A/N: I FINALLY figured out how to tie this in and I'm so excited to share it with you guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait. That was a brutal block for a minute there but I think I can start to get this story cooking again! As always drop a fav/follow/share and please leave a review to keep me in check! Thanks for waiting! Hope you enjoy!
Darkness drown the room in a gloomy depression. The silence consumed the air with the taste of a somber melody so quiet you could hear your own heart beat to the sad song in the quiet room.
Starfire tossed and turned breaking the melody of sad silence with the rustling of her blankets as she lay awake with no chance of sleeping. She longed for the warm body of Richard laying next to her. She wanted to feel his bare chest with her hands as she drifted into an unconscious euphoria in his arms... Instead, she lay awake with her eyes irritated from the endless struggle to fight back her emotions. She didn't seem to care that someone had placed a bounty on her at the moment. All she seemed to care about was her desperate need for comfort from someone she loved dearly.
What am I to do? She asked herself.
Her mind flashed back to their dinner date. everything was perfect until she tried pressuring Dick to talk about his journey alone.
Perhaps... it would have been best if I had not tried to help him... She opened her eyes to see the ticking hands of an analog clock next to her bed. The short hand pointed to right side of the clock while the long hand pointed straight up. She had been laying in bed for hours unable to quell her mind and soon the sun would be rising. This sent her into an even deeper state of sadness.
At the same time on the other side of the city the pitch black darkness of night made for a perfect cover thanks to the coming clouds of a possible storm. They crossed paths with the moon casting a blanket of greater darkness over the city every so often.
A tall and muscular man was running frantically from something down a dark alley. He had a shaded pale tint in his skin with jet black hair wearing a black shirt with the sleeves ripped off exposing his rounded muscular arms. His blue jeans and black boots only slowed him down but he was still athletic enough to move with purpose as he fled from his fears...
The man quickly made a left hand turn around the corner of the building that made up this alley, looking above him to the roof only to catch a glimpse of a shadow of whatever was following him jumping from the roof of one building to the next. He put his head down to see a motorcycle fit for a biker gang parked at the dead end of this alley. Hope shot through him as he smiled, breathing heavily as he continued sprinting.
Just before he got to his bike the shadow revealed itself landing in front of him with a silent thud followed by a swift spinning back kick landing in the soft unexpecting stomach of the man. The air in his lungs quickly vanished from the powerful bow to his gut forcing a silent whimper to escape past his lips through open jaw held by the face with a terrified look of shock. It stopped him dead in his tracks, stumbling backwards before falling on his backside.
He looked up from the ground as he clutched his stomach staring at the black shadow of a man with a fire in his eyes, "you're gonna pay for that!" He tried to scream as he caught his breath before jumping to his feet and charging blindly.
The dark shadow then threw a device from out of nowhere that broke into two separate devices joined by a long cable strong enough to tow a truck. The device was thrown with perfect aim allowing the cable to wrap around the feet the man joining them together as the two devices tightened around his ankles before locking in place sending him in a free fall to land on his face. The man fell into a sense of failure and lay on the ground in a defeated manner.
"Sorry, Rancid," The shadow said standing over him, "did I ruin your big plans?"
"I ain't telling you nothin," Jonny Rancid respond. Instantly folloing those words a sharp pain filled his scalp as the shadow reached down grabbed a fist full of his jet black hair forcing his chin to lift to dull the pain. His eyes then focused on a familiar face that was right up in his own.
"I think you'll have a change in heart," the voice was dark and sinister behind a V shaped mask covering only his eyes, "and if you tell me what I need to know I promise not to hurt you... Much." Even in his mask Rancid could see his enemies gaze narrow as if a demon were smirking behind the mask as it controlled the owners every action.
"I... I thought you were a good guy..." Rancid said fearing what could come next.
The shadow released his grip on his hair as if throwing his head into the pavement before standing up. The clouds casting a thick blanket of darkness began to break up slowly passing by the moon giving just enough light to reveal a dark suit bearing a blue eagle on the chest. Nightwing stood over Rancid with the most gruesome look on his face as he raised a foot over Rancid's head as if he were about to stomp on him.
"I am. But I'm not going to lose her again to people like you," as he finished his foot came crashing down while the passing clouds once again gained strength enough to cover the moon casting a futher darkness on the city, almost as if shielding the moon from seeing what was coming next...
A few hours later the sun rose on a new day in jump city. As it gained distance in the sky the city began to wake as people went on with their lives.
The Titans gathered in the living room waiting for Starfire to lead them with the plan for the day but to their surprise she didn't appear. She was usually the first one up and about ready to start the day but for some reason her energy was absent from the Tower.
The rest of the Titans sat at the dinner table surrounded by a meal they hadn't eaten yet. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, waffles. They were scattered across the table on plates. Plenty to feed the the entire team. But no one seemed hungry at the moment.
"This ain't like her y'all," Cyborg said to the others with worry, "if this keeps up we're gonna end up losing her too."
"Well what are we supposed to do?" Beastboy shot back, "the only one who can fix this stormed out last night and hasn't even bothered to call in the past 2 months."
"I don't know, man," Cyborg respond, "it just seems like we can do... something."
"I'll talk to her," Raven said softly under her breath. She still wasn't the best at helping people with their emotions but she has gotten confident enough in her ability to communicate that she has been trying to help a lot more, "I can't promise I'll cheer her up but I think she will at least come out of her room..." As she finished, she stood up from the table and began to head for the hallway doors.
"While you do that, we'll try to get ahold of Dick," Beastboy said trying to help, "the least he can do is tell us what he's doing..." Beastboy finished his sentence with a sense of annoyance behind his words. Like this shouldn't even be an issue yet here they are dealing with it.
Raven looked back at the boys from the corner of her eyes after hearing Beastboy's tone while she entered the hallway. As the doors slid shut behind her she thought about what Beastboy was saying.
Hasn't even bothered to call in the past 2 months... Had she completely overlooked what he truly felt when Richard first got home? She could have sworn that his absence and lack of communication didn't bother him or Cyborg at all... If that was the case... Why would he say that? What's more, was the tone behind his voice when she exit the room...
The least he can do is tell us what he's doing...
He almost seemed angry at his friend in that moment. It made her begin to question herself with the true intent of her boyfriend's emotions. Something she was never in doubt of. Not once. She was so lost in these thoughts that before she knew it, she looked up to find herself standing in front of Starfire's door...
How long... How long have I been standing here? She pondered from losing her sense of time. She shook off her thoughts and refocused on the task at hand: Starfire.
She raised her right hand with her palm facing her and curled her index finger. Seperating it from the rest of her fingers and using the isolated knuckle as a blunt object, she tapped softly on the door.
"Star?" Raven whispered loudly, "are you ok?"
... Not so much as a rustling or a whimper in response.
"Star?" Raven said with strength behind her voice, "it's Raven." She felt stupid saying that. Of course it is but she was at a loss floor words at this point... "Can I come in?"
... Once again nothing but silence in return.
"Star?" Raven asked loudly as she began to worry. She opened the door and stepped inside quickly. She scanned the room slowly ensuring she didnt over look anything and as she did her heart slowly began to pound in her chest.
Panic.
Sheer horror fell on Raven. Something that is not only rare for her but also dangerous. The room she stepped into had no signs of Starfire anywhere. The bed was made. Her clothes still filled the closet. Her furniture was undisturbed. There was no sign of struggle or a fight of any kind but what scared Raven to the very core...
Starfire's communicator was placed on the center of her bed as if someone meant to put it there.
