I'm not exactly sure where there is going, I have to admit. Usually, when I get an idea, I make an outline and I fill out details so that I have a rough idea of what I' doing. That hasn't happened yet for this. This first chapter is mostly a rewrite of "Go!", and I changed the time and locations of Starfire's arrival on Earth. Another thing I want to point out really quickly, I usually try to go for consistency in the length of my chapters, either by page or by word count, but from what I have written so far I don't think I can promise that. So sorry if the lengths are jumpy.

Disclaimer: I'm only gonna do this once. I don't own Teen Titans.

Chapter 1 - Go!

In the holding cell of the dimly lit ship, savage screaming and a banging that rocked the whole ship echoed endlessly, making the terrifying sounds even worse.

Two Gordanian guards approached it warily, holding tridents defensively. They passed cells with clear walls, displaying much calmer prisoners like prizes. The guards paid these trapped souls no mind, they only continued down the dark hallway. A series of metal doors slid open as they approached, and they joined two other guards at the reinforced door of the cell, where their prisoner was undoubtedly trying to escape. The will of an enraged Tamaranean, even handcuffed, was nothing to ignore.

"The door will hold?" one asked the other, trying to sound calculating instead of nervous.

"It must!" the second answered fearfully.

An enraged shriek cut through their words.

"The alien will be delivered on schedule," a third insisted. "Lord Trogaar has commanded it."

The four guards turned to the cell, a particularly hard bang silencing them for one terrifying moment.

"And if this thing gets loose?" the last one asked, sounding resigned to the fact that it would.

"Then Zorg help us all," the first one answered solemnly.

Another shriek, another bang, and the glass over the slot meant for peeking in on their captive shattered. To the guards' terror, angry eyes, blazing a crackling green, appeared in front of them.

The two guards closest to the door backed up a few steps until they were behind their comrades. They watched, frozen in fear of both this angry alien and the impending wrath of Lord Trogaar as two hard knocks shook the door in its frame and a third completely unhinged it. It flew toward them, landing where the two original guards were standing moments before.

The Tamaranean appeared in the dark doorway, shouting in her native language. After a final war cry, she descended on them. She slammed both cuffed hands at the guard, hair flowing wildly behind her. The guard, already dazed from the hard hit, lost consciousness as he slammed into the wall.

She swung her arms again, this time hitting two guards at once with the bone-crushing force of her punch. Combined with the heavy metal of her sophisticated handcuffs, they weren't going to be getting back up any time soon.

The last guard tried to take a few swings at her with his trident, but she deflected it until it broke. She spun in the air and kicked out, slamming the guard against the wall. Unfortunately for her, he hit the alarm system, which sounded with a red flash. She tested the wall to see how far in the ship she was, and after determining that on the other side of the wall was nothing but space, she used her handcuffs as a battering ram and burst through it. A small explosion went off around her, but she was more afraid of what lay behind her than the heat and shrapnel, so she flew through it without hesitating.

…

The Dynamic Duo stood on a rooftop in Gotham. It was quiet tonight. Batman insisted that they needed to patrol, but Robin was kind of wishing that he could go back to the manor. What was the point of having a wall-sized plasma TV and the newest Gamestation with the newest Call of Duty game hooked up to it if you never got to play it? Not that he minded patrolling. He liked it. But they'd been out for an hour and they hadn't even broken up a gang fight.

He wanted to express his opinion, because seriously, if he didn't Batman would keep him out here all night, and he was just thinking of a way to do it without sounding like he was whining when Batman tensed up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Robin looked up at his mentor, who jerked his chin roughly to a spot in the city below them.

A common thug, dressed in a black sweater, black pants, and a black hat and gloves, was loitering between two buildings, almost completely in shadow. A woman was walking cautiously, and Robin couldn't imagine what she was doing out at this time of night. She was about to cross paths with the thug.

"You go," Batman told his apprentice softly.

Robin's eyes widened beneath his mask. "Alone?"

The Dark Knight nodded. "You'll need the solo practice, anyway. How long until you're off to Jump City?"

Robin grunted. He didn't want to think about that now. He grabbed his grappling hook gun and angled it. He waited. If he got there before the thug could actually grab her purse, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it and the thug would just wait for someone else to jump. The man stepped out of the alley and the woman froze in front of him, and Robin jumped into action.

He shot the grappling hook gun and swung on its line, kicking the lowlife in the chest and sending him sprawling. The woman was too frightened to even scream, but she stared at Robin with wide eyes. She stared at him for a second, then scooped her purse up off the ground and ran off.

Robin melded back into the shadows. The thief scrambled to his feet, brandishing a pipe. Robin threw a birdarang and he dropped the impromptu weapon with a terrified yelp.

"Okay Bats… Calm down. I didn't hurt no one no how. Ain't nothin' here but you an' me."

"You're wrong about that," Robin answered stepping into the moonlight.

The mugger put his hands up. "Listen, kid. I don't want no trouble."

"You should have thought of that before you committed a crime," Robin growled, rearing back and punching the man.

The thief dodged and threw a wild punch, which Robin ducked under. He jumped up and kicked at the man's chest. He fell sprawled out on the ground, bracing himself on his palms. Robin picked him up by his sweater and pushed him against the wall roughly.

The Teen Wonder was about to slap handcuffs on him to bring him to the local jail when he pointed above Robin's head. "What in the hell is that!"

Robin didn't turn right away, as he suspected that it was a trick to help the man escape while he was distracted. However, Robin was securely between the mugger and the exit of the alley. That coupled with fact that he noticed an odd green glow that lit up the streets of Gotham led him to believe that it was okay to turn and look. What appeared to be a green comet with a white tail was shooting toward the ground. Robin gaped up at it, bracing himself as it struck the ground with such force that the city trembled.

The thief that Robin had been dealing with looked doubly frightened now. Robin glanced at the approximate crash zone, then back at the criminal. With an annoyed huff, Robin settled for tangling the thug in a line from his grappling hook and dangling him on the banister of a fire escape above him to wait for the cops to collect him.

Robin took another line from his grappling hook gun and aimed it at the top of the building that he and Batman were using as a perch before that business with the thug. Upon getting back up to the top, Robin found that Batman was already gone. He sighed. Of course. No need to wait or anything. With a turn so quick that his cape flourished behind him, he took off for the middle of downtown.

Of course that would happen. It's been quiet all night, but the second Robin goes off on his own a green comet lands in the middle of the city. As Robin got closer to the crash site, he had to dodge scared civilians who were running away from the comet, which he was quickly beginning to suspect was not a comet at all. He came to a halt just outside the battle zone.

It was a girl. She was wearing this weird skin tight armor, what were probably handcuffs but looked more like metal mittens that joined at the wrists, and a face framing metal headpiece. What was most notable about her was her glowing green eyes. He wasn't being poetic- they were really glowing. She was slamming her cuffs against the beam of a building that looked like it was meant to be used as a picture studio. There was a couple standing on the balcony, which was beginning to tip forward under the barrage of metal thwacking against it. Several people on the top floors were running around. The area surrounding her was pretty smashed up, too.

Robin was about to reach in his belt for a birdarang when a batarang went slicing through the air, zinging off the edge of the girl's weird headpiece. Robin turned toward Batman, who stepped away from the shadows.

The girl turned to him, arms dangling in front of her. She savagely shouted in rough gibberish. Robin didn't recognize it, and from the look on Batman's face, he didn't either.

"Who are you?" Robin demanded, getting into a better stance.

The girl looked between Batman and Robin before throwing herself at Batman, raising her arms above her head. Batman dodged and she threw herself at him again. He dodged one more time, which was incredibly passive for him. When she threw herself at him again, he dodged and threw an explosive disc at her. She jumped back, a little dazed.

"What's the matter?" Robin asked.

"I don't know if she's hostile," Batman answered. She threw herself at the two of them again and they both rolled in opposite directions.

Robin thought that was pretty stupid. She was smashing everything in her line of vision with those massive handcuffs. Plus, she was a prisoner. It was probably best that they subdue her and then use the JLA satellite to figure out where she's from.

She smashed the ground under Batman's feet and he flipped backward to avoid her. While she was distracted, Robin threw his own exploding disc. The blast propelled her forward. It looked like she was about to crash into the wall when she flipped so that her feet took the impact. She flew off the wall- literally, flew- and delivered a painful looking punch of her metallic cuffs to Batman's stomach. He was thrown back against a building so hard that the wall cracked a little.

She turned to face Robin, who extended his bo-staff and nodded at her. She launched herself at him and hopped off the ground in front of him. She delivered a roundhouse kick to his chest, which sent him rolling. While he was on the ground, she leaped up and raised her fists with the intent to smash him into the ground, but he grabbed his bo-staff and round-offed, smacking her heard across the solar plexus. She was thrown against a car and the metal dented under her and the windows cracked. He stared down in shock as his staff disintegrated in his hands. He clapped his hands together to the wipe the dust from his gloves.

She shook herself off and looked at the car thoughtfully, before easing her foot under the front bumper and lifting it. Robin could only stare in shock as she threw it into the air like a hackey-sack. He ducked, looking over his shoulder as the car hit a building and promptly exploded.

Batman came to stand over by Robin, looking at the alien, calculating. "Here's the plan. The next time she jumps, I need you to-"

He was cut off by the girl jumping into the air and raising her arms. She pummeled her arms into the street so hard that it cratered under her feet and the Dynamic Duo were almost knocked off balance by the tremors beneath them.

She stood slowly, the giant metallic mittens falling apart. She smirked at her hands, which were still handcuffed but were now exposed.

The two heroes looked concerned. It was going to start getting worse.

She raised her arms and they glowed green. Batman took cover in the lee of bus stop, and Robin settled for pulling his cape across his body. This worked minimally, absorbing the effects but not the impact of the starbolts. He got knocked around a little and he rolled next to Batman.

The Caped Crusader was looking around at the damage. "We've got to stop her. It's going to be a hard fight."

Robin regarded the alien. Perhaps he was still a little mad about being ditched, but he found himself unable to stop from pointing out, "I thought you just said that you don't know if she's hostile."

Batman looked back at the alien. "How do you want to stop her?" The Dark Knight asked his protégé, somewhat impatient.

Robin squinted, half-regretting that he'd said anything at all. "Um… if I could get those cuffs off her, she might see it as a… peace offering."

Batman sighed. "Alright. Diplomacy's probably better when dealing with alien races, anyway."

The girl leaped in front of them, kicking the entire bus stop down in front of them. It was one of the most terrifying moments Robin could recall since joining Batman, and it was definitely the worst patrol yet.

Robin turned to her and held his hands out as a sign of goodwill. "We just want to talk," he informed her.

She shouted at him in her rough gibberish and aimed a kick at him, which he blocked. He flipped back from her. She advanced on him again and he drew out another bow staff. She hit the middle of it with her handcuffed wrists and it snapped in half. He stared at it, one eyebrow raised in disbelief, mouth slightly agape. She was destroying these things like they were made of wood.

She delivered a kick to his chest, and he hit the ground hard. He rolled away from her next attack, crouching. She charged up that green light in her fists, and he stayed perfectly still. She let a bolt loose and he dodged at the last second. She managed to get him in the shoulder. He let out a pained hiss as he clutched his shoulder, curling into the ground.

He pushed the pain away and turned to find that she was leaping at him, and he braced himself for impact, tucking his head in for protection.

He looked up when the impact didn't come. Batman was holding the end of a grappling hook, and she was wrapped up in it across from him.

Batman nodded at Robin. The Teen Wonder exhaled slowly, hoping this was going to work, and grabbed in his belt for a steel pick. She flinched as he approached her and he felt kind of bad. He offered her a small smile before he set to work on the lock. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized that he wasn't going to hurt her and the glow in them fizzled out for the first time since she'd landed. He had the cuffs off in a manner of seconds; weird alien technology had nothing on his lock-picking skills.

The handcuffs clattered to the ground at his feet, cracking the pavement. He stepped to the side and winced as it just missed his foot. She rubbed her wrists, looking relieved to be out of the cuffs. She was still watching Robin warily.

He gave her another small smile. "There. Now maybe you-"

To his shock, she cut him off with a forceful kiss. It wasn't a very involved kiss, and he wasn't hating it that much, as he was acutely aware that she was kind of pretty. Heat flooded his face, and he was too shocked to even try to push back. She pulled away and he just stared at her, bewildered.

She pushed him away from her, and poor Robin was so surprised that he stumbled over something- very possibly one of the myriad craters the alien created when she was trying to get the cuffs off, but more likely his own feet- and fell back flat on his ass. He could only stare at her, blushing slightly and very confused.

She turned, acknowledging Batman, and looked back to Robin. "If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave me alone," she commanded in a cold voice.

Robin could only watch with wide eyes as he sat sprawled out on the ground where she'd pushed him. She pushed herself into the air and climbed up into the sky.

Batman watched her go, too, looking almost disinterested. He stepped into the battle-scarred street, looking down at his apprentice expressionlessly. Robin blushed even more furiously. "Good job."

Robin stared at his mentor, wide eyes growing even wider. That was cruel. His face heated up even further. "It isn't as though I expected that to happen," he snapped in his own defense.

"I wasn't joking. She's stopped destroying Gotham." The Caped Crusader gestured around them. "And maybe she'll want to be our ally. She certainly seemed taken with you," he remarked dryly.

Robin scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

Batman raised his eyebrows at his apprentice, the expression only notable in the slight change in the shape of his cowl around his eyes. "Clearly that was some kind of language transferal. I'm willing to bet she's from the Vegan solar system- most Vegans are humanoid in anatomy." He frowned. "I'm not very up to speed on distant alien races. Clark would know."

Robin forgot about his own embarrassment as a dark shadow stretched above them. An orange pod landed a few hundred yards away from the Dynamic Duo, in one of Gotham's parks. From the pod sprouted a hologram of an anthropomorphic lizard. "People of Earth," it said in a cold voice, "we come to your planet hunting an escaped prisoner. A very dangerous prisoner. Do not interfere, and we will leave your city with only minimal damage. But if you attempt to assist her your destruction will be absolute."

Robin looked up at his mentor. "Let's go. Into the car. I tagged her with a tracker during the fight."

Robin sighed. Of course he did.

…

The Dynamic Duo pulled up to a tiny grocery store, stocked mostly with vegetables and canned goods.

The alien was ripping into a bunch of bananas, tearing at the skin with her teeth.

Robin cleared his throat. She licked her fingers clean and turned to face him, assuming a defensive stance.

Batman and Robin stayed calm, their fingers each a few inches away from their belts, just in case.

"We don't want to hurt you," Batman told her. "We want to help you."

The glow in her eyes snapped on like a light from a switch. "Why?" she growled. "What do you wish to accomplish by helping me?"

Batman held his ground as she advanced on them, even though Robin desperately wanted to back up. Just a little bit. "Diplomacy," Batman answered evenly.

"Diplomacy," she repeated, like she was testing out the word. "I am familiar with diplomacy. You offer me something, I return the gesture. You have freed me from my bonds. What may I offer you?"

"Assistance."

"Assistance? Against the Gordanians? I do not offer this." She crossed her arms over her chest to signify finality. "Name another price."

"Look, those things are only here because of you," Robin pointed out indignantly. "What did you do? Why are you their prisoner?"

The glow in her eyes dimmed. She shook her head and laced her fingers together. "Not prisoner. I am… prize."

"A prize?" Robin demanded, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"I am a peace offering to the Citadel. The Gordanians take me there to live out my days as their… servant." Her head slumped down in defeat while she was talking, and as she finished she snapped it back up to look at the Dynamic Duo.

Robin saw fear in her eyes. He saw defeat. "I won't let that happen," he promised, feeling determined and sure. He noticed Batman out of the corner of his eye- he was giving Robin a weird look with one eyebrow raised- and Robin quickly amended his statement. "We won't let that happen."

"You wish to help me further?" the alien asked.

Robin shot a glance at his mentor, who nodded. "Those lizards are still tearing up Gotham. We'll need your help to stop them."

"Diplomacy," she repeated knowingly.

"Ahh… Right. Yeah. Diplomacy," he mumbled. She wasn't very friendly.

Batman shot a look at Robin. Robin couldn't really tell because of the cowl, but he was pretty sure he was amused by what was going on. Yep, he was definitely smirking. Robin glared at him.

"Is there anything about these creatures you can tell us?" Batman demanded, businesslike.

She began rattling off traits, still watching the pair warily. "They are not very smart. Strong. They wield tridents which have shocking capabilities. They are able to fly. I am unsure as to whether or not they have the hive of minds, but they certainly seem to operate as a group in the strictest of terms."

"Um. Hive of minds?" Batman asked, unsure of what she meant.

She made a clicking noise, tapping her tongue against her teeth in an annoyed manner. "Yes. What is the expression…"

"Hive mind?" Robin suggested.

She nodded, glaring at them. She must have thought they were making fun of her.

"Okay. No harm done," Robin said soothingly.

The wall of the grocery store was blown off and a group of nine soldiers approached them. "Give us the girl and no harm will come to you, humans," one of them instructed.

Batman and Robin glanced at each other and nodded before launching into action. Robin extended his bo-staff while Batman slipped into the shadows of the stored front. The alien girl immediately jumped on one of the Gordanians, hitting it with so much force that Robin heard something crack. He didn't know whether he should be concerned or not.

While that one Gordanian was out for the count, another grabbed her by the hair and spun her, throwing her into the street outside. The tarmac cracked and cratered underneath her. Robin gaped at that. It was amazing that she didn't seem to sustain any injuries. She appeared to have the wind knocked out of her, but that was all. Damn. He never wanted to fight against her.

He kicked the Gordanian that was attacking him in the face after swinging around on his staff to gain momentum. It crashed into another lizard and they sprawled out on the street. Not good. Batman was fighting one of them, but that left five of the monsters closing in around the girl. She gathered light in her hands and threw it at them desperately, but one of them got close enough to do hand to hand combat. She must have been a little tired or something, because she went into a defensive stance. She wouldn't last against all of them just defending herself.

Robin launched himself into the group of Gordanians and tried to back some of them away. For the most part, they seemed to think of him as an annoyance and one of them stepped to the side with a hiss and an annoyed flick of its tongue. Ew. Okay, he'd show them just how annoying he could be. Robin flipped himself so that the creature's weight was on his staff and then threw it over his shoulders and spun, knocking it into the Gordanian that was attacking the girl.

She glanced at him, with a tiny smile on her lips. Okay, so that left three. And Batman just took out two of them with ice bombs. Ooh, good idea, since they were cold blooded. Nice.

Well, that left one, and it wouldn't hurt to show off a little. He followed Batman's lead and chucked an ice disc at it. He followed that up with a kick to the face, which was left unfrozen. The thing let out a weird roar and thrust the trident forward. Ah, crap.

The alien grabbed his wrist and spun him around. He was more than a little surprised at that. She let him go at a good angle for a fierce kick and she chucked her green energy at the trident, which seemed to short it out. He was still on a crash course with the Gordanian and it turned the trident horizontal to block Robin's kick. The Teen Wonder's steel toed and soled boots ripped through the trident like Styrofoam, connecting painfully with the alien's cheek. Well, it didn't really seem to have much of a cheek. But the side of its face.

It fell hard because it was still stuck in the ice, which cracked around it as it fell.

The nine aliens seemed to realize that this wasn't going to be an easy grab-and-go mission and they flew up into the sky all atat once, some supporting others.

Batman looked at the two teenagers, his mouth set in a line but his eyebrow quirked. Robin could tell the gears were spinning.

The girl watched them go with a clenched fist and a growl on her lips.

"That's not the last we're gonna see of them, is it?" Robin remarked, already knowing the answer.

"No. Now that you have interfered, Trogaar will strike harder."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a huge shadow fell across the city. A gigantic spaceship floated across Gotham slowly.

"More of your friends?" Batman asked.

The girl shuddered. "I do not approve of your joke."

Batman shrugged and watched as the spaceship dropped a pod down on the outskirts of Gotham. A blue line of energy rippled up the sides and condensed in the form of a Gordanian, magnified a hundred fold.

"Holy giant lizard-" Robin breathed before catching himself.

"Fools!" the giant hologram berated them. "The Earth scum were warned. Your insolence will be punished. Your city shall be destroyed." With that, the hologram blipped out and the ship moved across the sky.

Batman sighed in annoyance. "Okay," he sighed, coming up with a plan.

Robin glared at the alien girl. "You really could have mentioned the giant particle weapon."

She gave him a smug smile. "Diplomacy," she purred.

Batman held her gaze for a few seconds, fixing her with a glare. She returned it with an almost bored look. "Can you get us on that ship?"

She didn't look bored anymore. She looked like she was about to throw up. "You wish for me to go on that ship? So that you may exchange my life for the well-being of your city?"

"You're not very trusting. No, I doubt handing you over will appease them much. We're going have to get them at the source."

The girl looked up at the ship, honestly looking like she might cry.

Robin sighed and went with the friendly route again. "Hey," he soothed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. We won't let them take you."

She swallowed and her face returned to its stony look. "I do not need to be protected."

He narrowed his eyes at her and let it go. She was annoying him. But if Batman was going to play the bad cop by making her go onto the ship, he had to play the good cop. He hated playing the good cop when the third party was annoying. "Is there anything we can call you?"

She jiggled back on her heels and then rocked to her toes, pondering. "In your language, it is pronounced… Star…fire." She pronounced each word carefully.

"Okay then, Starfire. If you help us destroy their weapon, they won't ever come back for you. They'll leave you alone. For good."

She considered. "Fine. Your logic suits me. I will get you onto that ship. But if you let anything happen to me… I promise that I will eventually escape the clutches of the Citadel, and I will lead the planet into war against the Earth. For vengeance." She sported a somewhat dreamy smile as she spoke the last two words.

"Uh… right. Noted," Robin answered doubtfully.

She narrowed her eyes. "I do not think you should take that threat so lightly. I am the crown princess of Tamaran."

"Tamaran? That's Vegan, right?" Batman asked as he gazed up at the ship, still thinking of a plan.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You will not divest me of any more information," she snapped.

"Didn't have to try that hard to divest you of anything." Under his breath, Batman muttered something about kissing and teenagers and hormones and loose lips, but Robin couldn't quite make it out.

Starfire flew them up to the ship, holding each of them by their wrists. Getting onto the ship was easy. The ramp was open, probably waiting for more Gordanians to load. Or maybe they were waiting for her to come back to them so that they wouldn't destroy the city. Robin wondered if Batman would send her back to keep her out of harm's way.

He scouted around for a second, glancing down hallways and checking for any cameras before beckoning the teens forward.

The three of them ducked into the shadows as Gordanian guards stalked off down the hall to the left.

Robin didn't really like this. They couldn't just pick up superheroes as they went along and add them to their roster. It didn't work like that. They had to work as a team. They had to know each other. And Robin didn't know this strange girl. Nothing she did made any sense. Especially not kissing him. He felt heat rise to his face and drew his cape around his shoulders moodily. He didn't know if he was comforted or appalled by the knowledge that no matter you went, girls would be insane and unpredictable. And pretty. Uh. No. Not that last part. Stupid brain. Stupid… not brain.

"Robin."

He jerked. Stupid of him, getting caught up in his thoughts like that. "Yeah?"

"Assess the situation for me."

Robin stepped up to Batman, noting out of the corner of his eye that Starfire seemed to be sort of cowered into the wall with her hands pressed against her chest and he spine pressed against the wall. She looked so scared. "Not that much security. I figure they're all either in Gotham or working on that particle weapon. Besides, it's not like they'd expect her to just show up here on her own. So that should leave halls open, with the weaker and less skilled guards patrolling it, if any."

Batman nodded. "Good. Where's the weapon?"

Robin frowned. How the hell was he supposed to know that? He couldn't pick out a layout to the ship. The halls stretched labyrinthine toward the middle, or possibly not to the middle, he didn't know how alien logic worked. He sighed. Think. Okay. So the fuel tank… the fuselage… storage… holding cells… He was putting it all together like a puzzle… The control center… The escape pods… Fitting it in, building blueprints in his head. "I'd say on the northwest side of the ship, or possibly the northeast, but judging by the directions those guards were going, I'd say northwest."

The corner of Batman's mouth twitched up and Robin felt himself glow with pride. "Good. Now, if we see any guards the first thing we're going to want to do is keep them quiet…"

No sooner had the words left Batman's mouth than a muffled cry sounded down the hall. Shit. Starfire was gone. Robin fled down the hall, Batman following behind them. She was choking the guard by pulling his trident against his throat, muttering in that strange, guttural language.

"She's going to kill him," Robin hissed. He could see the glow from her eyes shining in the dim light of the hallways.

Batman narrowed his eyes. The creature slumped to the ground and she pulled the trident out of its grip, still muttering in her native language. She glared at the Gordanian and sent a sharp kick to its side the made it groan, but she left it at that.

She put a hand on her hip and planted the butt of the trident on the ground as the lights in her eyes flickered out. "Are you going with me to locate the weapon, or do you wish for your precious city to become so much rubble?" she asked haughtily.

Robin could believe she was a princess then. Her chin was lifted, her body language was impatient and haughty, and her tone coupled with her formal language was nothing short of regal. He was equally annoyed and interested. Which made him more annoyed. "Aren't you going to send her back?"

Batman shrugged. "She seems to be working out okay. At least with the trident we'll be able to incapacitate any guards we come across."

Robin huffed. "She already had those starbolt things anyway." Uh oh. He knew the look on Batman's face.

"I don't mind having a woman around. It's strange that you have such an aversion to it, considering how liberal she's been with you."

Um. No. Not going there. But, wait. Was that a jab at the nature of his sexuality? He swore under his breath. "I do not have an aversion to it," he hissed.

"Good. Because I sure don't. It's a little distracting, but I'm sure I'll get used to it." His mouth was twitched into a little smile.

"Ugh. That's disgusting. She's, like, sixteen."

Batman shrugged. "Who knows what the conversion is from her years to ours?"

"Can't you be more serious? We're on a mission," Robin snapped, irked.

The tiny smile faded from his lips. "I'm waiting until I hear-"

To illustrate his point, a zap followed by that language again.

"Ah. She's taken out the first guard's companion. Done our work for us." Batman gestured for Robin to walk toward her.

He stomped away. "I don't need anyone to do my job for me."

Batman sighed, collecting himself. As much fun as teasing Robin was, they had work to get done now.

They crept up to the door of the command board, which was also where the-

"Lord Trogaar, the weapon is fully charged."

Yep. Where the weapon was. Too easy.

Batman pulled out a few discs from his belt and motioned for Robin to do the same. He palmed three explosive discs between his fingers and together, the Dynamic Duo threw their explosives at the door. It fell over spectacularly and Starfire shot starbolts through it before the dust even cleared, holding the trident in her left hand. Batman and Robin rolled into the room and immediately began attacking. There didn't seem to be a plan other than 'punch your way over to the computer', so Robin did. Oooh. The big guy in the middle must be Lord Trogaar. Okay. Robin just needed to hack the computer. Easy. He was great at hacking computers. But… oh God. Was this a touch screen? How did he make the keyboard come up? Alien tech. Right.

He was hip checked out of the way and Starfire tossed the trident at him. "Hey!" he growled. She pressed a button under the monitor and a sleek surface slid out. She touched that and her fingers flew over the keyboard. Oh jeez, now he was thinking about her fingers… what was wrong with him…

A prehensile tail wrapped around her. It was the big guy. Robin looked from the keyboard to the girl uncertainly. She grabbed the tail in her palms and let green energy surround her hands. Lord Trogaar screamed and threw her to the ground. Robin clambered to the screen. He glanced up as he tapped. Most of it was written in code, so he was okay with languages. He'd have to redirect, it was too late to stop it. Um… where to redirect…

Batman jumped two of the lizards, bashing their heads together. Starfire was fighting the big thing, and she was smacking it around rather easily. Well, she did flip a car at him literally with her hands behind her back, so he shouldn't be worried. He finished what he was doing and he slid the sleek surface back in place under the monitor.

He was in time to see Starfire get smacked to the ground. Ouch.

He flipped onto Lord Trogaar's back. He caught sight of Batman finishing up with the rest of the guards. He wondered briefly how many there were. Stupid of him- always count the enemy and their weapons. He'd been too concerned about the computer to worry about it. Sloppiness like that could get him killed, he reprimanded himself.

He was thrown from the lizard's back and caught in mid-air by the wrist.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Do not get used to it," Starfire snapped. She threw him fiercely at Lord Trogaar, but he was ready for it this time. He jabbed the trident she'd given him at the huge reptilian alien. Maybe he shouldn't have used his own tech against him. Trogaar snapped the base of the trident and grabbed Robin by the cape. Damn capes. He tossed him over his shoulder at the wall behind him and swatted Starfire out of the air. The steel floor dented below her.

Trogaar unsheathed his claws and stood over Starfire.

"Bruce…" Robin mumbled, reaching for her with his injured arm while trying to push himself into action.

Batman reacted instantly. He grabbed the lizard's tail and tugged on it. Disgustingly, it came off.

"What did you-?!" Robin gasped.

"It'll grow back," Batman muttered angrily.

Trogaar turned and rounded on Batman. Starfire wasn't getting up.

Okay, okay. Robin's arm was dislocated. Easy fix, no biggie. He just had to pop it back in place. He lined it up, panting a little in anticipation of the pain to come, and then put all of his weight on his arm. It hurt like fire for a few seconds and then it dulled to a fierce ache. Good enough.

He grabbed in his belt. He threw ice discs at Trogaar's feet, freezing him. The alien roared in pain. Robin shot a grappling hook at the creature and let it go to wrap around its legs. Batman shot another to wrap around its arms. It fell to the ground, ice shattering around it. It was still thrashing.

"Are those going to hold?" Robin asked doubtfully.

"It should. I'm not sure how strong-"

A pained yell came from behind Robin and he turned to see Starfire shoot what seemed to be the last of her energy at the Gordanian Lord. He stilled. There was shocked silence.

"Did you just-?" Robin choked.

"N-no… stunned… he is stunned… Drained… I am… I need…"

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. That wasn't good. But first, the weapon. Batman slid in front of the monitor. He growled at it. "Damn it, it's all in code. What did you do?"

"Set it on a crash course for the nearest Red Giant," Robin answered, rubbing at his shoulder where his arm had been dislocated.

Batman considered. "Hm. Not bad thinking. Perhaps a white one would have been better. They're hotter so it would burn it up faster." He started typing on the computer.

Of course. Always nitpicking. Robin just grunted.

"Sun… need…" And then odd grunting noises and that language she spoke.

Robin stooped beside her. "Hey. Hey. Starfire." He shook her shoulder. "Hello?"

"You heard her," Batman said, crossing his arms. "She needs sun."

Robin raised an eyebrow at his mentor. "You mean, like, she's solar powered?"

Batman shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just listening to what she's saying."

Robin sighed and picked her up bridal style. "She's really light."

"Swoon over it, why don't you," Batman quipped as he turned with a swish of his cape.

Robin frowned. "I meant," he snapped, "She's light considering she's wearing all this armor and she's like, six feet tall." He hurried after Batman.

They went back to the ramp, where Robin set her down in the open. He guessed the sun had to be shining, even though it was kind of dark around them. She didn't move, and he knelt next to her, patting her cheek with his knuckles.

"Hey," he called. "Alien princess girl. C'mon." She gasped and sat up, startling him.

"I'm glad you're o-"

She flew away from them without looking twice, going in the direction of the sun.

Robin gaped after her.

"Don't look so sad," Batman consoled him, clapping him on the back. "I bet there's a whole planet of girls that look just like her."

Robin narrowed his eyes and looked at his mentor with an exasperated expression. "I don't care about that! How the hell are we gonna get off this damn ship?" He kicked the wall angrily.

Batman sighed and pressed a button on his belt.

Oh Robin. Embrace the love. Things will go much easier for you that way. I imagine that Starfire kissing him would be worse in front of Batman. Speaking of whom… OOC Batman? I'm not sure. People write him a little differently even within the DCU. Sometimes he's a little jokey and sometimes he's all business. I kind of went with a 'mostly business except for when he makes fun of Robin' type of personality. Which is not how I imagine him, honestly. I imagine him as a really serious guy. But somebody had to add a little comic relief until I can put Beast Boy in this fic. Here is a short teaser for the next chapter:

Starfire made an alarmed noise and pulled Robin roughly into the awning of a building, pressing them both against the stucco.

"What the hell?" Robin demanded, prying her fingers away from his shirt. Long, tan fingers, and she had really pretty nails, for a girl that was an escapee from a POW contract. Ugh, he was looking at her nails now? Bruce would have a few things to say about that.

"The sky… you have made it cry." She looked genuinely frightened. She was glancing around desperately, trying to find something to appease the rain.