Robin and Starfire - The War Beyond Tamaran

Bad by choice

She wasn't sure she could hold on any longer, her fingers had begun to slip from its grip, the gravity pulling her down. Her head ached with flashes of images that made her remember who she really was, what she was capable of doing, and who had effected how she used them, for the better or worse. She cried out when finally her fingers slipped from its grip. The air around her went past as she fell down, waiting what felt like forever. How long was it until she hit the ground? Was it flat? Or was it covered in sharp glass and stones?

Terra breathed out air when a pair of hands caught her mid-air, launching her body away from the ground. The wind blowing her hair back, covering her face.

"Hello dear, we have unfinished business to attend to." A voice said. A terribly familiar manly voice, she could already see who it was even before she pushed her hair away from her eyes. But when she looked at the man, he was not Slade, but someone else with half black and half orange mask. "Who are you!? Put me down!" She demanded, pushing him away.

"Now? Well, if that's what you want." He said. She couldn't read anything else from his voice except a small touch of amusement. She opened her mouth, so sure he was Slade when he let go of her. She fell down, and this time she could see how far up she had been. All the roofs and people looked like ants from where she was, slowly getting closer and closer.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Got you." A hand grabbed hold of her ankle, dragging her across the sky above the city. Tears stinging behind her eyes, remembering how this all would go. She was going to be used again or killed. All though he didn't look like Slade, she knew better. This man was Slade wearing another mask and if she had remembered correctly then he was coming now to get his revenge for killing him in the mountains.

She let her tears fly away, glad that it didn't touch her face when Slade pulled her up. Holding her close to his armored body.

"Did you have to blow up the whole apartment, Slade?" She asked, bitterness in her voice. The man chuckled, "What a clever girl."

"We don't make deals with bad guys," Beastboy said, folding his hands on his chest, eyes squinting in suspicion. Robin didn't say anything, calculating the possibilities of this transaction. This was Red-X, his enemy, the person who loved stealing and creating mischievous incidents. Although it was better than wanting to destroy the city out of revenge or controlling it, still it caused him great trouble.

"Think about it," He went on as if Beastboy hadn't said a word. "What can I do here on who knows where I am?"

"Tamaran," Raven answered for him. He nodded, noting where he was.

"I don't know anyone here, I don't understand the language, I don't think you'll let me go home and even if you did I don't know how. I have information if you'll let me free. Let me help you win this war, it's all I'm asking."

"Why?" Robin demanded. "All you ever did was steal, you wreck things," You flirt with Starfire anytime you have the chance; he wanted to say but said instead, "You lie, you cause trouble, why should we trust you? Why would you want to help us?"

"Because if I'm going to end up in prison, I want to be in prison on earth, and not just any prison, Belle Reve." He said without a moment of hesitation. Robin unconsciously backs his shoulders at this bold statement. Raven raised both her eyebrows; Beastboy dropped his hands, while Cyborg gagged. "For a sideway crook you have high expectations," he said.

"Well, at least he has high standards," Raven said clearly amused.

Everyone in there knew what kind of prison Belle Reve was. It was the most secured prison in the world, where the famous Harley Quinn and the Joker was. King Croc was also there and Robin had seen himself how they managed to hold that beast. Batman had seen to it that King Croc would never escape, and he never did. Robin wasn't sure what to say, not everyone had a place in Belle Reve, and Red-X was surely not one of them who did. For small fish like him, he was probably going to have a shared sell downtown.

"I get your point," He said, "But Belle Reve is too high for you, just saying." He couldn't help it. Red-x didn't hide his annoyed snarl. "Dream Crusher," He muttered, looking away from them. "So do we have a deal? I can help. I'm not bad because I'm not born bad, it's by choice."

"So why do you choose to be bad?" Beastboy asked spontaneously. He was wondering that himself. If you could be good, why be bad?

"It's complicated," He answered, the same way someone would answer if he was asked why he had broken up with a girl. Robin turned his back on Red-X, facing Raven who was clearly not interested in saying anything. She wasn't sure what to do as well.

"He knows information we might need," Cyborg and Beastboy joined the small circle.

"I'm not if he is trustworthy," Beastboy said.

"Of course he's not," Raven said to him, "But as he said, what can he do? He's not on earth, he has nowhere to run or hide. We are all he has." Raven pointed out. Robin stared at Cyborg, "I'm with you buddy," Cyborg said as an agreement, then he looked at Beastboy, "I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry about it," He said pointing his thumb at his chest. Robin took a deep breath, turning towards the boy still sitting there tied to a chair. He was so much slimmer than him, Robin noticed.

"Fine, we'll make a deal," Robin said. "You tell us what you know and help us win this war. In return, you won't be trapped in prison, here."

"And earth too," Red-X said.

"It's what I said or no deal."

"It's what I said or I'll rather watch you all die in battle. You need my information, I make the price. Let me off when we get back." Red-X said, "You'll do it anyway when we're done here Junior, trust me, you'll need all the help you can get."

Robin frowned at him, thinking. Whatever attitude he usually had wasn't there anymore. No jokes, no comments, nothing. He was serious; Robin could hear it from the finality of his demands. "Fine, you have my word you'll be set free when we return to earth."

"If we do return," Raven muttered behind them.

"Alright, let me out of these ropes and I'll tell you everything," Red-X demanded, trying to squeeze himself to freedom. Cyborg stared at Robin, who nodded, staring at them while he used his X-ray to cut the ropes.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he was so used to seeing Red-X running from him that he could feel his muscles getting ready to sprint after him; like a wolf chasing a rabbit. But he didn't. Red-X sat back on his chair rubbing his wrist and arms. "You tied me really hard there." He said.

"Years of practice," Cyborg said, his one red eye gleaming in the shadows of the cell. Robin had only begun to open his mouth when someone entered the cell, knocking on the metal bars for attention. He was a tall Tamaranian man with red hair cut short. His face was clean from hair, showing what looked like a long scar across his face.

"Excuse my interruption, but the Taeli is ready."

"We forgot about it." Raven pointed out. "We should be there like half an hour ago."

"Indeed." The man said a curl on the tips of his lips. "I believe I have notified already, I started to wonder if I should have told the queen herself." There was no loathing in his voice, only a simple joy of the thought talking to his queen. Robin had to note to himself, the queen this man was talking about was Starfire. My queen. He thought with pride.

"It was my fault as well," Robin said, "We were caught on business with a sudden intruder in our ship, I hope there's room for one more?"

The man looked passed Robin, "Of course," He said, before backing away. "Shall we?"

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Sorry for the late update :) I hope you enjoyed!