.

Cyborg groaned. "Great. Oh, and by the way… NEVER DO THAT AGAIN, BIRD BRAIN!" he shouted across the ship, causing everyone wearing headsets to cringe at the outburst and the resulting interference from the angry half-robot's microphone. Robin shook his head to rid himself of the voice echoing in his mind and readjusted his headset.

"Fine, if you don't do that again." Robin snapped, still not feeling much like arguing. He wanted to point out that it had actually worked, but decided that saying something along the lines of 'I told you so' would be a bit childish. Besides, he did feel somewhat guilty for endangering his teammates like that, but he decided to save apologizing for a later date - now he just needed to find the source of all their trouble.

"Seriously!" Beast Boy exclaimed, covering his damaged ears underneath his headset, which now laid askew on his head due to his mad rush to protect his sensitive hearing. Cyborg merely grumbled a bit, complaining inaudibly under his breath as he continued to inspect any possible harm that could have been done by their unexpected jump through the Milky Way.

A moment into the quiet which had settled over the team, a noise sounded from the navigation computer, signaling that it had finally rebooted. A screen was present in everyone's pod, so they all looked down at the newly refreshed window and gasped at what they saw.

"Dudes! It's right around the corner!" Beast Boy said, breaking the stunned silence. He turned his head in the direction the radar tracker indicated, and found his vision obstructed by the big green planet outside his pod.

"How did the warp take us exactly where we needed to be?" Robin asked, but mostly rhetorically as he couldn't have been more thankful for the convenient teleport, accidental or not.

Cyborg's mood suddenly brightened considerably, abandoning his annoyance and feeling particularly giddy as he admired his excellent engineering. "The navigation computer was hooked up the warpdrive, so it automatically followed Slade's ship!" Cyborg exclaimed with a hint of surprise at how well his theoretical technology had worked. He suddenly chuckled. "Man, this was one heck of a test drive," he noted, laughing lightly. Robin nodded in ironic agreement, a small shadow of a smile flitting across his serious face for a brief second before it promptly disappeared. He reached for the steering wheel and, with their bearings found and the ship intact, began to navigate around the giant planet.

Each Titan looked on in interest at the planet, watching the gases and clouds shift in the atmosphere as they passed overhead. With his acute vision, Beast Boy swore he could detect small flashes near the planet's surface, unsure whether to attribute them to lightning strikes or something else. However, before he could ponder on it any further, cloud cover obstructed his view and he turned back to look at his teammates in their pods - yet, this sight was also a strange one. He returned his focus only to find everyone staring on ahead in utter shock; even Raven looked quite taken aback, her eyes abnormally wide and fixated past the front of the ship.

"What's with you guys?" Beast Boy asked as Robin slowed their advance until the ship was hanging motionless in space. They had partially circled the planet, and were now facing the direction of Slade's ship - according to their trusty sonar. Lacking an answer, Beast Boy finally lifted his eyes upward, only to feel his mouth fall open in the same astonishment as everyone else.

The tiny, five passenger T-ship beheld a mammoth space station that resembled a floating continent. From it, smaller ships that were the size of ants in comparison kept departing, some heading towards the planet below and others dispersing out into space. The station looked much like a land mass, appearing more rocky than metallic, but it was clear that it was a perfectly functional spaceship - many docks and windows looking into the inside of the giant structure were visible to the awestruck Titans.

"Is that… Slade's… ship?" Beast Boy asked uncertainly, breaking the silence yet again. He had a hard time believing this was Slade's getaway vehicle, but his thought processes were currently on hold as he tried to take in this new sight and he ended up asking the idiotic question anyway.

"Really, B?" Cyborg asked simply, but refrained from teasing the boy about it any more as he continued to look at the station in amazement, imagining the technology that must have been needed to create the thing.

"Slade's ship is inside the station." Robin clarified once he found his voice again. This was quite the game changer and the young leader could feel his brain already recalculating their plan, preparing for some variables that he hadn't previously considered. Beast Boy gulped as he imagined Slade with his own personal army or squadron within that giant space station, realizing that this rescue mission may very well be tougher than everyone had anticipated.

The Titans East ship had just broken the atmosphere, discarding its rockets and engaging the engines as it sped farther away from the Earth. Starfire's eyes looked upon her secondary home planet as it got smaller and smaller, never ceasing to be fascinated by being out in space despite the fact that she could visit it at any time she pleased. As the planet became a small blue speck mingling together with other planets and stars, Starfire eventually turned her attention back the spunky hybrid operating the ship.

"How long do you suppose it will take for us to reach Slade?" Starfire asked, biting one of her nails nervously.

"According to the radar, several hours, and that's pushing this little ship to the max. But no worries, I fueled her up good with Sparky's blend that I 'borrowed.'" Bumblebee said, lifting her hands off the wheel for a moment to put air quotes around the word 'borrowed.' "This girl may be small but she's tough! We got that in common," she smirked.

Starfire sighed, leaning her head against the back of her seat, her mind replaying all of her recent memories. She had little idea as to why Slade was so determined to steal her daughter away from her and Robin. What could possibly be worth going through so much trouble? And why did he use such an odd method to do so? Surely there were other ways to kidnap a child than to basically clone the mother, then clone the child, and then run off into deep space. Though then again, the method had produced the desired effects: Slade got away with his prize. She shook her head, looking down at her once pregnant belly sullenly. Starfire had always wished to experience being a mother, yet so far that had been all but stolen from her.

Bumblebee turned her head briefly to glance at Starfire in the pod behind her, seeing the depressed look on her face. Since she finally had time to really ruminate on the situation without any distractions for the next few hours, Bumblebee feared that her recent confidence would falter and maybe even disappear. Bumblebee knew the feeling, so she tried to never stay still for long.

"I hope ya know how risky this is, Star," Bumblebee said, dragging Starfire out of her thoughts. "You still aren't quite yourself."

Starfire nodded slowly, noting the exhaustion that still prodded behind her eyes and the weakness that hung in her limbs. Her body was still rebooting from such an extensive shutdown. "I am aware of the risks, but staying behind is not an option," she asserted, almost fearing that Bumblebee would turn the ship around and force her back into bed.

"I get how ya feel. I'm not one to be left out of a fight. I think you should rest on the way though, maybe get back some of your strength before we find em," Bumblebee suggested.

Starfire raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Are you certain? Do you not need my assistance in flying the ship?"

"Naw, Star, it's cool. I've flown her plenty of times alone and I've adapted to going solo. You go ahead and get some sleep, you'll need to recuperate as much as possible."

"Then… as you wish," Starfire said, returning to her resting position. As the minutes went by, a nap sounded like a better and better idea, and her eyelids slowly fell shut and the alien was soon immersed in a dreamless sleep, her last conscious thought consisting of her, Robin, and their baby together as a family at last.