(A/N)- Went with the obvious route on this prompt. So a little missing scene from "Haunted". Because angst. :)
Disclaimer: The fic writer makes no attempt to claim ownership over the property.
RobStar Week 2015, Day 6 - Haunted
Starfire's arms were crossed so tightly they were hurting, and it was agony to keep still. But if she didn't force herself to stay out of Cyborg's way as he sawed valiantly at the thick steel door, she would simply go mad.
Hell, she was already going mad. Images of torn, battered Robin, somewhere out in the Tower-alone, terrified, hurting himself-flashed constantly through her mind.
She wanted to pace. To scream. Something.
From the corner where she levitated, Raven suddenly gasped, her head shooting up. "Robin!" she cried.
Starfire rushed over, feeling her heart spike into her throat. Her frightened eyes were already asking the question.
What is it, Raven? What has happened?
"I can feel him..." Raven breathed. "He's not going to make it!"
She felt panic take hold of her. It turned her limbs to ice. She was immobilized with it.
No...
They were taking too long. Robin's heart would give out before they could reach him. He would kill himself. He would die.
The panic vanished a second later.
She had to save him.
An eerie calm and determination gripped her heart, wresting her from inaction. She furrowed her brows, frowning, feeling strength well up inside her. She could see the room around her, the panels over the doors and windows, the inches thick floor, the layers of steel meant to trap her in... and knew in that moment that they couldn't hold her.
She eyed the floor below. That was her exit. Cyborg wouldn't be happy about it, but she didn't care.
"Then let us end this battle... now!" she growled.
She punched her hands into the floor, fingers gripping handfuls of steel, nails sinking into metal, and heaved.
The floor pulled away all too easily, like so much tissue paper. Starfire barely needed to expend herself. She wasted no time and dove through the hole, dropping into the hallway below and already flying towards the stairwell.
"He's in the basement!" she could hear Raven shouting to her from behind. "Starfire, wait!"
She didn't wait. She couldn't.
She searched frantically, never stopping, never slowing down for a moment. The dark hallways passed by in a blur. A closed door was coming up rapidly; she starbolted it open, slamming it against the far wall with a bang.
Almost there.
She could feel the others on her heels. Lower and lower they rushed through the Tower, Starfire praying all the while not to be too late, to find him in time. She didn't know quite yet what she'd do when she found him. Restrain him in her arms, hold him still while Cyborg sedated him maybe? Beg him to stop, to see reason, to come to his senses?
The door to the basement was just up ahead. A light was on inside. Starfire increased speed, zooming through the open door like a flash of red and purple lightning. She came to a halt in the air, searching frantically.
He was below her, propped up on a support beam. His head was down, his body limp, but he was standing. Not yet dead.
"Robin!" she cried, dropping to him at once, at once relieved and terrified upon seeing him.
He did something unexpected then. He looked up at her, tired smile on his face, and said, "It's okay, Starfire."
Bewildered, her eyes widened, and she slowed in the air. She landed on her feet just in time for him to pitch forward into her arms, whispering one last breathless, "It's okay..."
She caught him.
He felt light, so light, in her arms. She could feel the tears in his uniform. He was slack and he was still. He didn't seem to be conscious.
But... he was breathing.
Starfire looked worriedly at him, then glanced up towards the stairwell where the others were, unspoken questions in their expressions.
She looked back down at Robin, unsure what to do. Gently, she turned him over in her arms. His face looked calm. His chest moved softly. Like he was sleeping.
"Is he...?" called Cyborg from above.
"He's alive," breathed Raven, exhaling in relief.
Starfire gingerly slipped a hand under his legs. Lifting him up, she softly rose from the floor, drifting up and over the stairwell railing and then settling back down again by her friends. They made room on the landing for her and her precious cargo.
She extended her arms slightly, looking at Cyborg, a silent plea to check Robin over.
Cyborg complied, bringing up a medical scanner on his arm computer. For a couple moments he just tapped the screen, changing the display. The other two crowded around him, Beast Boy craning around the half-robot for a glimpse at the screen.
"His heartrate's normal... breathing at an even rate..." Cyborg relayed. "Blood pressure's a little elevated but slowly dropping..."
He finished up, dismissing the computer with the press of a button, and smiled at her.
"He's going to be okay."
Starfire let out a shuddering breath, something breaking inside her. She leaned over Robin, falling to her knees weakly, clutching him close. "Thank X'hal... Thank X'hal..." was all she could say, as she craddled his head to her chest.
The other Titans gave her a moment. Shortly, the alien princess regained her composure, blinking away the tears leaking from her eyes and gathering Robin up into her arms once again.
"Let—let us get him back upstairs," she said.
They nodded, and one by one turned to file out the door.