Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ Back To Tamaran ( Chapter 39 )

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

 

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“Back To Tamaran”

 

A/N: Hahah. Someone told me, in the review replies, that they were surprised this was going to end at fifty. O.O Honestly, I think it will end with chapter fifty; but . . . you never know. Depends on how many ideas I can get. Anyway, this chapter shall be dedicated to HRH-Ft-Louie and april4rmH-town. Why? Cause both of them have been reading and reviewing a lot and I haven't dedicated anything to them yet… so now I'm doing it. XD
This one is shorter than usual, but that's because I haven't had as much writing time as I normally do.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

There were over fifty metal crabs in the room that Slade had been knocked into by Jinx, Bumblebee and Cyborg. That is fifty angry robot crabs attacked him all at once. If he had not been so well skilled, and if he didn't have his new poly-morphic adamantium arm, Slade Wilson would have been killed by those crabs. However, after several minutes of intensive fighting, he was able to defeat them and escape from Brother Blood's book depository.

 

He was injured. He had cuts, scrapes, blast marks and bruises. He was bleeding and panting and he was on the verge of death. Slade had taken too much abuse over the last few days. His main problem was he'd lost so much blood when Beast Boy bit his arm off that he'd been severely weakened; and now these new wounds only added to his injury. He was going to die from blood loss if he didn't get medical attention soon.

 

Where could he go? He could not return to his base and Wintergreen's care quickly enough. He would pass out and bleed to death along the way. Jump City was out of his reach, but he was not far from Steel City. That's when the answer came to him. Last time he had checked, she lived in Steel City. Would she help him? Would she take him in and nurse his injuries and save his life? Or would she shun him and turn a blind eye to the dying man?

Slade had to take his chance. Using all of his strength, he forced himself to walk to Steel City. It took several hours, but he made it at last. He was dirty, tired, bleeding and on the verge of collapse; but he found her small house on the edge of town. She lived near a park where the children played. He could see a tall tree in her front yard and he slowly crept his way towards her door. Slade knocked on the door, and then fell to his knees on the doorsteps.

 

When the door opened, a white-haired young woman appeared in the doorway. She looked down at Slade and she gasped.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Rose . . . I need your help.” Slade replied.

The woman's - Rose's - eyes widened as she recognized the voice. She could not see Slade's face, and she had not heard his voice in several years, but she would not forget it ever. He had looked up her a few years prior to his first encounter with the Teen Titans. He had wanted to get to know her, but she had turned him away, saying she wanted nothing to do with him or his business.

 

However, as Rose saw him bleeding to death on her front door, she could not send him away. “What happened to you?” She asked as she stooped down to her knees and placed a hand on Slade's back.

 

“It is a long story, that I will share with you later. Right now Rose, you have the power.”

“What power?” Rose asked, confused.

 

“The ultimate power. The power over life and death; my life or death. If you turn me away, I will die.”

 

Rose closed her eyes, when she opened them again and wrapped her arms around him and helped him get to his feet. Slade leaned his weight against her and slowly the two of them hobbled into the house. Rose sat him down on the couch, and then began walking towards the kitchen to get a medical kit she kept under the sink. She paused at the doorway between rooms and looked at Slade.

 

“Mom would've wanted you to live, that's why I'm helping you.” Rose announced, then she walked off.

 

Slade smiled to himself. “That she would have.”

 

Rose Wilson - Slade's only daughter - approached him with a medical kit under her arm. She was a sweet girl, and a good person. She was, however, his daughter and Slade saw a potential in her. She would not remain a sweet little girl much longer, that Slade knew.

 

He knew how to do it. He would inject her with the same super serum that had been used on himself, and on Grant Wilson; the Ravager. Slade had already decided she would become his new apprentice. She would be the perfect candidate. She was, after all, his flesh and blood.

 

----

 

Two Years Later

 

Titans Tower stood as a monument in Jump City Bay. The gleaming mass of silver-and-blue gleamed in the fiery-orange of the setting sun. The city was safe and peaceful, and had been that way for quite some time. There were, as always, troubles for the city. Super villains continued their relentless assault on peace and harmony; but not like there once was. The worst villains that showed up now in days were Mad Mod or the HIVE children; the real evildoers had vanished into the night, and hadn't been seen in a long time.

 

The events set into motion by Shady's visit had ended; and life had gone back to normal. Well, as normal as life can be for teenage superheroes who live in a giant T. Of course, there were some changes to the Tower life. Terra was back as a full-time Titan, living in the tower with the group just as she once had. Also, it wasn't unusual to see either Bumblebee or Jinx at the tower. Over the last two years Cyborg had grown questionably close to both of them, and they both frequented the tower, though not all the time. Bee was still living in Steel City, leading the Titans East; and while Jinx was considered a traitor by her former HIVE buddies, she wanted nothing to do with the Titans as a whole, and often avoided their tower. Although occasionally she would show up, for Cyborg's benefit only.

 

On this particular day - the two-year anniversary of Shady's visit - the Titans were relaxing and going about what had become normal routine. Cyborg and Robin sat on the couch, their minds wrapped up in the world of Gamestation as they tried to defeat one another on their latest fighting game. Terra was in the nearby kitchen, digging through the refrigerator despite the fact she knew perfectly well there was nothing to eat, save some leftover tofu and some chicken that had been in there for so long it was growing blue fuzz on the outside of it. Raven was floating near the window with her legs crossed and her eyes closed, soaking in her evening meditation. The only one missing from the group was Starfire.

 

Starfire was on the roof, lying on her back and looking up at the starry sky. Night was falling fast and as the orange sun vanished under the horizon, the sky was draped in velvety black night with tiny silvery stars blazing through. She had a slightly anxious gaze on her face as she stared at the constellations, thinking about several things. Her mind was troubled and her world was weighted. Starfire knew the time was approaching, and she knew she'd never get another chance like this again . . . at least not for 1,729 more years.

 

On the one hand, she wanted to ask Robin. It was tearing her apart inside with anxiety and worry at his answer. She wished it could be simple, but she knew things were anything but. The city needed them, it wasn't like they could just take off for a while; but on the other end of the spectrum, this wasn't something they could reschedule. This was the only chance they'd have in their lifetime, and it was important to her.

 

“Whatcha doing up here?”

Starfire squeaked as she heard a voice speak and she sat up to see Beast Boy.

 

“I am stargazing.” Starfire replied, relieved that it was the green teen and not the boy wonder that had appeared on the roof. She wasn't quite ready to face Robin yet.

 

“Oh.” Beast Boy seemed not to notice the worried look in her eyes and he did not hear the stress in her voice. He waddled over and sat down next to her, turning his wide eyes towards the sky.

 

“What brings you to the roof?” Starfire asked. She had wanted to be alone to do her thinking, but since he was here she couldn't very well ignore him.

 

“Cyborg whooped my butt in Mega Monkey: Battle Arcade, so now I'm waiting for him and Robin to get done so I can have a rematch.” Beast Boy explained with a small yawn. “But, y'know, they're both good so it'll take all freakin' night before I get another turn.”

 

“Indeed, they are skilled at the game of battling monkeys.” Starfire replied. Beast Boy's green eyebrow rose a bit. He was getting a distant vibe from Starfire, as if she was here, but her mind was elsewhere. He recognized this vibe because Raven put out a similar one whenever he would start talking to her about video games or try to convert her to become a vegetarian.

 

“You okay Star?” Beast Boy asked.

 

“Of course, why would I not be?” Starfire asked with a nervous laugh, which made it obvious she was anything but okay.

 

“C'mon, what's wrong?” Beast Boy butted into her business as he always did. He loved getting involved in other people's problems and trying to solve them, although it was not his most endearing quality.

 

Starfire bit her lip. She needed to get some advice from someone about this situation, but she wasn't sure Beast Boy was the best person to ask. It wasn't that she didn't value her green friend's opinion; she just knew that he was . . . Beast Boy. However, she was saved from any form of explanation when the door leading up to the roof opened yet again; this time it was Robin who joined them.

 

“Cyborg kicked my butt; your turn Beast Boy.” Robin said as he walked over and sat down right next to Starfire.

“Sweet!” Beast Boy jumped up and ran towards the door. Starfire let out a sigh of relief. She had been afraid Beast Boy would say something about her mood in front of Robin, thus forcing a confrontation with him at last.

 

“Oh, dude, something's wrong with your girlfriend.” Beast Boy added as he vanished through the doorway. Starfire winced and cursed her luck silently in her head. Robin's eyebrow rose beneath his mask.

 

“What's wrong Star?”

 

“Nothing!” Starfire said much too quickly in a high-pitched voice.

 

“C'mon Starfire, you're a horrible liar.” Robin replied. He sat up on his knees and crawled around so that he was in front of her. She looked away, becoming interested in her purple shoe. Robin leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest.

 

“Starfire.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“What's on your mind?”

 

“I have a request.” Starfire blurted out before she could stop herself.

 

“What is it?” Robin asked.

 

“I do not know how to ask you this, Robin.” Starfire admitted, shifting nervously. An idea came to her suddenly. Starfire was never a dishonest person, but perhaps a little white lie would not hurt here. She was afraid if she told him the entire truth now it would frighten him; but if he only knew part of it, then perhaps he'd agreed, and then when they got there . . . no, she knew that was wrong. She should not do something like that. It was completely against her nature. She paused and looked at Robin with her large green eyes. Starfire was not a liar. She could not become one, no matter how hard it would be to tell the truth.

 

“Star, just ask me.”

 

“May we go to Tamaran?” She asked him, biting her lip. He blinked, obviously not expecting this.

 

“Well, I don't know Star. What for?” Robin asked. He wanted to just say `yes, of course', but reality was he could not. The city depended on them; even though the city was a lot safer than it had been. Brother Blood, Mad Mod, Killer Moth; most of the cities criminals had been sent to prison or killed, and of course, Slade was long gone.

 

Starfire sighed. She hated the idea of keeping the truth from him; but she did not know how to get those words out. She had to tell him of course, but she had to do it in a way that would not completely frighten him. She would start by explaining about the ceremony. That is what she decided.

 

“It is for . . . em . . . an old Tamaranian Tradition.” Starfire stammered. “Do you recall the Trials, Robin?”

 

“Oh yeah, can't forget those.” Robin replied, the memories of their second trip to Tamaran still embedded in his memory even after two years.

 

“Well, this is another old tradition like those. Every few thousand years the stars align with Tamaran, and it is said that a couple who is . . . present . . . on Mt. Gandrake when the planet aligns with the stars will be blessed with a love that is eternal, and it is said that anyone who stands upon the mountain and makes a wish while basking in the light of the stars will have that wish come true.” Starfire explained. It was all true, she merely changed a single word in the explanation. Robin would find out later, she knew, but she had time to prepare before then.

Robin seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, and then he looked up at her. “This is important to you, eh?”

 

“Indeed.”

“And the only time we can do this is when the planet and stars align?”

 

“Yes.”

“And that would be . . . ?”

 

“This month.”

 

“Yeah, okay Star, lets do it.”

 

Starfire's eyes widened and lit up with bright happiness. “Really?”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Oh!” Starfire threw her arms around him, squeezing Robin in a tight hug. She kissed his cheek too and after she let go of him, Robin was smiling as he tried to catch his breath. “Thank you Robin!”

Then she paused. Starfire decided to tell him everything right now. She owed it to him. It might scare him off, but she did not think so. “Robin, there is something you should know. The ceremony we are to attend . . . in truth it is a -”

 

At that moment, a loud siren drowned her voice out. Red lights flashed all over the tower, and both of the titans on the roof suddenly knew there was trouble. Without a word, Robin jumped to his feet and ran back through the door. Starfire followed him quickly, floating behind him and heading down towards the main room of the tower. They found all of the others there as well, gathered around the TV monitor. Raven stood at the control panel.

 

“Trouble?” Robin asked.

 

“Someone's attacking the chemical factory.” Raven informed him.

“The new chemical factory?” Robin groaned. Jump City had recently built a new industrial chemical factory; it was huge and produced several different kinds of highly toxic and radioactive chemicals that were used in fuel making and nuclear processing. Robin knew how dangerous a place like that could be if they didn't stop whoever was behind the assault.

“Titans, go!”

 

----

 

“Are you certain they will come?” The woman asked.

At the chemical factory, on a catwalk that overlooked a batch of highly volatile chemicals, a woman stood in the dark. She wore a tight dark blue cat suit and a mask that covered from her nose up to the top of her head. She had yellow gloves and matching boots, and on her yellow belt were an assortment of weapons. She was speaking into a cellphone.

 

“They will come. They always do. Just remember what I taught you.”

 

Below her, Plasmus was gorging himself on toxic chemicals. The gigantic pinkish-blob of a man was licking up the glowing green waste with his tongue like an overgrown dog. The woman watched him with disgust in her eyes.

 

“What do we need that thing for?” She asked over the phone.

“Plasmus? Oh, he's just a means to an end. Don't forget, I'll need a little extra time to disable the security systems. Cyborg is no fool when it comes to making these.” The person on the other end of the phone stated.

 

“I don't see why I can't just kill them now.” The woman complained.

 

“Rose my darling, I doubt you could kill them now. Even if you could, however, I need them alive a little long. This is about more than just murder; this is about revenge. I want them to suffer just as I have suffered. You understand that, don't you?”

 

“Yes father.” Rose the Ravager replied over the phone. Suddenly she heard the sound of motors approaching fast and a dark smile spread over her face. “I think I hear them now.”

 

“Good. I'll infiltrate the tower while you and Plasmus keep them occupied. Have fun, but don't kill them yet.”

Slade's voice was replaced with a click, and then a dial tone. Rose hung up her phone and pressed herself flat against the wall of the factory, watching and waiting. A moment later the door opened, and the six teen titans burst into the factory, Robin leading the way, with Starfire, Terra, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven behind him.

 

“Gee, the person attacking the chemical factory is Plasmus.” Raven stated in her monotone voice. “I'm shocked.” Her sarcasm washed over the group in usual fashion.

 

“Dinner's over Plasmus; time to pay the check.” Robin announced, and then he ran forward towards the beast. Plasmus, however, shot a chunk of slim off his arm like a rocket and hit Robin in his chest. Robin was struck and hit the ground, trapped beneath the sticky sludge. Plasmus roared and raised his foot, ready to stomp on Robin.

 

With a whistle, a starbolt whirled across the sky and blew a hole in Plasmus's chest. Plasmus let out a rough scream of anger and aimed a blow at Starfire, firing a chunk of his fist like he had at Robin; however, this time black light caught and illuminated the sludge in mid-air. Raven set the goo down in the corner, and as she did Cyborg stepped forward and blasted one of Plasmus's legs with his sonic cannon. The leg exploded and Plasmus tumbled over onto his side.

Terra, meanwhile, ran to Robin's side. Her hands began to shimmer yellow and several rocks broke up from beneath the floor. One of them was jagged and sharp; she used it to cut the boy wonder free of the goop. Robin jumped up and grabbed a freezing disc from his belt. He tossed it at Plasmus, who was reforming his leg and getting back up; the disc hit him and caused his body to become coated in thick ice.

 

“Dude, this guy gets more annoying every time we fight him.” Beast Boy stated.

 

“We? You didn't lift a finger.” Raven pointed out as she floated over next to her boyfriend.

“Well, I was about too.” Beast Boy replied. “Plasmus is lucky he went down when he did, I was just about to whip out the big guns. Yeah, I'm disappointed the fight's over to be honest, I was looking forward to opening a can of whoop ass.”

 

“Mmm, who says it's over?” Rose stepped out of the shadows; the Titans did not know who she was, but the moment they saw her outfit they had a bad feeling. All side of the Titans turned to see her approach them. She held a thin, silver short sword in her right hand and she licked her lips with her tongue, tasting the black cherry lipstick, she wore.

 

“Who are you?” Robin demanded. He had been trying to wipe some of Plasmus's goop out of his hair, but when he saw her, he grabbed his bo-staff.

 

“I'm your executioner.” Rose replied boldly. She jumped forward, as fast as lightning, and slashed at him with the sword. Robin blocked with his bo-staff, but the staff was cut neatly in half. Before he could react, she kicked him in the lower stomach and he doubled over. Then she kicked him again, this time in the side of the head. Robin rolled across the ground leaving a trail of blood from his nose.

 

Raven ripped a piece of the catwalk off of the wall with her powers and threw it at Rose; but she jumped up and landed on top of the flying catwalk as it came towards her. Raven tried to smash her into a wall, but she jumped off at that moment and brought her boots down on Raven's face, knocking the empath to the ground, her eyes clenched tight in pain.

 

Starfire flew towards Rose with her eyes and hands glowing with green fury. Starfire was incredibly angry; but Rose lobbed a small ball off of her belt which collided with Starfire in midair and caused a cloud of thick gray smoke to engulf the alien girl. Starfire coughed and choked and fell to the ground, her eyes watering, her nose itching and ears throbbing with pain.

A green tyrannosaurs rex roared and ran at Rose; but she slashed at a low pipe with her sword and a thick jet of green sludge sprayed out of the side of the pipe tank of chemicals and covered the floor. Beast Boy slipped and fell forward on his enormous dinosaur face. He transformed back into normal just in time to have Rose kick him in the face and send him rolling across the room.

Cyborg fired a sonic cannon shot at her; but Rose deflected it off the edge of her sword and the shot wound up hitting the frozen Plasmus instead; freeing him from his icy prison. Terra had been preparing an attack, but when Plasmus was freed, her grabbed the blonde with one of his large sludge covered hands and squeezed tightly. Terra struggled to break free of his grip, but wasn't strong enough. Starfire, who had recovered, flew up to free her friend; but unfortunately, the spraying chemicals from the pipe Rose had slashed earlier were now spraying on Plasmus, causing him to grow even bigger. Starfire fired her eyebeams and cut his fingers off, allowing Terra to drop down to the floor below and save her from his death grip.

However, Plasmus's fingers re-grew quickly and his body was becoming different. He began to grow large, purple spikes from all over his body and his eyes began to burn like green fire. Plasmus let out a bellowing yell of rage and the spikes shot from his body in all directions, smashing into the walls and roof of the chemical plant.

“Looks like the structure is weakened.” Rose noted with a smile. She removed a bomb from her belt and tossed it into the air. It exploded and destroyed one of the main support beams of the building. The roof began to cave in around them. “Ta, Ta, Titans!” Rose jumped to one of the window and leapt out of the building as it collapsed. One of the hanging lights broke off and fell into a batch of chemicals; the combination of electricity and volatile chemical waste detonated. The entire factory went up like one big fireball. When the smoke cleared all that was left was a gigantic crater.

 

Rose, who had run to the nearby highway on a hill next to the chemical plant, looked down and expected to see the titans' bodies burning in the eerie chemical fire. However, her jaw dropped at what she saw. An gigantic dome of black light was shimmering in the middle of the bright flames, all six titans were beneath the dome, safe and sound. Rose cursed and quickly headed out of sight. Her father had been right, they were better than she gave them credit for.

 

Inside the dome, Beast Boy rubbed his sore head. “Who was psycho chick?”

 

“Don't know, but she was definitely dangerous.” Robin replied bitterly. “Let's get back to the tower, I'll run a check through the known criminal database and see if I can find a match -”

 

“Robin?” Starfire interrupted, an expecting sadness in her voice. “Does this mean that what we spoke of before is to be cancelled?”

 

Robin sweatdropped. During the fight, he had forgotten all about his promise to Starfire that they would go to Tamaran. He bit his lip. He knew what he had to do, and he knew she would not like the answer she was about to get; but what could he do? They had a new supervillian in town; they could not leave now.

 

“I'm sorry Starfire.” He sighed quietly.

Starfire closed her eyes and said nothing.

“Did I miss something?” Terra asked, curious as always.

 

----

 

Slade was successful in breaking into Titan's Tower, though not how he had hoped. He had not been able to come in through the front door, so he decided to break in through a window. He had found Starfire's bedroom window unlocked, however, and crawled in through there. He had been on his way to her door to make it down to the main room when his phone rang. He answered it and found that it was Rose.

“Father, I tried to destroy them in a trap, but they survived.” Rose reported.

 

“That does not surprise me. Unfortunately, I ran into more trouble than I expected; I need more time.”

 

“I'm sorry father, they're on their way back now.”

 

Slade swore. He was angry - his first attack in two years and it was a failure. He kicked Starfire bed in anger, and a small crystal orb rolled out from under her pillow and dropped on the floor. The action activated the orb, which was a communication orb from Tamaran. The holographic image of Galfore appeared and he delivered a message. Starfire had received the orb the previous night - it was the cause of her earlier worry.

When Slade heard the message, his eye widened in surprise, and then the wheels inside his head began clicking and turning as an evil plan formulated. He smiled to himself and then he spoke to his daughter once again over the phone.

 

“Rose, darling, I think we just caught our lucky break. I'll meet you back at the base.”

Slade's right arm, which had been bitten off by Beast Boy and then replaced with an adamantium replacement from his future self, was now a robotic replacement. The adamantium arm had vanished when the future was changed; but Slade had gotten a new replacement. He picked up the orb with his robotic hand and replaced it under Starfire's pillow. Then he hurried back out the window to meet up with his daughter.

Slade found the entire thing rather ironic. This was going to work out just fine after all.

 

----

 

The Titans returned home, all of them in a bad mood from their defeat. Cyborg had taken Plasmus back to jail, and therefore was absent from the group. Plasmus had been turned human from the explosion, and knocked unconscious. The rest of the team was now spread out throughout the tower. Beast Boy and Terra were sitting at the kitchen counter, both complaining about their injuries. Robin and Raven were at the monitor, going over the list of criminals in the known supervillian database, trying to find a match to the one they had fought tonight. Starfire had gone up to her room without a word.

 

Robin was depressed for two reasons. For one, he knew they had a new, deadly enemy. For another, he knew Starfire was upset about them canceling the trip. She had explained that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and he felt horrible for denying it to her. However, they could not leave the city like this right now.

 

“You know she's crying right now.” Raven said offhanded from where she sat beside him.

“What? Who?” Robin was confused.

 

“Starfire. You need to go talk to her.” Raven replied, her eyes fixed on the screen instead of Robin.

“How did you --?”

“I'm psychic.” She replied before he could even finish the question. “I thought you knew that already.” She teased him a bit, and then her voice became serious again. “You really do need to talk to her.”

 

“And you need to stop reading minds.” Robin muttered.

 

“Robin, yours isn't the only mind I read; and believe me, she has her reasons for wanting to go to Tamaran.”

 

Robin was intrigued by this. He didn't know what she meant by what she'd just said, but it made him get a funny feeling that there was something he didn't know about this entire thing. “What do you mean?” He asked.

 

“Like you said, I need to stop reading minds.” Raven responded with a small smile. Robin glared, but she ignored him. “Listen, it isn't my place to say; although I do think the trip is a good idea.”

 

“We can't leave the city with a new villain.” Robin replied instantly.

 

“I'll call Bumblebee; have the Titans East look in on the city for us.” Raven argued. “Robin, I wouldn't give you bad advice, would I? Just trust me.”

 

Robin sighed and gave in. He didn't like this idea, but he did not really have a choice, did he? He was appreciative of Raven for being able to convince him to do this, even if in his heart he felt like it could be a bad idea. He stood up without a word and headed off towards Starfire's bedroom. Raven turned around in her chair and faced Beast Boy and Terra.

“Go pack, we're going on a trip.” She announced.

 

Robin slowly made his way up to Starfire room and he knocked softly. She didn't respond, so Robin decided to let himself in the room. He opened the door slowly and peeked his head inside. Raven was right; she was crying. Starfire sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest and crying silently. When he came in the room, she turned her head away from him and he sighed.

 

“Starfire—”

 

“I do not want to hear it.” She cut him off. “I understand it is important to defend the city, but this is important to me as well, and we shall not get another chance for one thousand, seven hundred and twenty nine years.”

 

“Star, listen I decided—”

 

“You have made your feelings perfectly clear Robin, thank you very much. Will you leave me alone now; I do not feel like company.”

 

“Star, we're going to Tamaran.” Robin blurted out before she had a chance to interrupt again. “Raven's going to ask Bee and the Titans East to keep an eye on the city while we're gone. I . . . was hasty before. I should have realized how important this was to you.”

 

Starfire finally turned to face him, her arms loosened their grip on her knees and her legs fell down onto the bed. She raised one red eyebrow and stared at his suspiciously. “You are certain?”

 

“Positive. Speedy and the others can handle the new villain. Even superheroes need some time to ourselves, right?” Robin smiled.

 

Starfire's bad mood seemed to dissolve. She was easy to please, and Robin knew it. She flew from the bed and wrapped her arms around him. While it did cut off his oxygen for a few seconds, Robin enjoyed the hug. She broke away and he pushed a strand of thick red hair away from her eye, tucking it behind her ear.

“Get packed, okay? This ceremony is important to you, so we'll go through with it.”

Starfire's stomach did a painful back flip. She had been interrupted by the siren before, and hadn't been able to explain the exact type of ceremony this was. She nibbled on her lip and opened her mouth to speak, but her words never made it out. Robin saw the way she fidgeted and he kissed her deeply on the mouth in an attempt to calm her nerves. It worked, since she melted into his kiss and fell into his arms.

 

I will tell him later. She decided, thinking that right now she wanted only to deepen the kiss, and not spoil the moment with words. Therefore, she did deepen the kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his back. It was at that moment the door opened, though neither of them notice it, being much too preoccupied with the dance their tongues were doing in their mouths.

 

“I think they got over their problem Ravie.” Terra's voice filled the room and Robin and Starfire broke apart like two polar opposite magnets. The two were sweaty, blushing and both turned to see Terra and Raven at the door.

“You're a master of the obvious Terra. Oh, and don't call me Ravie ever again.” Raven replied in her usual fashion.

 

“Did you find something?” Robin asked, trying to change the subject.

“I think we found two teenagers who are very horn—” Terra started to say, but Raven cut her off.

 

“That's enough Terra.” Raven rolled her eyes. “We couldn't find anything on the computer about that woman. Whoever she is, she's a fresh face. But I did get in touch with the Titans East; they're willing to watch the city, but Bee wants to come with us.”

 

“What?” Robin was surprised.

 

“She says she and Cyborg need some quality time.” Terra explained. “If you ask me, I think she knows Cyborg's still seeing Jinx on the side and she's trying to get him all to herself.”

 

Robin shook his head. It was no secret in the tower that Cyborg had been seeing both Bee and Jinx on and off over the last two years. They were all waiting for the day one of them found out about it and he got in huge trouble with both of them, but so far, that day hadn't come.

 

“It's alright with me if she wants to come along.” Robin replied.

 

“Good. Then it's all settled. Cyborg says we can leave tomorrow morning; he had to make some repairs to the T-Ship first.”

 

Starfire smiled. “We are really to do this?”

 

“Yeah, we are.” Raven replied with a small grin on her face. “Now beat it you two, Starfire and I need to have some girl talk.” She added, shooing Robin and Terra towards the door.

 

“Hey-a! I'm a girl too!” Terra whined.

 

“Yeah, well . . . okay, so I don't have an excuse to get rid of you, but you're leaving anyway.” Raven responded, she shoved them both out the door and closed it behind them. Then she turned to Starfire.

 

“What is it friend Raven?”

 

“You didn't tell Robin what this `ceremony' is all about, did you?” Raven asked.

 

“Whatever do you mean?”

 

“I can read minds, remember?”

 

Starfire paused. She didn't quite know how to answer that. At length, she finally replied. “I tried to, but then Plasmus attacked and . . . I am unsure how I should tell him.”

 

“Well, I'm sure you'll think of something; but don't wait to tell him till last minute, or you'll have a problem on your hands.” Raven warned her friend. “I've got to go; Beast Boy's cooking dinner and I've got to make sure he doesn't make tofu.” She paused at the doorway. “Relax Star, he'll say yes, but you really should tell him first.”

 

With that, Raven left, leaving Starfire alone to think.

 

----

 

“What's this about a new plan?”

At Slade's old base beneath Jump City, that had recently been restored when Slade and Rose returned to town, the father and daughter team sat around a long black marble table. Rose was impatiently tapping her fingers on the desk.

 

“The Titans will be going to a planet called Tamaran.” Slade explained to his daughter. “When they go, we shall follow them.”

 

Rose's eyes widened a bit. “Your son died on Tamaran, didn't he?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, Grant - the first Ravager - did die on Tamaran.” Slade replied. He was aware of how she referred to her predecessor as `Slade's son'. She never once in two years of training called him her brother; because in her mind Grant and Joseph were not her siblings. She was the daughter of Slade Wilson and `Sweet' Lilith; Slade's other children did not matter to her at all. “You won't be repeating his mistake, will you?” Slade asked harshly.

 

“Of course not.” Rose replied with a smirk dancing on her black cherry lips. “Just wait, we'll tear those Titans to pieces.”

 

“You did well tonight Rose. You were a better opponent to them than I expected. I'm proud of you.” Slade said from out of nowhere. Then he smirked and leaned back in his chair. “But you will have to improve even more once we reach Tamaran.”

 

“I will; I will destroy them all.” Rose responded, clenching her fist in determination.

Slade was proud of his daughter. It was amazing how a few drugs and two years of training had morphed the sweet girl into a heartless killing machine.

Like father, like daughter.

 

----

 

Meanwhile, far away on Tamaran, King Myand'r and Queen Luand'r, along with Galfore, all sat in the throne room. They had sent word to Starfire a few days ago, and they were still waiting for her response; although Galfore could already guess what Koriand'r would say.

What he could not guess was that the Dark Ones and their Empire were on their way to Tamaran. The evil invaders had found the planet and been studying the warrior race for a year and a half. Like they always did when they came to a new planet, the seven Dark Ones looked for a native of that planet to betray their people and help them conquer the world.

 

Each of the Seven Dark Ones was a different master from a different planet that belonged to the empire. If the traitor to Tamaran did well, they would become the eighth Dark One. At first they had a hard time finding a Tamaranian who would betray their species, and had to kill several of the ones they offered the job too.

 

Then they found one.

 

“Why are we waiting on the attack?”

The Seven Dark Ones stood in their chamber. Each of them stood on a magical sigil on the floor in a round, dark room. Each of the Seven Dark Ones wore full-body cloaks and hoods to hide their identity. The leader was speaking to the young woman who knelt before them in the middle of the room.

The leader of the Dark Ones spoke again. “What is it your are waiting for, General?”

 

“Relax.” The General, the Tamaranian Traitor, replied with a smirk. She pushed her dark hair back and looked up at the leader. “It's almost time for a Tamaranian Ritual to be held; and I just know my dear little sister will be attending it.”

 

Blackfire smirked cruelly at the idea. Attacking her homework and destroying her people - murdering her parents - it was all a very sweet idea; but it would be so much better to wait for Starfire.

 

“We have a schedule, General Blackfire.” The leader of the Dark Ones hissed. “Your personal revenge is not of our concern.”

 

Blackfire gasped. How did he know? She cursed at his mind reading abilities. “But sire, it's not just me who has an annoying sister on her way to Tamaran, unless I'm very much mistaken.” She grinned, knowing more about her master than her master realized.

 

The leader of the Dark Ones laughed. “You think I would avenge my father? I never even knew him.”

 

“Forget avenging your father; I figured you'd just want to kill her for the hell of it.” Blackfire shrugged. “But if not, we can always attack Tamaran now -”

 

“No.” The Dark One replied. “We will wait. You are an intelligent one, General Blackfire. That is why we have given you control of our armies. You know perfectly well I do want to kill her merely because she is who she is; but do not think for a minute that you are manipulating my hand.”

“I'd never dream of it, master.” Blackfire replied in all honesty.

 

“Good.” The leader of the dark ones replied. Of all the dark ones, he was the leader for the pure and simple reason that he was the strongest of them all. That wasn't surprising, considering his father had been Trigon the Terrible.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

A/N: That's thirty-nine down, eleven more to go (maybe). Heheh . . . Slade and his daughter have a plan; the Dark Ones are hatching a scheme, and Blackfire finally appears! Yay! Hope you liked it. More is on the way.

 

scathac's warrior: Yes, only twelve chapters left. Unless I get some new ideas on how to continue it . . . I WILL continue, if I get some good ideas. O.o Heh… Slade dies a lot, but he always comes back. XD Well, hope you liked it.

 

Mirielle: No, actually I meant Empire. I should have worded it better. There's Seven Dark Ones who reign supreme, and their empire made up of thousands of underlings. Oh, of course Slade's going to recover.
Time travel's a confusing thing m'dear. By altering history, Mariand'r's future splits off into an alternate, sub dimension, while the main future has been altered, thus creating two separate universes. The titan's future has changed, but Mariand'r's future has become a whole new separate alternate reality. O.o Confusing, ya?

 

Samanthe2121: I'm happy you think so. ^^ I'll be sure to update quick for you.

 

Estel-Elf-Lover: Well I'm happy to hear that. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

 

WHOCARES?: No kidding.

 

AstaOmega11: YEP! That's where I got the idea . . . well, partially from Spiderman, and partially from Terminator 2.

 

Valecia92: I'm pretty sure it's Metreon. That's what the fansite I go on says it is; but they could be wrong, so I don't know. At any rate, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you liked the new one too.

 

april4rmH-town: 100? O.O I doubt I could write 100 chapters; but I will if I can. XD. I plan to stop at fifty, unless I get some new ideas, but if I do get some new ideas, I will go on further. It all just depends on what happens in my crazy little head. XD Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.

 

Kabosha: Oh yeah, I love putting the Titans through hell. It's fun. XD I'm glad you enjoyed all of the humor I tried to throw into the last one. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one too m'friend; thanks for reading.

 

Lambbaby: Well I'm glad to hear your dog is still alive. I hope your dog gets better soon m'friend, I really do. XD! You just gave me a great idea for another fanfic! OMG, I'm gonna write it too; so thank you. And to answer your question, I did indeed read Half-Blood Prince and I gotta admit, it was pretty good.

 

Starbolt07: I'd love to read your fic; I'll be sure to do it when I get some free time. Lately I've spent all my free time writing, but when I get some reading time I'll head over and check out your story.

 

Pickles12: Actually, no I did not know that about Robin's birthday. But thank you for telling me. ^^ Awesome of you Pickles. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. Thanks dude.

 

HRH-Ft-Louie: Yeah, Terra's got a pervy side. XD. What can I say, someone needs to say stuff like that for humor. Hmm, they may not be able to get a second home on Tamaran, after all, the dark ones do destroy things. Mwa Hahaha! Foreshadowing! XD. Anyway, thanks for reading Lauren, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

 

SuperrachiE: Both Slades die? Hehehe… sorry to disappoint you my friend. XD Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.

 

Death's Wicked Truth: Did you have fun on your vacation? I hope you did. And I hope you like this new chapter.

 

The guy over threr: … Ooooooookay.

 

Goddessruling: XD. Well I'm happy to see you liked it all, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. No, as you saw, Slade is not finally dead. The fish guy? I remember him. As for me making you like Terra; I'm trying. Thanks for reading.

 

GizmoBunny: It's funny you should mention the trip to Tamaran; since they're obviously going back. XD Yeah, I liked Terra's remark too. I figured the story needed a little humor, y'know? She's good for adding stuff in. Heh. Anyway, hop you liked the new chapter.

 

Ziek: XD. What can we say, Robin's a bit slow sometimes, eh? Heheh. Anyway, glad you liked it. Meh. That Cyborg theme song is stuck in my head.

 

Aclahayr: To answer your question, future Slade's biological body was actually merged with the adamantium, so it wasn't just a suit; it was his flesh and blood too. That's how he was able to morph. ^^ Glad you liked it, I'll try to update quicked.

 

IllegalDayNightSnappingIguana: It feel pretty good Winter dear. And no, I shalln't be ending anytime soon. I dunno where Caitlyn got that idea, but I'm happy to say it shalln't end for a while. You were right about Slade, of course. Heh. You know me better than to just kill Slade off. XD Talk to you later; thanks for reading.

 

Girl Wonder 2005: Azarath is pretty much a wasteland, destroyed by Trigon, so it would be hard to knock out twelve chapters with them on Azarath; that's why I chose Tamaran.

 

MiSs JoVaNNa: Glad to hear it. I'm hoping you liked this new chapter, did you?

 

Inuluvsu: To answer all of your question my friend, here are the answers.

Did Robin realize Mary was his daughter: Not until it was revealed. He's a bit slow, huh? XD

Why crab? Because I was playing Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel for PS2, and I was fighting the giant crab, and I decided giant crabs are cool so I wanted some evil blue robot crabs in my story. XD Raven killed Deathstroke. She blew him up. ^_- Thanks for saying I'm a good writer, it's nice to hear. I'll write more ASAP-y.

 

Kodra: Well thank you for saying so, I'm glad you think I've done a good job thus far. Yes, there is a difference between the cartoon villains and the comic villains, which I think is the reason for the difference in my story, since I like to blend comic and cartoon a lot. I appreciate the review, and you're right about the typos. I shall try to work on that. Anyway, thanks for reading; I shall write more soon.

 

IGAF-kun: Really? Never? Wow, that's awesome to hear. ^^ I'll try to make these last few chapters the best yet, so you have something to look forward too. Thanks for reading.