Chapter 1
Teen Titans vs. Bugs
The sky filled with smoke as the deafening sound of an explosion rang through the battlefield. Heroes and villains alike were brought to their knees by the blast, clutching their ears or whatever equivalent they had. Nightwing was the first to stand and he quickly surveyed the area around him to catch a glimpse of his teammates. Beastboy lay face down a few yards away, but remained breathing which was a promising sight. Cyborg and Raven slowly rose from a pile of debris, choking from the soot. Almost all the Titans have been accounted for… expect…
“STARFIRE!”, he yelled, growing more worried by the second. She hadn’t been too far away from him when the explosion happened. She should have been here! Frantically he turned on his mask’s scanner and overlooked the debris searching for her heat signature.
“Starfire! Where are you?”, the leader vocalized again while sorting his way through the area. She had to be here somewhere, she couldn’t just vanish into thin air. He was going to find her, he had to.
“Nightwing!”,Raven signaled to the leader.
“The bugs are regrouping. We have to find some shelter fast. We are in no condition to continue.” If it were not for the mask on his face, his eyes would’ve popped out of his skull. Was she implying that they should leave Starfire here on her own?!
“We can’t just leave Kory! She’s out here somewhere. Keep looking!”, he barked his orders, but the team remained still.
“Dick.”, she voiced barely above a whisper. “Look at us. We can’t help Kory if we can’t help ourselves.” She motioned over to Beastboy who was hugging his now broken ribs, Cyborg who was missing one of his robotic arms, and herself who was bleeding profusely from an injury above her forehead. In his mind he knew she was right. He knew that he couldn’t risk the lives of his entire team for one person, but this wasn’t just any person. This was Starfire. This was Kory. His lover, his reason to live, his soulmate, his best friend.
“I know you want to find her and I promise that we will, but we need to leave right now. The bugs are circling around and we ca-”, the witch was cut off by another explosion.
“Shit. Titans MOVE!”
The vile bug-like beings pushed their way through the scattered debris and closed in on the defeated Titans. Luck was not on their side. The group of heroes scrambled into a defensive position accepting that this might be their last stand and for a moment you could see fear flash behind their eyes. The air turned cold as if Death itself was present, waiting to claim the souls of the soon to be departed. The heroes raised their fists ready for the fight to ensue, but before the first hit was thrown, a familiar green starbolt took out a group of bugs that stood feet away from the Titans.
“Leave my friends alone!,” spoke the fiery haired alien as she shot another round of starbolts at the oncoming bugs.
“Starfire!” the team exclaimed, each one mentally sighing a breath of relief that she had not perished in the explosion. Her presence alone was enough to ignite a fire within them. They gathered all the remaining strength they had and began to finish this battle. Kicks and punches were thrown with accuracy and intensity. Starbolts and sonic waves shot through the crowd, pulverizing everything in their path. Not soon after the Titans could finally declare victory over the invading bugs. Normally after a particularly hard and draining battle, the team would begin to lick their wounds and decompress by heading to their own personal dwellings, but this time was different. All eyes were glued to the orange-skinned Goddess who miraculously saved the day.
“Star. I’m so glad that you are okay. I was extremely worried. I should’ve seen the bomb coming. I could’ve protected you. I’m sorry.”, rambled the raven-haired boy, but the Goddess would not have him blaming himself for the incident.
“Nightwing, this is in no shape or form your fault. There was no way to predict that these invaders were going to drop a bomb on us. I am okay, we are all okay. We have defeated the threat.” she mustered up a small smile and squeezed his hand as an act of reassurance, knowing that the boy would still be in turmoil for some time.
“Starfire, you like definitely came in and saved the day! That was so badass! If it wasn’t for you we’d probably be goners. Thank you.” the changeling tried to offer a high-five, but recoiled in pain, swearing under his breath.
“Yeah Star, thank you. Like BB said you are today’s hero”, the half-robot replied. She was confused as to why her teammates were offering her thanks as it was what any noble warrior would do, but she forced a blush and nodded her head.
Xxx
Back at the tower, everyone remained in their rooms to recover except a certain red head who found herself on the roof overlooking the city. Her mind wandered back to the battlefield were she lay under several feet of debris. She couldn’t free herself no matter how hard she had tried, and she was close to fatigue before the pile above her moved, lessening the weight she felt on her body. Suddenly, the rays of light poured into her almost grave, blinding her for a split second. Next thing she knows, she is freed. The only thing she remembers is seeing the color red for a micro of a second and nothing more. Did somebody free her? If so, who were they and why? Why did they save her life and not grant her the opportunity to thank them? Something seemed familiar about what she saw, but to be fair, there is red and nothingness in everything. She was reeled in from her thoughts by a light touch to her side.
“My beautiful, beautiful Kory. What has your mind so troubled?”, his husky voice rang through her ears. He knew her so well.
She patted the space next to her and when he gently lowered himself down she rested her head in his shoulder.
“What if I didn't get there in time? You all could’ve died. I’m not even sure how I escaped from the ruble, but… Dick if something would have happened to you, I don’t know how I would be able to live.” His hand intertwined with hers and he rubbed her knuckles ever so gently.
“But you did Kory. You saved us all. You saved me. Because of you we are all back home, alive and well. Yeah we all took some hits, but we are alive and together. That’s all that matters.” She let a sigh escape her lips, turning her head up slowly, tickling his nose with her hair.
“Dick, I was scared. I thought I was going to die down there without saying goodbye to you or to the team.” He untangled himself from her and tilted her head so that their eyes would meet.
“I would never let you die on me steaua mea* , never. I love you. I always have and I always will. You are my blessing, my Star . The universe would have to kill me and lock up my soul to keep me away from you. I promise to keep you safe, until my last breath.” He left a tender kiss on her plump lips and she remained silent for a moment. She was admiring her knight in shining blue armor.
“And I love you, more than your language can explain” she giggled as she leaned into their kiss.
She recited a silent prayer in honor of whoever saved her, if anyone came to her rescue at all. It was because of their kindness, that she could experience another moment with her love like this.
*steaua mea = my star