In this chapter, Starfire will fight Michael Morningstar.
It's a showdown you've been waiting for. If you want to read it, be my guest.
I imagine you've been reading this fanfic up until this point. I'm not sure why you would want to read ahead.
And yes, a lot of sentences in this summary start with the letter "I."
Chapter 20: Star vs Star
"So, Cyborg, have you seen anything suspicious?" asked Raven.
Currently, they were all in the living room. Cyborg too had heard about the attacks. What kind of villain was targeting these girls? They looked like zombies.
He hoped Terra stayed safe.
If it weren't for her, he would have been fried by Overload. It seemed water wasn't going to work forever. It might work against Cinderblock though. Wouldn't he sink like a stone?
They probably wouldn't have to worry about him attacking their tower.
"Well, to be honest with you, I saw Terra again." answered Cyborg.
He wasn't expecting that.
"What were the chances?" questioned Beast Boy. Something told him it wasn't a mirage.
"I guess she didn't stay a statue after all." noted the dark girl. Though they had made a decent shrine to her, if she said so herself.
"Man, I sure hope she wasn't responsible for the theft of Malchior's book." spoke the boy.
"I don't think your hopes will be dashed, Beast Boy. She wasn't there when the tower was attacked by him, remember?" asked Raven. And she hadn't seen her anywhere near the tower where the book was kept.
"That's right. I remember now." nodded Beast Boy.
"So it's safe to assume she doesn't know about the book's existence." spoke the girl.
"Somebody stole Malchior's book? That's terrible!" exclaimed Cyborg.
"I know. That's why we're trying to find it to make sure that nobody uses it for evil. Malchior could teach the thief a thing or two about dark magic. And dark magic is not a toy. It can do very awful things." explained Raven.
"The concept makes me shiver!" shouted Beast Boy.
"Have you seen anyone shady around the tower lately?" asked the dark girl.
"Well, Starfire has been hanging out with her friend Michael Morningstar lately." noted Cyborg.
"He has? I'm not sure if Michael is trustworthy. We haven't known him for too long." answered Raven.
"But he's so handsome!" exclaimed Beast Boy. Surely if you were a lady killer you weren't…a lady killer.
"You thought Terra was attractive, did you not? Looks can be deceiving…though unlike Terra, I get the feeling that Michael isn't going to do the right thing in the end." warned the pacifistic girl.
"You think he might be the culprit?" asked the boy.
"We don't know for sure, but he seems like the most likely suspect." noted Raven.
"Are you sure? Because I think Robin is practicing spells at the moment." pointed out Beast Boy.
He was levitating a cup.
"Well, we could ask him. But it doesn't look like dark magic to me." pointed out Raven.
"Do you need something?" asked Robin.
"We wanted to ask you about a book that was stolen." questioned the dark girl.
"You mean the one that I took from Mumbo? I think it would be better in my hands." explained the boy.
"Oh. So it isn't the book Malchior's trapped in." comprehended Raven. To her knowledge, Mumbo didn't imprison magical creatures.
"Who would want to steal that?" asked Robin. None of the Teen Titans wanted to go near that thing, Raven especially.
"If I had to guess, a boy with a twisted mind underneath his charming smile." answered the girl.
Michael Morningstar could be the one they were looking for.
"Wait, wouldn't you need someone to help you learn magic?" asked Beast Boy.
"Gwen is helping me with that." explained Robin.
"Hi!" exclaimed Gwen.
He would probably try learning different fields of magic than Raven, however. He wanted a well-balanced team of superheroes.
Fortunately, it turned out Beast Boy and Raven worked surprisingly well. Beast Boy's keen sense of smell allowed him to work great in the dark…and it wasn't hard for Raven to shroud the battlefield in darkness.
It would still be best if they stayed with the rest of the group if they could help it, however. There were some foes that required lots of teamwork to take down.
Malchior was no exception, and he may end up being released.
Robin told Starfire about the crisis.
"I'll help look for it!" exclaimed the girl from outer space. She knew how dangerous a book could be.
Meanwhile…
"It's lucky that people fall for my charms so easily. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't manage to pilfer this." noted Michael.
For some strange reason, the door to Raven's room had been melted. Had there been a struggle? It wouldn't be the first time a villain had infiltrated the tower they called home.
But he decided not to question something he liked. It made swiping the book a lot easier.
Admittedly, she had been careful to lock the chest containing it. But it wasn't much of a problem for someone of his talents.
He could just blast the lock off.
"Now…let's open this book, shall we?" asked Michael.
He opened the book, flipping the pages until he found who he was looking for.
"Raven, is that you? I knew you would speak to me again eventu-you're not Raven…" spoke Malchior.
"Well, I did break into her room." answered Michael Morningstar. If she found out she would probably kill him…but something told him that a certain fire-breathing dragon was going to kill her first.
"Still, perhaps you'd be willing to let me out of this book." noted the dragon. Just because he was a dragon didn't mean he wanted to spend all his time sleeping on a pile on treasure.
"If you're trying to manipulate me, don't assume it's going to work." said the blonde boy.
"What makes you think I'm trying to manipulate you?" questioned the dark reptile.
"It takes a manipulator to know one." explained Michael.
"Well, I suppose I've done that in the past. But I think we can both benefit from a deal I have to offer." spoke Malchior.
"An offer, you say?" asked the life drainer.
"Yes…you release me from this book, and I'll teach you what I know about magic." explained the dragon.
"That will be done." answered Michael.
"I suggest you don't try to manipulate me, however…as you said, it takes a manipulator to know one." advised Malchior.
"Of course. But I've made my choice. Expergiscimini tenebrosum draconem!" shouted Michael.
As before, the dark dragon was unleashed.
Meanwhile…
"Is it just me, or did it suddenly get colder in here?" asked Raven.
"I feel scared for some reason." spoke Beast Boy.
"We might be…too late to find the book Malchior was imprisoned in…" noted the girl.
"Oh no!" exclaimed the boy.
"We're going to have to prepare for the worst." warned Raven. Unfortunately, she didn't know any dragon slayers. If she did, her life would probably be a lot easier.
And of course, they were going to have to prepare for whatever maniac thought it was a good idea to unleash the dragon in the first place.
"By the way, people compare me to Kevin Levin. I don't know why that is." spoke Beast Boy.
Raven shrugged. She had no idea.
Ironically, Starfire was giving Michael Morningstar a phone call.
"Hi, Michael!" exclaimed the alien.
"Greetings, Starfire." spoke Michael on his cell phone.
Malchior was curious.
Morningstar muted the phone for a moment.
"You know Starfire?" asked Michael.
"I fought her once…and won handily." answered Malchior. Even though she had three of her four teammates at her side at the time.
"Then I imagine you won't mind if I drain the life from her then." spoke the sociopathic boy.
"I certainly won't." nodded the dragon.
Michael unmuted his cell phone.
"So, how are things between you and Ben?" asked Mike.
"They're going great!" exclaimed Starfire.
"I see." nodded Michael.
"We both have Omnitrixes! How about that?" asked the alien.
"You think you're destined to be together?" questioned the boy.
"Could be." answered Starfire.
"Well, you two have fun." said Mike.
"By the way, why'd you mute the phone? I was worried I set the volume down to zero…it's as quiet as a library when that happens." noted the alien.
"I was just talking to a friend…someone who's friendly and charming like me." explained Michael.
"Sounds good! Could you tell me who this friend of yours is?" asked Starfire.
She then realized that Michael had hung up.
"Normally, I don't target men. It's harder for me to use my good looks on them. But I suspect if I wish to get close to Starfire, I suspect Ben Tennyson will need to be out of the picture." noted the boy.
"That does make things a bit more complicated, doesn't it?" asked Malchior.
"It does. But I'm flexible. Who knows how much power I'll get from absorbing one of the two Omnitrixes?" questioned Michael.
"In case you decide I'm no longer useful to you and I should go back inside my book, I'll have you know I already destroyed it with my fire breath." explained the dragon.
Unfortunately, he had assumed Raven would be too heartbroken to send him back. But he wasn't making the same mistake twice.
"You certainly know how to play your cards right." spoke the boy.
"I could say the same to you." nodded Malchior.
"Know a spell I could use to gain the upper hand?" asked Michael.
"Yes, I do." nodded the dragon.
Mike decided to call Ben Tennyson.
"Hey, Ben. Why don't you come on over to my house so we can play video games?" asked Mike.
He was originally going to invite Starfire, but as he said to Malchior, he figured dealing with Ben first would be a great idea.
"Sure, why not." answered Ben.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what was he getting into.
He assumed that Michael was his friend (on the basis of him being Starfire's friend), but in truth he was nobody's friend…except maybe Malchior's.
So off to Michael's house he went.
"He sure has a spacious house." noted the boy.
Being the nice boy that he was, he decided to ring the doorbell.
"Hello?" asked Ben.
Michael answered it.
"I see that you answered my invitation." said the blonde.
"I sure did." nodded Ben.
"Why don't we come on in and have a chat." spoke Michael Morningstar.
"Sure…" said the boy with the Omnitrix, unaware that he was placing himself in danger.
Elsewhere…
Starfire discovered a crying girl.
Being the compassionate soul she was, she decided to stop the search temporarily to ask what was troubling the girl.
She had blonde hair and dressed in blue.
"What's wrong?" asked the alien.
"It's my older sister. She's in the hospital." explained the young girl.
"I'm sorry to hear that." said Starfire.
"She was dating a guy named Michael Morningstar." continued the ten-year-old.
"Wait, she was dating him?" asked the alien.
The young girl nodded.
"Something funny is going on…though I don't think Michael works at the circus." noted Starfire.
Was Michael responsible for the hospitalized girls?
She hoped not, but if he was, he was very dangerous.
Starfire already knew from Terra that some people were more dangerous than they looked. And she knew she was stronger than she looked too.
So she decided she would pay Michael Morningstar a visit.
Apparently, he lived in a luxurious mansion.
"Is Michael some sort of vampire?" asked Starfire. Raven had given her a story or two regarding them. She wanted to help Starfire learn how to read.
There was no sign of bite marks on the victims (though she saw a star-shaped mark on one of the victims on the news), but she was reminded of one.
As it turned out, she had arrived at Michael's estate not too soon.
"Have a seat, shall we?" asked Mike to Ben.
"Sure." nodded Ben.
He sat down…
…and suddenly found himself chained to the chair.
These chains seemed…magical.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Ben.
"Oh that…you see, you're standing between me and Starfire." explained Michael.
"Huh?" questioned the boy.
"I'll start by draining the life from you, then draining the power from your Omnitrix." spoke Mike.
"What? You can't!" exclaimed Ben.
It looked as if underneath that charming smile hid a heart of malice.
"Of course I can. When you have power you can do anything you want." answered Michael Morningstar.
If Ben hadn't met Vilgax, he would probably consider Michael to be the most evil boy ever.
"Michael!" exclaimed Starfire.
Luckily, it looked as if he had a guardian angel…from space.
"Starfire?" asked Michael.
"It's you who were responsible for the attacks, wasn't it?" questioned Starfire.
"Guilty as charged." spoke the boy who was secretly evil.
"Why'd you do it, Michael?" asked the girl.
"Why not? The more people I drain, the stronger I become." explained Michael.
"So you're doing all this just to make yourself more powerful?" asked Starfire.
"If it means becoming the most powerful man on Earth, then yes!" exclaimed the boy.
"You have to be stopped!" exclaimed the girl.
"Why quit while I'm ahead? I know what my next victim is going to be…" spoke Michael.
He attempted to drain Ben, only to be blasted with a starbolt.
"You'll do no such thing!" exclaimed Starfire.
Using her laser eyes, she released Ben from his bonds.
"Thanks…" spoke the boy.
Thankfully, this did not emasculate him…mainly because of how strong Starfire was.
Besides, it looked like he had a way to return the favor.
Michael grabbed Starfire and started draining her power.
"Hey!" exclaimed the alien.
Ben transformed into Diamondhead.
He then launched crystals at Michael.
"Ow!" exclaimed Mike.
"I likely could have escaped his grip myself given my super strength…but I strongly appreciate your help." remarked Starfire.
"You're welcome!" shouted the boy with the Omnitrix. "I strongly appreciate your help myself."
Michael launched a beam of light at Starfire.
"Aaahhh!" exclaimed the alien.
Ben gasped.
"So this is what it's like on the other side." noted the alien.
Well, she had faced Dr. Light before.
Michael didn't rely on a suit though.
"Now it's your turn!" exclaimed the blonde boy.
He decided to hit Diamondhead…
…but the light reflected off of him.
"What?!" exclaimed Michael.
"I picked an excellent choice, didn't I?" asked Ben.
"I think you did." nodded Starfire.
This gave her an idea.
She decided to transform into a Crystalsapien.
"Should I call this form Amethyst?" asked the alien.
"Works for me." nodded Ben.
This also worked against Michael surprisingly well.
The light beams went right through him.
"You two are smarter than I thought." noted Mike.
"Don't mistake my naivety for stupidity!" exclaimed Starfire.
"Yeah, she's a genius." noted Ben.
The Tamaranean's cheeks turned pink.
"Well, using a Petrosapien to counter Michael's powers was a good idea." noted Starfire.
"I appreciate the compliments." remarked Ben.
"You two may be smart, but don't assume you've won. I have ways to make myself stronger." spoke Michael.
"Are you going to try to absorb us? I imagine you would have a hard time given our immunity to your beams of energy." pointed out Starfire.
"I'm not limited to living beings. I have other means of getting what I want…though young girls are my preference." noted the blonde boy.
"Your misogyny is disgusting!" exclaimed Starfire.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." remarked Ben.
"Should I give them back?" asked the girl.
"No thanks." answered the boy.
Michael began to absorb energy from the powerlines outside.
They could tell he was getting stronger.
"Not good." remarked Ben.
It looks like things went from bad to worse.
Are the Teen Titans going to end up dragon food?
We can only hope not.