Titans: Elemental-REUPLOAD

by B.E.A.T.N

Well, when there's trouble... You all know who to call. The Titans! Sadly, the original tale of Jack Benzo/Zivel, his beloved Raven, and their team, was deleted. But thankfully, this story is back and better than ever, (following guidelines), and is also on AO3. Follow this retelling of Teen Titans once again! OC's aren't based on anyone! I do not own Teen Titans!

29. Chapter 29

Titans: Elemental

Chapter 29: Transformation

We see a leather-bound book whose front cover displays the Titans' insignia. It opens to the first page; a drawing of Earth, seen from outer space, and a kindly male voice begins to narrate a story for someone.

The Narrator read, "long ago, on a small blue planet called Earth…."

The page turns to show a flying-saucer floating across the cosmos, with Starfire grinning and flashing a peace sign inside.

The Narrator read, "... there was a young alien girl who lived in a T."

She beams and points to it as he finishes.

The Narrator continued, "she had many friends."

The other Titans pop up around her, causing that smile to widen even more. A page turns as she strains to keep a flaming meteor from crushing Jump City.

The Narrator continued, "she was very powerful…."

The page turns, and she holds a pair of smelly magenta boxer shorts at arm's length over the washing machine while Dick, Jack, Raven, and Vic keep their distance. The underwear is decorated with various animals; straight from BB's wardrobe. He is wearing only a towel and shower cap and laughing his head off.

The Narrator continued, "... very brave."

The page turns, and we see her hugging Rose, Blackfire, Bryan and Percy.

The Narrator continued, "and very kind. And although she never thought much of it…."

The page turns once again; we see her twirling feet, and she floats gently down in the soft light.

The Narrator continued, "... she was also very beautiful. Her life seemed entirely perfect…. Until one day…."

A large bump pops out on her forehead; she gasps as the light returns to normal. This gives way to a hysterical scream.

…..

We see the tower during the daytime. Starfire is in the bathroom, looking in the mirror.

A careful poke at the bump makes it shiver slightly, as if it were filled with something very cold yet jiggly. She leans closer, pressing it against the glass, and makes a worried noise; this is followed by a slow slide down the mirror and a little whine escaping her. She pushes down on the growth and succeeds in flattening it. However, a relieved sigh is barely out of her mouth before it pops up again. Now, each time she tries to mash it down, it simply appears in another spot on her forehead. A few frantic prods put the thing out of sight, but only for a moment, as it came right back to the center of her forehead.

Starfire groans in frustration and pokes furiously at the zit, which shifts all over her head as fast as she can get her finger at it, and finally jams down the spot where it first popped up. Now it has gone; a knock at the door draws her attention, and it swells forth and draws another groan from her. In the hall, BB is outside the bathroom, whining and doing the classic dance favored by little kids with full bladders.

BB groaned, "Starfire, hurry up! You've been in there for twenty minutes, and I'm not paper-trained like Percy is!"

Starfire said, "one moment more, please!"

BB hops slowly toward the door, which opens when he is just short of the threshold. Starfire peeks out, showing her forehead back under control, but the bump returns and she ducks back in, slamming the door. BB rushes forward, but an instant too late; he slams into it face first and tumbles backward, stopping himself from hitting the floor with a leg bent backward under his body. He staggers up and claps both hands over himself to hold it in, but the sound of flowing water draws his attention elsewhere.

We see Dick outside; he is whistling happily as he plays a hose over some bushes. Vic is pouring some water in a glass. Raven levitates two large boulders while floating in midair; to show a dry waterfall. Once the rocks are out of the way, a torrent gushes over the precipice below her. Rose is currently mopping up the training room, the sound of loud water ever present.

BB looks and sounds as if he is about to explode. He starts to look around the hall.

BB groaned, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G…. A large potted plant slides into view; he eyes it, "... H, I, J, K, L, M, N, OOOOOOOO…. PEEEEEEEEE!"

….

A little later, we see Raven, Blackfire and Starfire on the couch in the living room. Starfire has put on a large, floppy green hat that covers her entire forehead; Raven is, as usual, immersed in heavy reading.

Starfire is whispering to her sister, "I fear something may be terribly wrong with me", she speaks louder, "I could haveIrineanmeasles, or perhaps my epidermis has become infested with steiner mites, or…."

Raven slams her book shut.

Raven said, "okay. What are you talking about?"

Starfire said, "I caution. What you are about to see may shock and disturb you."

Blackfire said, "come on sis, it can't be that bad."

She shudders a bit and prepares to lift the headgear; she gets it off. The sound of her new growth popping out is heard, but Raven just stays deadpan.

Raven said, "it's a zit. Everybody gets them. Deal with it."

Starfire asked, "then I am normal?"

Blackfire said, "yes, sister. Plenty of Tamaranians get them as well."

Starfire pulls Raven and Blackfire into a hug.

Starfire said, "oh, thank you, Raven, dear sister! Now I shall no longer feel worry or shame or-"

The door opens as Dick enters; Starfire gasps in shock, then jams the hat back onto her head and pulls it down to cover the top half of her face. Dick crosses the room to go about his business.

Raven said, "just so you know, that's not really dealing with it."

Blackfire said, "not at all."

Raven walks off, leaving Starfire to watch her blue-cloaked back.

Blackfire said, "don't worry sis. It should be gone after a few days…."

The Narrator read, "but one little bump was only the beginning of her worries."

….

The Narrator read, "deep down inside, something strange was happening; something very strange indeed."

Starfire sits in the center of the couch, flanked by Dick and Vic; a GameStation race is in progress on the window/screen. She huddles under her big green hat.

The Narrator continued, "the next day, she grew tusks on her neck."

They pop out, one protruding from each side, and she gasps and tries to pull her head down into her neck piece. A short squeal, two palms pressed to cover the new growths, and a lightning-fast dive over the couch, but Dick and Vic are so engrossed in their game that they take no notice. Starfire looks over the cushions; the pair take a rest and glance her way, but she ducks back out of sight. Th trade a puzzled look, shrug, and throw crazed grins as they return to the game.

...

We see a belly-busting ice cream sundae in the kitchen, so tall that its top is cut off by the top edge of the screen. BB leans into view, hearts in his eyes and drools oozing from the corner of his mouth.

BB said, "ahhhh…."

He reaches up and sets a cherry in place with great care, and Starfire is regarding the creation from the opposite side of the counter. She has put on a wide scarf to hide her neck. He turns around to rummage in the cabinets; she leans eagerly toward the sundae.

The Narrator read, "the day after that….", she gasps and jerks her hands from the counter; they are shaking, "... her fingernails grew long and ugly."

Those hands change to show long striped nails and badly swollen fingers. She runs a panicked eye over the digits and hastily shoves them into the sundae with a gasp. Towering scoops, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles splatter in a heap on the counter. When BB stands up from the cabinets, holding spoons for himself and Starfire, he goggles at the destruction of his masterpiece, screams, and faints.

….

We later see Starfire opening the fridge to inspect the moldy leftovers. Now she has added blue oven mitts to her ensemble.

The Narrator read, "and the day after that, she developed bizarre cravings for the most unusual foods."

A fly starts to buzz near her head. After a few seconds, worth of watching its flight, Starfire whips out one padded hand and seizes it. What she does next is to turn her palm over and peer car

The young Tamaranean lashes out her tongue, which is now considerably longer than it has any right to be, and lays it squarely across the insect. Whisking it into her mouth, Starfire crunches down and swallows; a little hiccup comes back up after the meal, and she claps a hand to her lips. She quickly closes the fridge door.

….

After the passage of all this time, it is day again.

The Narrator read, "and with each passing day…."

We see a very despondent Starfire in her room, sitting on the bed. Her shadow is cast on the wall by the door.

The Narrator continued, "... the strange little alien grew stranger…."

Her ears become large and pointed; she covers them with a gasp.

The Narrator continued, "... and stranger…."

Now the skin of her arms becomes very scaly. One boot starts to bulge.

The Narrator continued, "... and stranger still."

The boot splits, exposing a foot much larger than normal with auburn hair all over the upper surface. She moans sadly.

Starfire muttered, "my friends must not see how hideous I have become…. Or they will surely think I am turning into some sort of horrible monster. I must never allow anyone to see me…. Ever again."

An alarm and flashing red light shake her out of the funk and scare a little shriek out of her.

She hears Dick from outside, "Starfire! Trouble", she looks toward the closed door, "we need to go", she pulls a blanket partway up.

Starfire called out, "please proceed! I will join you shortly!"

….

Later, we see an empty football stadium. Night has fallen, and the gridiron sits under the broad glare of the facility's floodlights. Faint crowd noise quickly grows to a screaming panic, whose source is soon revealed as the members of two opposing high school teams fleeing downfield. They are accompanied by cheerleaders and marching band performers. Out of the shadows comes Plasmus, stumping after them and screeching insanely! He moves in on the group, which has stuffed itself into the entrance to one of the locker rooms, and lets off a roar before slamming one slimy fist to the turf and digging it in deep. What he pulls up is several yards of a broken sewage line; he licks his lips eagerly and directs the greenish flow into his mouth.

A football player asked aloud, "is that a sewer pipe?"

The crowd yells, "EWWWWW!"

Plasmus pays them no mind and continues to drink his fill. When he finishes, he lowers the pipe and wipes his mouth, but something nearby draws his surprised attention toward itself. We see one of Dick's discs in mid-flight, and two others strike his chest and stick there. They detonate after a moment, tearing his upper body apart into purple ribbons that splay in all directions, but he quickly reassembles himself and roars in fury.

Dick said, "I don't know what's more disgusting, Plasmus…. The way you look…. Or the stuff you eat."

BB, Vic, Raven, Rose, Blackfire, Jack and Bryan join him.

Plasmus responds by vomiting forth a wide stream of sludge.

Dick exclaimed, "Titans! Go!"

They scatter to dodge the deluge. Dick comes down from his leap with his fighting staff ready to use; as Plasmus hurls handfuls of slime, he swerves back and forth and ends with a bound that carries him over the semi-liquid villain's head. The staff is stabbed straight down behind the eyes and disappears to its full length. After Dick lands behind him, he regurgitates a new torrent that brings up only a piece of the retractable weapon. One huge fist seizes Dick and flings him to the far goalpost; he bounces off one upright and down, no three points for this play.

Vic leaps down, sonic cannon at the ready, and fires a couple of blasts that blow holes in Plasmus' arms. The big man moves in closer for another go.

Vic exclaimed, "come on, Booger-Man! Gimme what you got!"

Jack hollored, "still a better insult than anything Gizmo says!"

...

Gizmo looked up from whatever project he was working on and grumbled, "I don't know why, but I get the feeling my insults have been insulted again..."

...

This next blast blows away the mounded head, but it does not take long for Plasmus to put himself back together. He fires a gush of gunk from his chest. One surprised shout is all Dick has time for before the view shifts to the goalpost where Dick has fallen. Vic is driven backward against the support and tumbles onto the end zone, plastered head to toe with Plasmus leftovers. Sitting up, he shakes some of the mess off his head, snorts in a breath, and lets off a strangled cry before exhaling at full force; more slime, lots of it, pours from both nostrils.

Vic said, "I'm gonna be smelling that for a week."

Plasmus laughs at him as Raven floats up behind the big head. She levitates the dug-up sewer line and causes it to wrap him up securely.

Raven tried to chant, "Azarath Metrion-"

A gooey blast fills her mouth before she can finish the spell; Plasmus has created several tentacles at the back of his head to shut her up. She is flung over his shoulders and onto the grass hard. As she stands up with a groan, her cloak is more purple than blue, Vic walks up behind her.

Raven groaned, "yuck."

Jack said, "oh heck no!"

Jack fires a huge jet of ice at, freezing Plasmus' arms. But as they shatter, he simply forms new ones and sends Jack flying to the other end of the field.

Rose flies in and tries slashing Plasmus to bits, but he merely reforms and starts spinning her around and around until letting go. Blackfire is barely able to catch her midair as Bryan starts shooting as many blasts of lasers as he can. They go right through Plasmus, but he's unaffected by them!

BB said, "Cyborg! Time for the BB Blitz!"

He goes into a leap, becomes an armadillo, and rolls himself into a ball on the way down. Vic catches him, dodges a few Plasmus strikes, and throws the green teen just before one last hit drives him backward; the armadillo becomes a rhinoceros, but Plasmus easily swats it away.. BB, back in human form, crashes into a group of coolers, and ends up amid a swamp of Gatorade and purple ooze. Pushing a cooler off his head, he licks the glop off his face.

BB said, "orange-flavored bad guy? Gross, yet strangely refreshing."

Bryan said, "dude... That's just disgusting..."

The Titans begin to regroup. We see Plasmus, stomping along toward them, but a sudden rain of starbolts ends his advance and fills the screen with smoke. When it clears, we see a new crater in the field, which is filling not only with sewage from the line he broke, but also with his amorphous remains. The purple gunk bubbles as Dick and the others look into the hole.

Vic exclaimed, "Boo-yah!"

Rose said, "alright!"

BB said, "awesome!"

Jack said, "yeah!"

Dick said, "way to go, Star…. Fire?

A pair of feet in yellow galoshes descend onto the field, and we soon see the rest of the hapless alien. The remains of her own footwear are visible between the tops of the galoshes and the hem of a matching raincoat. Thanks to these items, the oven mitts, the scarf, and the hat, all her skin is covered except for the top half of her face.

Raven said, "interesting fashion statement."

Rose said, "that's putting it mildly."

BB said, "yeah, uh…. Nice boots."

Jack said, "I, uh…. Like the hat…?"

Owen whispered, "da heck?"

Dick said, "Starfire…. You've been acting kind of…. Strange lately. Is everything okay?"

Blackfire said, "yeah, you've been acting very odd. Even for Tamaranians."

She backs up with a scared little whimper, but a loud rumbling diverts Dick's attention. He looks over his shoulder to the crater where she gave Plasmus what for. A maroon geyser boils up and forms a gargantuan humanoid creature with thinner arms and legs than before. A huge screaming mouth sits below a row of bulbous green eyes that stretches up both shoulders and across the top of his head. The new Plasmus lets off a long, grating scream.

Vic exclaimed, "ewwww!"

Bryan said, "that'sjust nasty."

Raven said, "just when you thought he couldn't get uglier."

Jack said,"he'suglier than a pugs shaved butt!"

BB said, "dude! That is sick! And not in a good way."

Blackfire said, "I don't think there's a good way, Beast Boy."

Dick said, "no matter how nasty he gets, he's just a monster. And like every other monster, he's got to go!"

He does not notice the shock Starfire gets from his words, and after he rushes toward the enemy, she lets off a little whimper and buries her face even deeper in her scarf. Dick dashes in and lets fly with a handful of explosive discs, Raven puts a few black bursts upside the head, Jack shoots flames at his feet, Bryan starts shooting his laser gun again, and Vic fires off a cannon salvo, but the combined effect of the five Titans' weapons just makes Plasmus angrier. His eyes swell and burst like giant pimples, releasing a flood of luridly tinted ichor; Vic dives for cover with a yell, leaving Starfire to look up just in time to take it in the face. We see her hat, tumbling to the ground. It lands by her feet, and we see that the rest of her hastily-donned outerwear has been blasted away by the torrents as well.

She lets off a panicked gasp as having been exposed in this manner. In the battle zone, the other Titans, are faring very badly against Plasmus. Raven is caught up in one sludgy fist, BB has sunk to his waist in the head, Jack is being swung around by a tentacle of sludge, Rose is trying to pry Blackfire out of Plasmus' torso, Dick has been driven halfway into the ground, and Vic and Bryan are firing a fusillade of shots that do no damage at all. They stop their struggles after a moment and stare dumbstruck at her.

Dick asked, "Starfire?!"

Plasmus growled, "ewwwww!"

From Starfire's perspective, everyone starts laughing like maniacs as she tries to cover herself.

Starfire clutches her head and groans through clenched teeth.

Blackfire asked, "Sister?"

Dick asked, "Starfire! What's going...?"

She covers herself.

Starfire cried, "I am sorry! I have…. Got to go!"

She lifts off.

Dick shouted, "Starfire! Wait!"

Blackfire yelled out, "come back!"

….

A violet streak zooms up from the planet and resolves into the freaked-out Tamaranean. Sniffling and sobbing, she glances over her shoulder toward her adopted home.

Starfire cried, "I truly am a monster."

She flies across the galaxy. Her tears float weightless in her wake, and her sobs echo through the void.

The Narrator read, "and so the sad, strange girl flew far away, into the cold dark loneliness of outer space…."

...

We see another region of the galaxy. Starfire floats dejectedly into view.

The Narrator read, "'surely', thought the odd little alien, 'a horrible ugly monster like me does not belong on Earth with such good and handsome friends.'"

She has stopped by this point and is regarding a planet whose surface is splotched with bright pink streaks, as if paint dripped onto a canvas.

The Narrator read, "but where was she to go?"

She floats away.

The Narrator read, "not even her home planet would take her in, looking as strange as she did."

She looks remorsefully back the way she came, this was Tamaran, and continues on.

The Narrator read, "'I must find a new world', she decided, 'one with monsters as horrible and ugly as I.'"

We see a group of planets and a dotted line starts to weave among them, marking her course. She stops at one of them, arid under a red sky, where a couple of inhabitants can be seen sporting large tusks on either side of their necks. Starfire smiles ingratiatingly up at one of them and waves.

Starfire said, "hello, fellow ugly monsters!"

Her words spark a surprised gasp from the would-be new friend, who then twitters something in its own language and runs away. She hangs her head, and the view changes to the group of planets. Now her path carries her on a roundabout course to a different one, under a bright blue sky. Here are many tall trees with growths that look very much like her fingernails, and a couple of large anteater creatures are speaking to each other; their claws are of this same design, and many similar horny growths protrude from their bodies.

Starfire has landed here. She looks at her own nails, laughs, and moves across the clearing, but as soon as the two creatures get a good look at one of those hirsute feet, they squeal and make a break for it.

The planets again; the dotted-line course takes her to a third one, and a wipe to the surface shows a dense forest with many phosphorescent growths on tree trunks, all under a vivid green sky. Starfire runs screaming into view; a moment later, an enraged, torch-bearing mob of scaly greenish creatures charges by to run her out of the place.

The planets again.

This time, Starfire's sojourn brings her to one of the smaller ones; we see her down in the dumps, sitting on the surface. The curvature suggests that it's a small world after all, and this is borne out when we pull back and rotate 180 degrees to frame her upside down. This planet is not more than a few feet in diameter, and several tiny creatures with very hairy feet and no arms stand on the hemisphere opposite her perch. Though their shouted words are unintelligible, the tone reveals just how much they resent her presence. She sighs heavily and takes her leave of this miniature planet.

The Narrator read, "but with each new world she visited, the strange alien girl felt uglier and uglier."

We go across outer space to keep her in view. Starfire makes her way past some more planets and into an asteroid belt.

The Narrator read, "and with nowhere else to go, she wandered alone into the deepest, darkest part of the galaxy."

Starfire flies for a second or two later, and a silhouette clambers over the edge of an asteroid and jumps into space to follow. It looks something like a cross between a crab and a spider. Now the fleeing girl picks her way deeper through the belt, with this other creature keeping a long tail on her.

The Narrator read, "but she was not really alone..."

A large asteroid floats across the screen; behind it, the view changes to an empty patch of space.

….

Back at the Tower, we see Dick standing at the edge of the roof. He looks back and forth, surveying the bay.

Blackfire is standing nearby with an extremely worried look.

Blackfire said, "I should have known she was going through these changes. I went through them a few years ago!"

Dick asked, "what were your changes?"

Blackfire said, "I turned purple for a few days. Nothing as extreme was what happened to Starfire."

Dick said, "we'll find her. I promise", he turns on his communicator, "Victor! How long until we can launch?"

Vic groaned, "oh, about five minutes after you QUIT ASKING ME THAT!"

Dick recoils from the force he puts into his words.

….

A little later, we see inside an underground launch silo, at the level of a large craft's exhaust nozzles. As machinery kicks into gear, we look up to show them attached to a pair of large booster engines, which are in turn attached to the underside of the T-Sub. It stands with its bow pointed straight up at the silo hatch. Part of the service structure retracts, and we see that the earthbound Titans are in their individual cockpits.

Raven asked, "are we sure this thing is ready to fly?"

Vic said, "no! The T-Sub was built for deep sea, not deep space."

Dick said, "I don't care what it was built for. It's going into space. We've gotta find Starfire."

Blackfire said, "I'm with ya, Dick!"

Dick reaches into view and presses a button, and bar-graph readouts start to fill up.

Dick said, "main power online."

Rose said, "secondary power is online."

Raven said, "defensive systems are active."

BB said, "oxygen tanks at maximum."

Blackfire said, "communication systems are active."

Bryan said, "atomic batteries to power, heh, I always wanted to say that."

Vic said, "fusion thrusters ready to fire."

Jack said, "let's do this!"

The silo hatch slides open, allowing the T-Sub to be raised through on its supports, and we pull back to show the silo on the shore of the Tower's island.

Dick exclaimed, "Titans! Launch!"

The engines fire and fill the area with their exhaust; when it clears, the island is seen from over the rooftops of Jump City. With a mighty roar, the converted T-Sub lifts clear off the island and traces a course straight for the heavens. The engines put extra thrust behind the craft.

Vic is hunched over his controls.

Vic exclaimed, "told you she was ready to fly!"

Raven said, "hmmm…."

The Titans are carried ever higher; after a few more seconds, the booster engines are jettisoned and the T-Sub begins to coast in outer space. The grinning driver thumbs a button and brings a couple of thrusters into action; firing from the aft quarters on port and starboard, they power the vessel across the galaxy.

...

We see a particular group of planets and zoom in slowly on the center most one.

Starfire is advancing cautiously along a path that winds through a thick forest. As a low, hissing respiration is heard, she stops for a moment and looks around. Many trumpet-like projections sprout from the bushes and undergrowth.

Starfire asked, "hello? Someone is there?"

She sets off down the path, not noticing the many thick vines that snake out after her.

Starfire said, "your planet is most inhospitable. I would perhaps be welcomed here?"

The vines rear up and prepare to seize her; she turns to look over her shoulder, but they drop to the ground an instant before she gets her eyes to them. All she sees when she turns is a mass of unmoving tendrils on the forest floor. After a moment's uncertainty, she starts off again, but a loud growling stops her in her tracks. This time, when the vines rear up, she sees the thing they are attached to, a huge flower on a very long stalk, with a mouth at the center of the blossom.

Turning back to face it, Starfire gasps in shock; the alien equivalent of a Venus flytrap slavers a bit and opens its mouth very wide, revealing too many deadly pointed teeth for anyone's good. It strikes like a cobra, sparking her to leap backward and then float up with a panicked cry. She flies off and soon has to dodge a few vine strikes; even a quick 360-degree spin around a tree trunk does her no good, as the tendril wraps around and crushes the wood as it reaches along. One quick gasp is all she has time for before the tree topples toward her; she skids backward and just barely avoids being crushed by it.

Starfire pokes her head up out of the leaves and gasps as the killer plant's shadow falls over her. It snaps a few times, forcing her to take flight again, then lashes all its vines into the air. One snags her ankle; she cries out in fear and is soon securely caught up in the entire mass of crazed vegetable matter.

Starfire exclaimed, "let go now, please!"

That enormous maw opens as wide as it will go, while the vines carry the struggling Titan toward her fate as a light snack.

Starfire exclaimed, "no!"

The plant quickly chomps Starfire into his mouth, and its placid chewing instantly tells what has befallen her. After a moment, however, it rears back and spits her out; she bounces along the forest path, leaving splatters of saliva on the ground. Her eyes pop wide open at the realization that she has not become an appetizer, and the plant coughs disgustedly and slithers away. She looks warily back toward it, then turns her eyes disappointedly toward the ground. Even this particular monster wants nothing to do with her.

Dissolve to a long shot of Starfire, sitting by a small pond whose waters glow from the reflected starlight. There is a rustle of leaves, and presently a humanoid shape moves partially into view to observe from behind a bush. Most of the body is white, with black markings around the face and neck and magenta ones on the head and back. The curiously blinking, blank white eyes, magenta-rimmed in the black that crosses the face and without visible irises or pupils.

We see the truly despondent Starfire, looking at her reflection on the water. The large bump on her forehead starts to squirm a bit; soon it reshapes itself into a large, upward-curving horn.

Starfire said, "oh….", she puts hands to her face, "... what is happening to me?"

"Something wonderful."

Starfire looks up with a surprised gasp. At the opposite shore of the pond, the hem of a flowing white gown can be seen at the water's edge. The wearer's reflection can be seen, a tall woman whose skin and hair are the same color as this clothing, and who has two thin antennae standing up from her forehead. Her entire body glows slightly, and as she floats across the pond, her eyes can be seen to be pure magenta, with a dark streak visible at the center of each.

Starfire huddles and turns her face away.

Starfire said, "please. I am too repellent to be seen by one so glorious."

The woman moves closer; her voice is the one that spoke a moment ago.

The woman said, "fear not, young Tamaranean. There is nothing wrong with you."

Starfire turns to her, "nothing wrong?"

The woman said, "come. All will be made clear shortly."

The two proceed away, approaching a distant area criss-crossed by many glowing filaments that stretch overhead.

The Narrator read, "and with hope in her heart, the strange little alien followed the mysterious woman to the strangest place she had ever seen…."

….

We see the planet's Starfire visited earlier.

The T-Sub traces a dotted-line course to the second one she visited.

We see the eight Titans amid a group of the stripe-nailed inhabitants. Vic, Jack and Dick each pull on one of BB's ears to make them look something like Starfire's, Vic clapping a hand over his mouth to hold in his gorge; whatever he sees in that ear is enough to make him sick, and one creature gestures with its tongue to tip them off. Raven just hangs in the background as Blackfire chews her nails in worry, with Rose and Began running her back in comfort.

The planets again.

Now the T-Sub heads off and reappears at the top to visit Starfire's first stop.

On the surface, Dick has stood BB on his head and pulled off one shoe to call the neck-tusked creatures to the hairy feet. As Vic, Bryan and Rose laugh themselves stupid, Blackfire rubs her arms in worry, and Jack and Raven watch the five smelly toes disgustedly, one of the beings points somewhere; a new clue.

The planets again.

Next the vessel crosses to the tiny one that was Starfire's fourth stop. The Titans are on the surface, with a crowd of the miniature denizens gathered. One is perched on Vic's shoulder, another on Raven's head, one on each of Jack's shoulders, still others standing in stacks. This time, Vic and Rose have cheerfully grabbed BB's head and hauled upward to stretch out his neck, and Dick and Blackfire point their index fingers out from each side of it to stand for the tusks that popped out there. The one on Raven's head points away with one of its feet; another lead.

Throughout all of this, BB has looked very put out at having to be used for the demonstrations.

The planets again.

The next leg of the T-Sub's journey takes it to the site of Starfire's third visit, and as soon as it gets close enough, the globe opens up a huge mouth and swallows the ship whole. A moment later, the planet spits it out, away from the cluster.

….

We see the area Starfire was being led to when we last saw her. It is a large cavern whose back wall is marked by the glowing filaments seen earlier, and large crystal formations jut from the ground. The two advance across the floor.

The woman said, "you are changing. Do you know why?"

Starfire asked, "it isbecause I have a zit?"

The two reach a large, hollow, hemispherical shell that has been propped up on the ground to serve as a chair.

Woman, with a muffled chuckle, "not quite, my dear", Starfire sits, "you are experiencing the Transformation, a perfectly normal part of the Tamaranean life cycle."

Starfire said, "but I do not understand. When my sister had a Transformation, she merely turned purple for two days. Why have I-?"

The woman said, "transformation is different for each Tamaranean. And you, sweet child, are one of the special few who will transform into a chrysalis."

Starfire recoils a bit at this last word, then looks down at her arm and gasps sharply. The scaly skin is rapidly developing layers of ropy tissue that begin to spread over the rest of her body. She tumbles from her seat and writhes on the ground as the white female stands over her.

The woman said, "relax, dear", a shell started to cover Starfire's body, "it will all be over soon."

In no time flat, this material has enveloped everything but her head.

Starfire asked, "how do you know these things?"

The woman said, "I know, my dear, because I….", as her own face goes ropy, "... am a Cironielian chrysalis eater."

She trails off into a raspy chuckle. Starfire's bugged-out eyes tell all about the undiluted horror raging in her mind.

Then we see the silhouette of the growling woman. The hands curl as two pairs of long jointed legs sprout from the body. Large crab claws grow from the arms, the body takes on an insect contour, and the thing starts to turn toward us; its shape now matches the dark figure that jumped among the asteroids earlier.

One of those legs, white with magenta stripes, slams down near Starfire, and as the thing howls over her, we see all of it. Humanoid head and torso, white with black and magenta markings, and the same pair of eyes that watched Starfire by the pond. The outer-space creature, the spy, the woman, and the chrysalis eater are one and the same. Starfire lets out a long, terrified scream, and the predator roars down at her, and both noises ring out.

….

A dark tunnel is shown whose far end disappears into the distance. The T-Sub flies forward, dodging several spikes that pop out from all directions, and races along for a while before putting on a burst of speed. The vessel approaches an opening, where rows of spikes are coming together from above and below to block the path; Dick merely grits his teeth and steers straight through the barriers. We then see an outer-space view of part of a large asteroid whose surface has a large crater in which the spikes are fully seen: a set of teeth. The T-Sub, which was in the gullet of this gigantic subterranean creature that was trying to chew it up, peels out.

BB said, "okay, so, we know she's not there. Phew."

Jack said, "let'sbe more careful of asteroids from now on."

Dick said, "wherever Starfire is…. I just hope she's all right."

Blackfire said, "so do I."

….

Back with Starfire, who is still putting forth her best effort to break through the tough shell that has formed over her. A final piece extends partially up toward her head; she screams at its advance, and we pull back slightly to show the chrysalis eater leaning down next to her and smacking its lips. Now its voice has the scratchy, raspy tone heard when its metamorphosis began.

The Chrysalis eater growled, "wonderful. Soon, your cocoon will be complete, and you, my dear, will be at the peak of flavor", it circles to her other side, "in the meantime, please scream all you wish. It whets my appetite."

Starfire said, "I have no reason to scream. I can no longer have a home or friends or family. I am far too ugly for such things."

The Chrysalis eater growled, "ohhh…. I don't think you're ugly at all, my dear."

The intended lunch screams as that last plate of the shell slides up to cover her head and seal her in completely.

The Chrysalis eater growled, "in fact, you look good enough to eat!"

It laughs gratingly.

Dick exclaimed, "Starfire!"

Across the cavern, he and the other Titans are charging in.

Blackfire yelled, "get away from her, you witch!"

Dick takes a huge leap and hurls a wingding, but this is easily swatted down.

The two square off and move to one side a bit as BB, Jack, Blackfire, Rose, Bryan, Vic, and Raven rush up to them and the chrysalis eater.

Dodging swing after swing of those deadly sharp claws, Dick jumps again and winds up on the other side of the monster, which wheels to face him.

Dick said, "I'll hold her off", it charges, "get Starfire out of here!"

He dives away from a downward claw stab.

Vic asked, "Starfire? Where's-?"

The others look toward the cocoon.

Starfire, from inside the cocoon, "um…. In here."

Ground level, she is looking up at a very confused Vic through the cocoon. BB leans into view with an equally puzzled gasp, followed by Raven and the others.

Raven said, "whoa."

Blackfire flatly said, "my sister turned into a chrysalis."

Jack said, "it's not the most surprising thing we've seen."

Dick backs up before the chrysalis eater's lunges and stays out of reach for a while, but it gets in a lucky grab and slings him away. Turning its attention to the others, who are now trying to figure out the best way to hoss that freight, it snarls and goes straight for them with a colossal leap. They hold their ground for as long as they can, but are forced to get out of the way at the last second; the beast makes a perfect four-point landing, using its legs and claws to ward off the Titans.

The Chrysalis eater said, "your friend belongs to me now. You can have her back once I finish digesting her."

Blackfire yelled, "YOU'RE NOT EATING MY SISTER!"

As Raven floats up and Dick and Rose dash over, one of the massive claws plows the jumping Vic and Bryan aside. Raven aims a few black shots at the body, Dick tries a jumping strike, and Rose strikes at the monster with her staff, BB leaps and comes down at it in lion form, but none of the attacks has any effect. Next, Raven throws a blast at the back, making the chrysalis eater mad and causing it to swing a claw at her; she shields herself, but the impact drives her backward.

Jack starts firing icicles at the chrysalis eater, but they merely bounce off of her

The green jungle cat rears up for another jump, but it is seized and brought toward the gaping jaws. As BB is lowered toward them, though, he becomes a giant turtle and the teeth grind harmlessly against the shell. She hits him with her claw and into a wall as Blackfire starts rapidly shooting starbolts at the monster!

Vic's cannon beam scores a direct hit on the thorax and pushes the creature across the cavern; BB falls free and tumbles to the ground upside down. Here comes the bionic Titan, ready to unload another high-powered blast; before he can get it out, though, the chrysalis eater gets one claw locked around the muzzle and throws him for distance. He skids past Raven, who flies up toward the ceiling.

Raven said, "I think it's time we wrapped this up."

Blackfire said, "I couldn't agree more!"

Raven exerts her powers over the web of filaments that run throughout the place, wads the lot up into a ball, and heaves it down at the chrysalis eater. In a twinkling, it is thickly covered from one end to the other and the Titans, BB in human form, run in to finish the job. The bindings are quickly broken, though, and all are thrown back as the creature roars in fury. As soon as Dick gets himself upright, he scales a handful of discs that explode against the head and thorax to push the enemy back. Not giving it a chance to counterattack, Raven levitates many small crystals from the floor and projects them in a barrage that hits the ground with the force of small, caliber artillery shells. Jack does the same with his icicles. The chrysalis eater is left ducking and covering as the Titans regroup at the other end of the cavern.

Hissing and spitting, the chrysalis eater takes a few steps back and starts to climb the natural stone columns that run from floor to ceiling in the cavern. It reaches the top very quickly and pushes off to sail over the Titans' heads; they turn in time to see it land at the opposite side. A shocked gasp from the others, and the leader and Blackfire are off and running. The hungry being moves toward Starfire and leans down to sink its teeth into the head end of her cocoon; only Dick's feet, first slide under the body, knocks her away, interrupting the meal and stealing second base in the bargain. Those massive jaws end up crunching into the cavern's stone floor instead. Blackfire is able to send a starbolt at her that's strong enough to knock them away.

The chrysalis eater looks up and finds the Dick and Blackfire at a distance, working over Starfire; it starts toward him, but a chunk of rock levitated by Raven smashes against its back. Another from Jack smashes in her face as she turns around.

She sees them flying in, more projectiles ready to go, and Vic, Bryan, Rose and BB keeping pace with her on the ground. The shape-shifter has now become an ankylosaurus. Rose has her sword out, Bryan has his laser gun out and Vic has his arm ready to blast her. Raven launches her second rock, which the beast bats away easily before charging at the three.

Dick asked, "Starfire! Are you okay?"

Blackfire asked, "can you hear us?"

Dick asked, "Starfire, can you hear me? Hang on", they both pull at the head section, "we're going to get you out!"

They have opened a seam and made good progress in widening it; nothing but blackness can be seen inside.

Starfire cried out, "no", the seam closed; her voice became muffled, "please go! You will not wish to see me this way."

Blackfire and Dick work it open again.

Dick said, "I'm your friend, Starfire. I don't care how you look."

Blackfire said, "and I'm your sister. You could look like Beast Boy with hemorrhoids and I'd still love you."

BB yells, "HEY", as he helps fight off the chrysalis eater.

Dick and Blackfire have it forced very wide by now, and they give big smiles.

Dick grabs a nearby crystal and he holds it straight out.

Dick said, "besides, you look fine to me."

A reflection of Starfire's stunned face appears on the surface: no horn on the forehead, no tusks on the neck, everything just as it should be. She gasps sharply. She takes the crystal from Dick and floats happily to the ceiling, showing every part of her body to be back in proper order, even the boots that split open when her feet grew ten sizes in ten seconds. Next, she inspects herself on the polished surface.

Starfire said, "I am…. Normal!"

Beams shoot from her eyes, bounce off the crystal, and blow out a patch of ceiling above her. She gets out a tiny little squeak.

Starfire said, "mostly."

Dick smiles benignly up at her.

Blackfire hugs her sister and says, "I was so worried about you. It's good to have you back."

But the moment gets cut off when BB and Bryan are flung into view behind them to crash into a stone column. Raven, Jack, Rose and Vic, caught in the huge crab claws, struggle vainly to get free and soon get a little face time with their very angry owner.

The Chrysalis eater growled, "since you have stolen my meal, I shall devour you instead!"

It lifts all four Titans and gets set to chow down, but stops when Starfire and Blackfire fly over. Their eyes are glowing as brightly as their hands do when they are about to fire off a starbolt.

Starfire growled, "devour THIS!"

They let the thing have both barrels from those green and purple irises and drive it back across the cavern. Vic and the others drop to the ground and look up just as Starfire flies over with both hands blazing, Blackfire following close behind.

The chrysalis eater backs up helplessly, taking hit after hit, and the coup de grace comes when Starfire drills in two more eye-beam blasts that send it crashing up through the ceiling. The thing is projected through the dirt, and it tumbles down the slope toward the surface of the pond where it first saw Starfire. It comes to and looks up with a guttural gasp; their vision blurred but clearing, it is the overgrown plant that tried to eat the Tamaranean earlier. Up comes the head, the jaws open, and the thing lashes straight down. The loud crunch that accompanies this strike tells the rest of the story.

….

We see the Titans, looking up through the new hole in the cavern's ceiling.

BB said, "dude! Since when can your eyes do that?"

Blackfire said, "yeah, and can you teach me that?"

Starfire said, "since just now. Please do not reject me. I am almost normal."

Dick said, "you're exactly as you should be. No matter how you change on the outside, you'll always be Starfire on the inside."

Blackfire said, "and that's exactly what we love about you."

She looks to the other Titans for reassurance, gets nods and smiles from all of them, and responds with a blushing smile of her own, message received and understood.

We see the T-Sub launching from the planet's surface.

The Narrator read, "so the happy young girl returned home with her friends. And they all lived happily ever after…. That is…. Until Beast Boy got chicken pox."

….

The book being read slowly closed as a little girl's voice said, "daddy, can you please read me another story?"

The Narrator said, "tomorrow Cassia. Tomorrow…."

….

Reviews:

pokemonking0924: glad you enjoyed the chapter and are excited for morr. Happy holidays!

SuperSentai199: yeah, it's definitley one of my faves too.

Canadude2029: happy holidays and thank you!

Bailey Radcliffe: thank you so much. I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope you are doing well.

….

Happy New Year to everyone!